Boys soccer: How Carmel turned around its season, found stride ‘when it mattered’
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INDIANAPOLIS — Sebastien Shunk received a cross inside the 18-yard box from Carmel teammate Mikey Kubek.
The sophomore turned and provided a through ball to midfielder partner Jet Truitt. The junior forward hit a rocket past Lawrence North’s keeper 1 minutes, 58 seconds into the game.
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It was their second goal.
Kubek struck the net from a cross 58 seconds earlier, with the scoreboard reading “39:00” in bright red LED lights.
It took Carmel less than two minutes to secure its trip to a regional final matchup against Brownsburg on Saturday at 4:30 p.m.
“They knocked us out,” said Lawrence North coach Daniel Flores after the 2-0 loss to Carmel. “We were not prepared.
“… they are super disciplined.”
The case, not always so.
How Carmel turned its season around to make regional final
Coach Shane Schmidt said he wanted to force the Wildcats into early turnovers and didn’t want his team to sit in. “Counter the counter,” he called it, a style of play in which the Greyhounds attack fast early to tire the opposing defense.
Carmel scored 15 regular-season goals. The Greyhounds have bagged 13 in four state tournament games.
Schmidt said Carmel has found its shape and created spaces between the lines, areas the Greyhounds struggled with at the start of the campaign.
Carmel started the season 3-4-2. The reigning Class 3A started the first nine games with a different starting lineup. Schmidt didn’t panic since his team created chances. Carmel couldn’t finish. Some misses. “Unluck,” Schmidt said.
But Carmel lacked discipline and effort.
The Greyhounds “let things happen,” defender Landon Carlin said. Euphoria carried over as they were “riding” last year’s state title.
Then came Sept. 15. Carmel walked off its home field after a 2-1 loss to North Central. Faces sulked, but hearts were motivated.
“We need to step this up,” was the message among the team. They haven’t lost since.
Carmel has nine clean sheets in its last 10 games. Carlin, who anchors the backline, said the defense has played with more patience and poise than at the start of the season.
North Central has a dynamic attack, with shifty winger Maijeur Abdullah, midfield maestro Ramiro Callejas and physical striker Guidson Pierre Louis.
Carlin said the Carmel defense focused on sticking to their man when the Wildcats dominated possession in multiple stretches of the second half.
“As long as everybody knows where everyone is, there's no way people can get past us,” Carlin said.
Brownsburg (10-4-5) has scored 41 goals this season, 17 in the state tournament and 10 during regional. Momentum rests with the Bulldogs when they travel to Carmel on Saturday.
Carmel ranked 28th on the final coaches poll. Brownsburg was 18th.
“Brownsburg is a very high-ranked opponent, and we've been very underranked. So, I'm excited to let the world see how much better we are.” Carlin said.
Some may hear arrogance. But this is a team confident, convicted and convinced.
“Now that it's starting to kind of click, and there's a belief, and once you get a group of young men to believe in themselves and believe in what's going on, great things can happen,” Schmidt said.
Carmel stood in a victor’s huddle after the win. Schmidt fired up his boys, who finished with fists raised and a joint outcry.
“One more home game,” the team yelled. It’s four hours after the 6 p.m. scheduled start and they’ve endured two lighting delays.
The Greyhounds are used to faulty starts. Still, they strike when it matters most.
“We've all been playing as a team, as a brotherhood, as a family, and even though it was a rocky start to the season, we picked it up when it mattered,” Kubek said. “All that matters is we play as a team during sectionals, regionals and state.
“We're going all the way. We believe that we can.”
Joshua Heron is an enterprise and Fever reporter. Follow him on Twitter at @JoshEHeron.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Boys soccer: How Carmel turned around its season, found stride ‘when it mattered’