Lady Eagles impress at Invite

Sep. 4—ZIONSVILLE — The Zionsville girls soccer team knew they were going to have to play well in order to find success at their invite this weekend.

And the team delivered.

The Eagles topped a good DuPoint Manuel team from Kentucky on Friday night, then blew past Maxprep's ninth-ranked nationally Assumption (Kentucky) 4-1 to win their pool at the Invite.

"We knew coming into today that they were going to be really good and really physical," Zionsville head coach Ramon Aguillon said. "I couldn't be more proud of the way our girls reacted. We played an excellent first half, and we knew they were going to come back in the second half — which they did. We held on, then built up the lead. A 4-1 scoreline against a team like that is impressive."

Aguillon said Saturday's game, with the quality of opponent, the physicality and the intensity, was exactly what his team needed at this part of the season.

With a difficult end to the regular season, and if are very tough, competitive sectional, Aguillon said his team has to be able to respond to that adversity.

And they showed they are capable of it.

"That is huge," Aguillon said. "As we move ahead, with some of the really tough games we have in the HCC, that is the level and type of play we will face. The girls stayed composed, they kept battling and they grew today. It's exciting to see, it's exciting to see what the second half of the season will bring and the challenges ahead."

The Eagles broke a scoreless deadlock 15 minutes into the game, when Meg Jacklin got free on the right and hit a strong far-post shot into the goal.

Less than three minutes later, the Eagles struck again.

Amelia Brocious took a free kick from 35 yards out, that the goalie saved and tipped off the crossbar. Katie Chadwick had crashed the goal on the shot, and was in perfect position to head the ball into the goal to make it 2-0.

"We talk about following shots and crashing the box," Aguillon said. "We did it really well there. Katie did exactly what we want to do, crash the box and then get in a position for a rebound. That was a big goal for us."

Assumption got its goal eight minutes into the second half, blasting a long-range shot that caromed off the far post and in.

The two teams battled to a stalemate for much of the next 20 minutes. Assumption had the best chance with 15 minutes to, but after Zionsville keeper got a strong hand on a shot to slow it down, Elsie Stump cleared the ball off the line to keep the Eagles ahead.

Five minutes later, the Eagles iced the game.

First, Reese Nehlsen got free in the middle of the field, and buried a shot from 30 yards out over the keeper's head to put the Eagles up 3-1 with 10:30 to go.

Three minutes later, the Eagles were awarded a penalty kick, which Emma Hamelmann made to make it 4-1.

"With a lead, it's not always sitting back and defending," Aguillon said. "Sometimes the best defense is good offense, and we did that tonight. We could have sat back, but they were bringing a lot of pressure down 2-1. I am proud of the girls for continuing to push and get that third goal Then the fourth was just the icing on the cake."

Zionsville is back in action at home on Wednesday against Franklin Central, then host Cathedral Saturday afternoon.

"This week was huge," Aguillon said. "We wanted to get some good result this week. We have been a little unlucky this year in terms of getting wins, but we are still undefeated and to beat three quality opponents this week is huge. We know we have a game against Franklin Central, and then it doesn't get any easier after that with Cathedral, HSE, Noblesville and Carmel coming up. I am excited to see how the girls react to that."

Will Willems is the Sports Editor of the Lebanon Reporter. Follow him on Twitter @Will_Willems.