For Noblesville High School coach Mike Brady, winning the team’s first state girls soccer title by beating Carmel was fitting.
“Carmel is the gold standard for Indiana high school soccer, so I was pleased with the matchup. If you want to win a state championship, what better way to do it than play the undefeated defending state champion, who happens to be our biggest rival?” he said. “I knew we’d show up to play, and we did.”
The Millers edged Carmel 1-0 in the Class 3A state championship game Nov. 2 at Fishers High School to capture the first state title in its girls soccer history. Noblesville, which finished 17-0-3, had tied host Carmel 1-1 Sept. 23.
“It was a mix of both wanting to cry and smile all at the same time,” Millers senior co-captain Carly Hudnall said of the title. “We worked so hard for this, and to see it all pay off just warmed my heart. We had the whole community behind us, and seeing all of them smile and cheer for us was so special, and that’s what made it so special. We were playing for something much bigger than just a state title.
“We were playing for our community, our friends and family. It’s a pretty awesome feeling, one I’ll never forget.”
The team’s mantra has been, “We Are Together.”
“But this year I feel like we were genuinely 100 percent together,” senior co-captain Sydney Anderson said. “We all made it a goal before the year even started to win state, not only because that’s such a cool accomplishment, but also because that meant we’d have more time with each other. We all just loved being together. We truly are all best friends.”
Junior Jenna Chatterton, who led the Millers with 13 goals and 14 assists, delivered an assist to sophomore Kiana Siefert on the winning goal early in the second half.
“Jenna Chatterton has a unique skill set, which strikes fear in every defender she faces and makes her part of every coach’s game plan,” Brady said. “But she’d be the first to admit, that she doesn’t accomplish anything alone. Yes, she did great to get in a position to cross the ball, but it took one of her teammates to be on the other end of the pass to score the goal, and it took the entire team to put both of them in that position to score.”
Noblesville junior goalkeeper Sarah Kile had seven saves.
“The defense has been good all season, and that’s everyone on the field, because we don’t just defend when the opponent is close to our goal. We defend as a team all over the field,” Brady said. “Specifically, those five players who played in the back, and our goalkeeper, could not have played any better in the state championship game, but I’ve watched them grow all season, and on the biggest stage, they played just like I knew they would.”
