WHITELAND — Three of Bloomington South’s four goals came from its bench in a regional semifinal.
«These younger guys, coming off the bench, they know what they need to do and they’re hungry for those minutes,» Kabrick said.
The two clinching goals, scored by Sohrab Fazel seven minutes apart midway through the second half, eased the tension considerably after 53 minutes of play with a precarious 1-0 lead. The sophomore gets about 30 minutes a game, Krabick said, and he always makes the most of it.
«I just play hard when I get in there,» Fazel said. «I don’t get a lot of minutes, so I just give it my all when I’m in there.»
When he’s not in there, he’s preparing for his chance, keeping an eye on senior attacker and leading scorer Konrad Polit.
«I’m just watching the game,» Fazel said. «We have Konrad, he’s a really good player. I like to see how he approaches their defense. And then based off that, I can make my game plan in how I want to attack them.»
The goals were his sixth and seventh of the season.
«Hats off to Sohrab,» Kabrick said. «Sohrab might be one of the most efficient scorers on our team.
«He’s a quiet player. He’s not very loud. He doesn’t get emotional. But he does what a striker needs to do. Him being a sophomore, he’s learning and gaining confidence. You see it throughout the year.»
Fazel’s first goal, with 23:04 left, came after a Polit pass to Michael Mmadi was intercepted, but the Whiteland defender chipped it into the box where Fazel was waiting. He went back a couple steps with his back to the goal to free some space, spun left and beat the keeper to make it 2-0.
His second came after yet another South takeaway about 30 yards out, this one by Ruben Morales, who turned and fed Fazel right of goal. Fazel split two defenders and nudged a left-footer past the keeper to make it 3-0 with just 16:56 to go.
«Ruben played an amazing pass,» Fazel said. «I just had to turn, beat one player, and it was wide open from there. Huge moment.»
It moves South (16-1-3) into the regional final at Seymour on Saturday at 2 p.m. against Evansville North (17-3), a 3-1 winner over Jeffersonville in the other semi.
South’s possession wins the day again
South came ready to play again, with Evan Gales cracking the ice with 36:20 still on the clock in the first half. Polit crossed the top of the box and took a right-footed shot that rebounded off the mitts of the diving keeper. Gales was on the spot to put it away.
That slim lead stood up with few issues, save for a free kick not far outside the top of the box early in the second. It turned out to be the Warriors’ only shot, and it sailed well over the South wall and the net.
«After we got the first one, it was hard to get that second one,» Kabrick said. «But we stayed patient and kept the ball. It felt like we were knocking on the door, knocking on the door.
«Halftime comes around and we’re saying, ‘We need another one, we need another one.’ They get something silly, and all of a sudden, it’s a 1-1 game. That free kick there, is this the moment? But nothing came of it.»
South dominated possession and was crisp, finding feet, winning balls in the air, and knocking the Warriors off the ball for quick turnovers.
«We watched some film and we knew we were going to be able to possess the ball,» Kabrick said. «But to come out and do it is another story. It showed from top to bottom and even with the guys coming in at the end.»
South defender Sebastian Schaefer became the 20th Panther to score this year, putting the icing in the cake with 7:52 to go, getting a cross from Polit.
«From the midfield, our back line, the passes were just excellent,» Fazel said. «We were able to move the ball down the field, and that created a lot of goal-scoring opportunities, and we were able to put them away.»
