Columbus North huddles before playing Southport at the BCSC Soccer Complex, Saturday, Aug. 12, 2023.
Paige Grider | For The Republic
Columbus North boys soccer had a breakthrough season last year when it made it all the way to the Class 3A state final.
The Bull Dogs picked up right where they left off when they opened the season Saturday afternoon against Southport. Class 3A No. 5 North scored four times in the first 22 minutes on its way to a 7-1 Conference Indiana victory.
“The performance was good for the first time out,” North coach Andy Glover said. “I think we have a ways to go in terms of finding what our best performance is, but on the day, we were six goals better than the other team.”
Misaki Takemoto and Nico Gotoh each netted a pair of goals for the Bull Dogs, while fellow senior Aidan Whitley dished out three assists.
“You can’t have assists without a goal scorer, so I have to give it to our frontrunners,” Whitley said.
“You have to give all the credit to the guys who give the assists like Aidan,” Gotoh added. “I was just in the right place at the right time and just did my job as a forward and put the goals away. I think it’s awesome to score two goals, and hopefully, there’s more to come as the season progresses.”
After a scoreless first 10 minutes, North scored four goals in the next 12 minutes. Takemoto struck first off an assist from Whitley in the 11th minute. Whitley then fed Christian Cardoso for a goal in the 15th minute.
Takemoto made it 3-0 when he finished a pass from Derek Arau Ortiz in the 18th minute. Gotoh then scored off an assist from Mathiang Kak in the 22nd minute.
“The first 20 minutes looked pretty good,” Glover said. “The first 20 minutes is a building point to go forward. We just need to stretch that 20 out to the full scope of a match to be able to find out what our team’s real potential is.”
The Bull Dogs took a 5-0 lead when Gotoh scored off an assist from Whitley in the 31st minute. The Cardinals got on the board with a goal from Dieu Ebuela in the 36th minute, an North led 5-1 at halftime.
In the second half, the Bull Dogs’ Obed Oliva scored off an assist from Bryan Rodriguez in the 55th minute. Kak finished the scoring off a pass from Arau Ortiz in the 63rd minute.
“Unfortunately, we gave up one goal, but I think it’s a great start to our season,” Gotoh said.
“I’m content, but we should have had 10,” Whitley added. “It’s a starting point, but that’s about it.”
North outshot Southport 18-12. The Bull Dogs put 10 shots on goal to seven for the Cardinals.
Juan Jose Salcedo Calderon, a move-in from Colombia, went the entire way in goal and recorded six saves in his Bull Dog debut.
“It was a good game, but we should have done better,” Takemoto said. “We had more chances, so we could have scored more.”
