{"id":20549,"date":"2024-10-10T06:57:44","date_gmt":"2024-10-10T10:57:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/?p=20549"},"modified":"2024-10-10T06:57:44","modified_gmt":"2024-10-10T10:57:44","slug":"blekes-goal-kick-starts-bellmont-thrashing-heritage-boys-bow-out-in-penalties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/index.php\/2024\/10\/10\/blekes-goal-kick-starts-bellmont-thrashing-heritage-boys-bow-out-in-penalties\/","title":{"rendered":"Bleke’s goal kick-starts Bellmont thrashing; Heritage boys bow out in penalties"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Just one team in our Z-Land soccer coverage area remains after the Heritage Patriots were eliminated Wednesday up at Concordia, leaving the Bellmont girls as the last team standing in this year’s IHSAA postseason. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Join the Z Team pitch side Thursday night, live from Norwell as Mike Macke brings you the action for the semifinal game between Bellmont and Woodlan. That game is slated for a 7 p.m. start, but could vary depending on the length of the battle between Norwell and Canterbury on the other half of the bracket. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Stories, summaries and scores from last night around the area are right here: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By DANE FUELLING<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

WZBD.com<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There was little drama in Wednesday’s sectional opener for coach Steve Lee and his Bellmont Braves. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not because the team was playing a familiar conference opponent with just one win in the last decade. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The Bellmont Braves began their quest for another sectional title against New Haven Wednesday night. <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

And not because the last time this program lost a sectional game was when freshman Oni Krueckeberg was in Kindergarten.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

No, the reason the Braves prevailed Wednesday and advanced 9-0 to the sectional semifinal was because they are one of the most talented teams Lee has had in years, combining passing, wing play, outstanding finishing and a staunch defense that makes this team just a tad different than any of the other teams who have won ten of the last eleven sectional trophies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Coach Steve Lee looks on as his team takes on the Bulldogs. The Braves will play Woodlan Thursday night. <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

That thesis statement of the 2024 Bellmont Braves was proven correct in the opening minute Wednesday against New Haven as Ashley Bleke scored her fourth goal of the last four weeks on a corner kick, allowing the favorites to lead the entire game and prepare for Woodlan on Thursday. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Oni Krueckeberg scored twice in the win over New Haven Wednesday night. <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Freshmen scored five of the nine goals on the night for Coach Lee, with Krueckeberg scoring twice to lead the way. Kaitlyn Barton and Ella Sovine each added a goal, as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

New Haven’s Abigail Snodgrass made 17 saves in a long goalkeeping night for the Bulldog keeper. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Maggie Wilson added a brace for the Braves to up her season goal tally to seven and Gwen Laurent became the first player on the team to reach a double-digit tally with her tenth of the season. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Braves will play the second semifinal Thursday against Woodlan (8-9). Each of the Bellmont postseason games from this point on will be broadcast live by WZBD. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Other Local Girls’ Scores<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2A at DeKalb<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bishop Dwenger 4 DeKalb 0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2A at Norwell<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Woodlan 1 Bishop Luers 0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

2A at Mississinewa <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yorktown 2 Mississinewa 0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Norwell outkicks Heritage to advance<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By DEAN JACKSON<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

WZBD.com<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

FORT WAYNE \u2014 Norwell goalkeeper Phillip Gaier had plenty of experience with Heritage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 13 days, he\u2019s faced the Patriots twice. That\u2019s 177 minutes in the net against them. He didn\u2019t need a scouting report; he lived it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His educated guesses lifted the Knights to a 1-1 victory in the penalty kick round and a berth in the championship Saturday in the Class 2A Boys Sectional at Concordia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Nathan Pe tries to work the ball past Norwell’s Eli Randol in Wednesday’s sectional semifinal at Zollner. (Photo by Dean Jackson)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Norwell (10-8) will now face ninth-ranked Concordia (11-6) Saturday at 7 p.m. at Zollner Stadium for the Class 2A Concordia sectional crown. The Cadets ousted second-ranked Bishop Luers 1-0 in the first semi-final game Wednesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve played these guys quite a bit,\u201d Gaier said. \u201cI started to pick them out slowly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After Norwell and Heritage sank their first three shots, Gaier guessed right to stop the final two attempts to lead his team to the win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On the fourth PK, Aron Hernandez fired a shot to the right center of the goal. Gaier dove to deflect the shot. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Norwell took control when Eli Randol hit the left side of the net to make it 4-3.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Heritage was eliminated when Gaier blocked Cameron Rauner\u2019s shot. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI could tell they were coming across their body. I read that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Knights coach Kiel Nunn knew Gaier was up to the challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I was confident with Phil. I knew Phillip would step up for us at the end there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The Norwell Knights are the last team standing in the NE8 this postseason. They will play Concordia Saturday night for a sectional title. (Photo by Dean Jackson)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes it\u2019s just nothing more than luck. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“You get to the PKs, anything can happen,\u201d Heritage Coach Joel Bunnell said. \u201cWe’ve been there several times over the last couple of post-seasons, and we’ve had a lot of special moments, and then sometimes you’re on the wrong side of it, and you know, you gave it your all, but it just didn’t come your way.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gaier finished with seven saves. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Knights fired 16 shots, including five on goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Twa Rit’s fantastic season for the Patriots ended with 21 goals. (Photo by Dean Jackson)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Norwell took the lead in the 39th minute. After a late foul that stopped the clock. Hudson Gerbers fired a 25-yard free kick from the left side. The perfectly placed shot found the net with:05 remaining in the first half. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe\u2019s got a leg on him. It was just solid. It was a great shot,\u201d Nunn detailed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Heritage (6-8-3) forced overtime with a goal in the 79th minute. Moharmed Ali scored on a toss-in from Cameron Rauner with 42 seconds left to tie it. The equalizer resulted from constant pressure from the Patriot offense. As often as Norwell cleared would-be shots, Rauner was positioned on the sideline to fire inbound throws repeatedly, half a dozen times in the final minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The Heritage Patriots scored in the final minute of the second half to send the game to penalties. (Photo by Dean Jackson)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Bunnell said Heritage was determined to keep the heat on the Knights as the clock ran out of time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe had a sense of urgency. You never know what’s going to come. So when the opportunity is there, whether it be five minutes, four minutes, or three minutes to go, you got to take the risk. You’re down one zero. You can’t hope one is going to come in the last two minutes or one minute. It did, but you can’t hope that. We were pressing the last six, seven minutes. Any opportunity to load up the box and make something happen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elijah Rauner finished with five saves and faced seven shots for Heritage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other Local Boys’ Scores<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2A at Concordia Lutheran<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Concordia Lutheran 1 Bishop Luers 0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3A at Huntington North<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Warsaw 3 Columbia City 0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Homestead 3 East Noble 0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3A at FW Northrop<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FW Northrop 4 FW Snider 0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2A at Eastbrook<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jay County 4 Delta 1<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1A at Blackhawk Christian<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blackhawk Christian 9 Prairie Heights 0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Just one team in our Z-Land soccer coverage area remains after the Heritage Patriots were eliminated Wednesday up<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":20553,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[13,15,51,46,50,26],"class_list":["post-20549","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-bellmont","tag-featured","tag-heritage","tag-norwell","tag-soccer","tag-sports"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wzbd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/soccer-14-IMG_8563.jpg?fit=1603%2C1822&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20549","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20549"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20549\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20560,"href":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20549\/revisions\/20560"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20553"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20549"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20549"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20549"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}