{"id":28244,"date":"2025-08-21T06:19:19","date_gmt":"2025-08-21T10:19:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/?p=28244"},"modified":"2025-08-21T09:40:31","modified_gmt":"2025-08-21T13:40:31","slug":"homestead-wins-battle-of-areas-state-ranked-powers-in-close-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/21\/homestead-wins-battle-of-areas-state-ranked-powers-in-close-game\/","title":{"rendered":"Homestead wins battle of area&#8217;s state-ranked powers in close game"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed alignright is-type-rich is-provider-spotify wp-block-embed-spotify wp-embed-aspect-21-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Spotify Embed: HS G SOC--Bellmont at Homestead, 8\/20\/25\" style=\"border-radius: 12px\" width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/episode\/2pQJyRqrim701i2oggHtQG?si=19BBc-beSPSsz7NQsSYPCg&#038;utm_source=oembed\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Miss the broadcast? Listen to it here, and find all our archived broadcasts on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, search for WZBD Audio.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Scorelines can often be deceiving in high school soccer, but fans of the Bellmont Braves couldn&#8217;t help but feel good about Wednesday night&#8217;s defeat in Fort Wayne against Homestead by just two goals, getting the Braves off to a much better start in 2025 than in 2024. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wzbd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/P1320291.jpg?resize=640%2C360&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-28246\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wzbd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/P1320291-scaled.jpg?resize=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wzbd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/P1320291-scaled.jpg?resize=300%2C169&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wzbd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/P1320291-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C432&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wzbd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/P1320291-scaled.jpg?resize=1536%2C864&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wzbd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/P1320291-scaled.jpg?resize=2048%2C1152&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wzbd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/P1320291-scaled.jpg?w=1280&amp;ssl=1 1280w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wzbd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/P1320291-scaled.jpg?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Ashley Bleke looks upfield as Adi Knipstein gets back to cover her. Bellmont goalie Emily Barton guards her goal in the background. (Photo by Patrick Gunsett)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/connect.thrivent.com\/envision-financial-advisors\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"76\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wzbd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/ThriventVanWert.jpg?resize=640%2C76&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-28112\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wzbd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/ThriventVanWert-scaled.jpg?resize=1024%2C121&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wzbd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/ThriventVanWert-scaled.jpg?resize=300%2C35&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wzbd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/ThriventVanWert-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C91&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wzbd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/ThriventVanWert-scaled.jpg?resize=1536%2C182&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wzbd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/ThriventVanWert-scaled.jpg?resize=2048%2C242&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wzbd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/ThriventVanWert-scaled.jpg?w=1280&amp;ssl=1 1280w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wzbd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/ThriventVanWert-scaled.jpg?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The two teams also kicked off the season against each other last season. A 9-0 thrashing by the Spartans did not ultimately match the fate of the Braves, who went on to an extremely successful season, culminating in a spot in the regional final as one of the last 24 teams in the state across the three classes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.zwickjahn.com\/#\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"296\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wzbd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Zwick-and-Jahn-Updated.png?resize=640%2C296&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-79\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wzbd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Zwick-and-Jahn-Updated.png?w=669&amp;ssl=1 669w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wzbd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Zwick-and-Jahn-Updated.png?resize=300%2C139&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The game was also played in the context of Monday&#8217;s season opener for the Spartans, in which Homestead thrashed the Braves&#8217; traditional NE8 rival, Leo, by a whopping scoreline of 11-0. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wzbd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/P1320195.jpg?resize=640%2C360&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-28248\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wzbd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/P1320195-scaled.jpg?resize=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wzbd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/P1320195-scaled.jpg?resize=300%2C169&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wzbd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/P1320195-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C432&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wzbd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/P1320195-scaled.jpg?resize=1536%2C864&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wzbd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/P1320195-scaled.jpg?resize=2048%2C1152&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wzbd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/P1320195-scaled.jpg?w=1280&amp;ssl=1 1280w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wzbd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/P1320195-scaled.jpg?