Photo by Danica Carlson

Saturday night, 8:30 p.m. and the moment had finally arrived. After long minutes filled with blood, sweat and tears, time seemed to stop as the clock finally ticked to 0:00. After a series of precision kicks and passes led to three Miller goals. The scoreboard showed a historic result, a 3-1 victory over Bloomington South and a back-to-back state championship for the NHS girls soccer team.

Throughout their season, the 2023-2024 Miller girls soccer team has managed to stay on top of the competition even with their challenges. With a consistent winning record of 16-1, the girls set high standards for themselves and their supporters, culminating in Saturday’s state championship game at IUPUI. The Millers were shooting for their fourth state title in five years. Before the match, the players felt prepared for anything the Panthers might throw at them.

“I have confidence in us that we have a good chance of winning,” junior center-forward Meredith Tippner said before Saturday’s kick-off. “We watch film, to break down our team’s defense to see how we can apply and work against them.”

Results like these require leadership, and in preparation for this game, the coaches took extra steps needed to set the team up for success.

“In practices we’ve really been focusing,” assistant coach Kristen Hetzel said. “Working hard, then putting in the work with that expectation of practicing how we’re gonna play against Bloomington South.”

But the reality wasn’t that simple. Bloomington South opened the match with a quick goal to take a 1-0 lead. But the Millers didn’t panic. Behind goals from Tippner, junior Atley Pittman, and senior Sydney Elliot the Millers took charge and never looked back. According to their coaches, the veteran players’ ability to find a way to win has been their greatest strength for the past two years. 

“They’ve grown so much and come together as a team,” Hetzel said. “It’s also fun for me to see players that have been on JV in the past here today going to make a contribution.”

“It was so relieving to help put the team up with another goal,” Elliot said. “We play much more confidently when we are up, and it helped a lot to have that sort of breathing room for the last half of the game.”

A fourth state trophy has been the team’s goal since their first practice this summer. However, Elliot and her teammates know that the squad’s mission does not just revolve around the end result. And even though this year was monumental, the players are grateful for the opportunity to be a part of this family.

“We’ve been preparing for this game since the tournament started,” Elliot said. “But just being with the team has resulted in some of the best friendships.”