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In their first state soccer appearance, the Center Grove Trojans took control of the game early and never looked back

Keeping pace with the first three games of the night, the Trojans scored within the first few minutes of the game to jump out to a quick lead on an unassisted goal by senior Hayden Gorall. A few minutes later, defenseman Nathan Silva joined in on the scoring action by netting penalty kick, and coach Jameson McLaughlin’s squad took a 2-0 lead into halftime.

Kyle Parry helped Center Grove keep up the offensive pressure in the second half. Parry assisted both Trojan goals in the second half, the first by senior forward Conrad Bomber. Parry’s second assist came in the 63rd minute of the game when he feed the ball to classmate Roman Johnson for the final score of the match.

McLaughlin’s Trojans wrapped up their championship season with a record of 20-2-1, while the Harrison (West Lafayette) Raiders, who are coached by Bryan Clouse, ended their season with a 19-3-1 mark.

Harrison’s Roop recognized with Mental Attitude Award
Matthew Roop of Harrison (West Lafayette) was named the winner of the 2015 Eugene C. Cato Mental Attitude Award, sponsored by Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance, for Boys Class 2A Soccer by members of the IHSAA Executive Committee.

The Raiders’ captain is a two time All-Conference and All-District defender and helped lead his school to its first state finals appearance in boys soccer. Matthew is the Sergeant of Arms for the school’s National Honor Society, serves on the Athletic Leadership Council, volunteers for Habitat for Humanity, Lafayette Area Food Pantry, and also serves as a swim meet timer for Boilermaker Aquatics. In addition to his success on the soccer team, he is also the captain of both the basketball and baseball teams.

The son of Fred and Kristen Roop of West Lafayette, Matthew hopes to continue his soccer career and study Sports Management in college.

The IHSAA Executive Committee, on behalf of Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance, will award a scholarship for $1,000 to Harrison (West Lafayette) High School in the name of Matthew Roop.  Since 1989, more than $840,000 in college scholarships has been presented to deserving high school students in Indiana.