Columbus North’s Aidan Whitley heads the ball during a match against Bloomington South Tuesday at BCSC Soccer Complex in Columbus.
Tommy Walker | For The Republic
It only took 45 seconds into the second half for Class 3A No. 9 Bloomington South to decide who was going to claim the Conference Indiana boys soccer title this year.
The Panthers fed the ball into the box, and Landon Ryner was open for the shot, and his attempt went directly into tthe net. Bloomington South held on to win the match and the conference title with a 1-0 victory over host and Class 3A No. 6 Columbus North Tuesday night at the BCSC Soccer Complex.
The Bull Dogs can still win second place outright if they defeat Terre Haute South on Saturday. But winning second wasn’t what they hoped for when they started the season.
The teams could also meet again in the regional should they both win their respective sectional titles.
North (8-3-2) and Bloomington South (11-1, 5-0) didn’t have many opportunities in the first 20 minutes of the contest. In the latter end of the half, both teams had many chances at the net.
In the 35th minute, the Bull Dogs almost broke the scoreless draw when Misaki Takemoto’s kick from outside the box landed right at the hands of Panther goalkeeper Daniel Panfilov Baykurov. Another chance less than a minute later when Nico Gotoh shot from the left side landed at the keeper, as well.
Bloomington South had its best chance of the first half in the 38th minute when Joe Degiorgio laser kick on target landed right at North keeper Juan Jose Salcedo Calderon to make it scoreless at the break.
The best chance toward the end of the match for the Bull Dogs as when they delivered a corner kick, and after a couple passes, Aidan Whitley’s header towards the goal landed at the hands of Panfilov Baykurov.
North kept the possession in the box in the final minute until the ball was cleared across the field with 13 seconds left to end the match.
