Chesterton girls soccer team travels to Crown Point seeking to upset the Bulldogs in regional semifinal Thursday at 6 p.m.

Tom Keegan
Onwardtrojans.com

A win-loss record of 15-4 is nothing to sneeze at, yet it does not do justice to just how successful a season Chesterton girls soccer has had so far.
Another way of looking at that record: 0-4 vs. teams ranked in the top 13 in the state 3A poll and 15-0 against the rest of the schedule, including a 3-2 win over No. 14 Lake Central.
The Trojans, tied with Columbus North for the 20th spot in the 3A coaches poll, were not on the wrong end of an upset once all season, a nod to their consistency.
Now they’re seeking to be on the right side of an upset on the road in the regional semifinal at No. 8 Crown Point on Thursday at 6 p.m. The winner advances to the regional final at Penn on Saturday at 3 p.m. against the winner of the other Thursday semifinal: No. 13 Northridge at No. 17 Penn.
The Penn regional bracket is the only one of the four in 3A that features four ranked teams.
Thursday’s match at Crown Point is a rematch on the same field of a 4-0 Bulldogs victory over Chesterton on Sep. 16.
“We played poorly that night,” eighth-year Chesterton coach Ben Forgey said. “They’re a strong team. They’re the best team in the region, and they’ve earned that. I know that we can play them better than we did that night. They’re not going to take us lightly.”
The extremely deep Bulldogs take a 16-2 record into the night and went undefeated in DAC play. Chesterton finished second with a 6-1 DAC mark. Both schools have won 13 sectionals and five regionals.
In the Sep. 16 match, DAC MVP Addy Sabau (19 goals, 11 assists) scored two goals and sophomores Reilly Beach and Ariana Schutt each scored a goal. All-DAC goalkeeper Sam Quick had one of her seven shutouts that night, facing more action in the second half than the first.
Senior All-DAC selections Adey Avey (25 goals, 17 assists), Calire Vrahoretis (13 goals, 11 assists), Eva Montes (15 goals, three assists) and center back Salina Ford lead the Trojans into the regional final. Freshman Lilly Duracz (seven goals, five assists) brings some firepower to the Trojans as well.
“We’ve got some of the best seniors in the region and if we can play the way we should and play with confidence and a little bit of freedom, those seniors can make the difference,” Forgey said.
It didn’t happen in the teams’ first meeting, but the score resets to 0-0.
“This is a different game,” Forgey said. “We’ll be ready for it.”
Avey has had five hat tricks this season, most notably in the 3-2 win over Lake Central. All three of her goals came in the second half in that one.
The Trojans’ sectional title was their first since 2020. The first 11 came in 1994, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2015, 2017. The five regional titles: 2000, 2001, 2002, 2008, 2010.