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Noblesville Becomes Second to Three-Peat in 2-0 Victory
Class 3A Boys Soccer State Championship
Final | Noblesville 2, Indianapolis Cathedral 0
INDIANAPOLIS - Noblesville’s road to a three-peat in Class 3A boys soccer was paved with penalty-kick victories.
Triumphs in PKs at the Kokomo regional (twice) and in last week’s semi-state win over Lake Central brought the Millers to the brink of the rare feat.
In the title contest with Indianapolis Cathedral, it was clear early on coach Ken Dollaske’s squad was tired of those razor-thin victories.
Senior Ashton Craig scored an unassisted goal in the ninth minute, while teammate Keller Willis added a score in the 36th minute (on an assist from Max Reason) and Noblesville’s stifling defense made it stand up for a 2-0 triumph.
The Millers thus join the 1994-96 North Central squad as the only three-peat winners in IHSAA history. The win is also Noblesville’s 19th consecutive in tournament play.
“When we won our first, it was expected because we had a stacked team,” Dollaske said. “Last year, we flew under the radar a bit, but that wasn’t going to happen this year. We knew people would be gunning for us, but we’ve been in that situation before, so I think our experience won out.”
A large share of the credit also has to go to the Millers defense and their outstanding goalkeeper, Cole Thompson. Cathedral’s offense had been led this season by junior Calvin Kurzawa and senior Fynn Lahrsen, a duo that combined for 51 goals this season.
Yet, it seemed nearly every time those two touched the ball at least a pair of Noblesville defenders pounced on their opportunities. And, when Cathedral was able to get a shot on goal (seven for the contest), Thompson was there to thwart each one.
“It was one of the best goalkeeping performances I’ve ever seen,” Dollaske said. “Cole is the MVP of our team and I think he’s the player of the year in Indiana.”
“Thompson is good,” Cathedral coach Joel Russell said. “He’s big, he’s athletic and we knew he wouldn’t give us anything.”
Noblesville (18-0-5 and winners of their final 14 games) took the two goal lead into halftime, but Dollaske felt his team needed to keep attacking, as opposed to falling back into a more defensive position.
“Our philosophy is that if you start pulling back, you’re not playing to win,” Dollaske said. “We needed to continue to play our game and keep attacking.”
While that strategy didn’t amount to any more goals, it kept Cathedral on the defensive end long enough to stifle its attack.
“We created good enough chances, but we just didn’t finish,” Russell lamented, referring to the 16-10 advantage his team had in shots. The game marked only the second time this year the Irish were held to less than two goals.
Cathedral (17-5-2) was making its first appearance in the state finals since 2010 when the Irish finished as runner-up.
Noblesville's Thompson selected for Cato Mental Attitude Award
Following the match, Cole Thompson of Noblesville High School was named the recipient of the C. Eugene Cato Mental Attitude Award.
An Academic All-State honoree, Thompson currently holds a 3.94 GPA in the classroom. On the pitch, his play at Goalkeeper has earned him All-District and All-State recognition. Cole was also a member of the 2021 and 2022 State Champion teams at Noblesville. Additionally, he is a member of National Honor Society and spends time serving the community through various school supply and food drives.
The son of Jason and Jennifer Thompson of Noblesville, Ind., Cole is currently undecided on his college plans.
The award is annually presented to a senior, who is nominated by his principal and coach, and has demonstrated excellence in mental attitude, scholarship, leadership and athletic ability during his four years of high school. The award is named in honor of Mr. Cato, who served the IHSAA as its fifth commissioner from 1983 to 1995. During his tenure, boys and girls soccer became the 19th and 20th sports to be sponsored by the IHSAA.
Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance, a proud corporate partner of the IHSAA, presented a $1,000 scholarship to the general scholarship fund at Noblesville High School in the name of Cole Thompson.
