Indiana Preps | On The Line — IHSAA Girls Soccer Postseason

Carmel did not need much time to settle into the postseason.

The No. 4 Greyhounds opened Class 3A Sectional 9 with a 3-0 win over North Central on Monday night at Westfield, advancing to Wednesday’s semifinal and becoming the first of the state’s top-ranked 3A teams to put a postseason result on the board.

That matters because the final Indiana Soccer Coaches Association poll tightened the top of the state-title board. Hamilton Southeastern finished No. 1. Homestead is No. 2. Westfield is No. 3. Carmel is No. 4. Center Grove, Zionsville and Noblesville follow.

So while the postseason is just getting started, Carmel already has the first meaningful result from that group.

The Greyhounds entered October with enough evidence to be dangerous and enough regular-season unevenness to make the bracket worth watching. Carmel closed September with a 2-0 win over Zionsville, a 1-1 draw with Westfield and a 13-0 win over Warren Central — but also carried recent losses to Center Grove and another ranked opponent.

Monday was cleaner. Three goals. None allowed. Advance.

That is the kind of opening Carmel needed.

The Westfield sectional is not built for long adjustment periods. No. 3 Westfield, No. 6 Zionsville and No. 7 Noblesville are all in the same six-team field, along with Pike and North Central.

Carmel’s next match comes Wednesday at 5:45 p.m. at Westfield. The other semifinal features Noblesville and Pike at 7:30 p.m. The championship follows on Saturday.

That is where the bracket begins to compress. A team ranked fourth in the state just handled its opener 3-0. The team hosting the sectional is ranked third. Zionsville and Noblesville are both inside the final top seven. There is no soft half of this bracket.

Carmel’s opening result does not settle anything. But it answers the first question.

The Greyhounds are through. They did not give North Central much room to make October complicated. For a team trying to survive one of the deepest sectionals in Class 3A, that is exactly how you want to start.