Penalty Kicks Vault EC into Sectional Title Match; Four More Local Teams Advance

Sectional championship matches will be played this Saturday afternoon.

Photo via East Central HS Athletics.

(Southeast Indiana) - It is survive and advance season. 

On Wednesday night, the East Central girls soccer team did just that. They survived and advanced in the Class 3A State Tournament in dramatic fashion. 

The Trojans, ranked 17th in Class 3A, took on #18 Columbus North in a Sectional 13 Semifinal at Whiteland. Columbus North struck first and took a 1-0 lead into halftime. East Central got the equalizer in the second half, and after two scoreless overtime periods, the match was decided on penalty kicks. 

East Central won PKs 6-5, advancing to the sectional championship match. The Trojans (13-3-1) will face their third-straight ranked opponent when they take on #5 Center Grove (13-2-2) on Saturday at 2:00 PM. Center Grove defeated Whiteland (11-5-1) by a score of 8-0 on Wednesday night. 

In Class 2A, South Dearborn and Batesville advanced at Sectional 29 in Madison. The Knights won the opening contest against Franklin County by a score of 5-1. Batesville held off Madison for a 1-0 win. Senior Addie Reding scored the match winning goal for the Bulldogs. 

Batesville (14-1-1, #7 in 2A) will play South Dearborn (8-7-1) in the sectional title match on Saturday at 2:00 PM. The Bulldogs won the regular season meeting 5-0. 

At Class A Sectional 44 at Rising Sun, two Top 10 ranked teams punched their tickets to the sectional championship. 

#6 Switzerland County (13-4-1) defeated Milan 5-1, and #1 Oldenburg Academy (11-4-1) blanked Union County 10-0. 

For the Pacers, they scored all five of their goals in the first half. Emma South and Taylor Kappes both scored twice, and Madison Spillman added one goal. Kappes added two assists, and Adalyn Archer had one. 

The sectional championship match is scheduled for 2:00 PM Saturday. 

Oldenburg Academy won the regular season matchup 3-2.