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Maya Schlemmer and Adi Knipstein were part of the Bellmont defense that held the #10 Spartans scoreless for 65 minutes Wednesday night. (Photo by Patrick Gunsett)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.jrubletrucks.net\/\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"493\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wzbd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/J.Ruble-Logo.jpg?resize=640%2C493&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-14848\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wzbd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/J.Ruble-Logo-scaled.jpg?resize=1024%2C788&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wzbd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/J.Ruble-Logo-scaled.jpg?resize=300%2C231&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wzbd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/J.Ruble-Logo-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C591&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wzbd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/J.Ruble-Logo-scaled.jpg?resize=1536%2C1183&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wzbd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/J.Ruble-Logo-scaled.jpg?resize=2048%2C1577&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wzbd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/J.Ruble-Logo-scaled.jpg?w=1280&amp;ssl=1 1280w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wzbd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/J.Ruble-Logo-scaled.jpg?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/BALLthurs2-1.mp3\"><\/audio><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>WZBD&#8217;s Rex Brewer wraps up the station&#8217;s first Soccer Game of the Week at Homestead. <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Putting plenty of faith in a strong core of freshmen last season, coach Steve Lee made the return trip to Homestead Wednesday with a very experienced team and they played like one, holding the Spartans scoreless in the first half before ultimately falling to the #10 team in 3A in Indiana, 2-0. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.muddyriverfc.com\/\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"269\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wzbd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/muddyriver23fall.jpg?resize=640%2C269&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5960\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wzbd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/muddyriver23fall-scaled.jpg?resize=1024%2C430&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wzbd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/muddyriver23fall-scaled.jpg?resize=300%2C126&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wzbd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/muddyriver23fall-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C323&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wzbd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/muddyriver23fall-scaled.jpg?resize=1536%2C645&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wzbd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/muddyriver23fall-scaled.jpg?resize=2048%2C860&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wzbd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/muddyriver23fall-scaled.jpg?w=1280&amp;ssl=1 1280w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wzbd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/muddyriver23fall-scaled.jpg?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The game remained knotted at 0-0 all the way until the 65th minute, when Braylee Morris put the home team ahead, breaking the deadlock. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Spartans put the game away with a goal by Audrey Johnson in the 75th minute. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wzbd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/P1320258.jpg?resize=640%2C360&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-28247\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wzbd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/P1320258-scaled.jpg?resize=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wzbd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/P1320258-scaled.jpg?resize=300%2C169&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wzbd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/P1320258-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C432&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wzbd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/P1320258-scaled.jpg?resize=1536%2C864&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wzbd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/P1320258-scaled.jpg?resize=2048%2C1152&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wzbd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/P1320258-scaled.jpg?w=1280&amp;ssl=1 1280w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wzbd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/P1320258-scaled.jpg?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Captain Adi Knipstein and the Bellmont Braves will travel overnight to South Bend to take on Adams and Mishawaka Marian this weekend. (Photo by Patrick Gunsett)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><a href=\"www.kjauction.com\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"436\" height=\"173\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wzbd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/krueckeberg-auction.jpg?resize=436%2C173&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-18516\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wzbd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/krueckeberg-auction.jpg?w=436&amp;ssl=1 436w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wzbd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/krueckeberg-auction.jpg?resize=300%2C119&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 436px) 100vw, 436px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Up next for the Braves will be a Friday game in South Bend against Adams. They&#8217;ll then face Mishawaka Marian Saturday in a rematch of last year&#8217;s regional final, won by Marian 4-0. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The team did not win a game in the opening week last year, when they played the Spartans and then two more games in the weekend South Bend trip. The Braves will make that same trip this weekend and a win in either of those contests would fill them with plenty of confidence heading into an extremely important early-season match Tuesday against Bishop Dwenger, a contest which will be heard on 92.7 FM, WZBD. The Saints are ranked #4 in 2A in the opening poll, while the Braves are #9. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Scorelines can often be deceiving in high school soccer, but fans of the Bellmont Braves couldn&#8217;t help but<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":28246,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[13,15,50,26],"class_list":["post-28244","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-bellmont","tag-featured","tag-soccer","tag-sports"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wzbd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/P1320291-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1441&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28244","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=28244"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28244\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28263,"href":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28244\/revisions\/28263"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28246"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28244"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28244"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28244"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}