DANE FUELLING
WZBD.com
MISHAWAKA – The Bellmont Braves entered Saturday’s regional game with a terrific defensive record. Riding a ten-match winning streak, the defense, anchored by Marianne Bleke in goal, had allowed just three goals. Playing for a regional title against a South Bend St. Joe team that had defeated them 4-0 on August 21st, the most likely scenario for a Bellmont victory was always going to be 94 minutes of 0-0 soccer and a shootout.
For 60 minutes, the Braves gave the Huskies everything they could, but in the 61st minute, a diagonal through ball by Lauren Hickey was received by Kira Wasilewski, who had timed her run perfectly alongside the Bellmont back line, and the sophomore forward tiptoed around Bleke to knock the ball home for the only tally of the regional title game.
The Braves kept their shape and stayed in the game as long as they could, but a series of factors led them to play out the final 19 minutes with tired legs, as they went over 30 minutes without making a substitution to end the game.
Bellmont did not win their first corner until the final 30 seconds of the affair and they did not register a shot on target over 80 minutes.
The best chance for a goal came in the second half, when Kaitlyn Barton bought herself some space at the corner of the box on the left side and launched an arching shot over the head of the Marian keeper that could have changed everything, but the great effort hit the top of the crossbar. It turned out to be the Braves’ only real scoring chance against a Marian defense that has allowed just seven goals in 19 matches.
The defeat signaled the end of the careers of several Bellmont standouts. Maya Schlemmer and Kate Kitson transformed the back line from the Braves’ weakness in the opening weeks of the season to one of the best they’ve had in two decades. Both will be greatly missed on the defensive side of things.
Lanie French and Maggie Wilson were also stalwarts of the Bellmont midfield and probably deserve as much credit for the Braves’ defensive excellence as the back line. Both were gutsy players who were not afraid to be physical when the opponents got tougher.
Marian will play Guerin Catholic in the northern semi-state final at 12:30 p.m.
SEMI-STATE PAIRINGS
3A
North: #14 Crown Point vs. #1 Hamilton Southeastern
South: Brownsburg vs. #5 Center Grove
2A
North: #2 South Bend St. Joe vs. #10 Guerin Catholic
South: #6 Tri-West (Hendricks) vs. #1 Evansville Memorial
1A
North: #7 Blackhawk Christian vs. #5 Oak Hill
South: #6 Switzerland County vs. #4 Providence
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