By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – Senior Night is a celebration of the entire class, the farewell home performance. But for one of Bedford North Lawrence’s nine upperclassmen, it was unforgettable. Notre Dame football has Rudy Ruettiger, BNL now has Hunter Roodschild.
Scoring his first varsity goal, celebrating with teammates in storybook fashion, Roodschild’s magic moment was the ESPN-worthy highlight during a 9-0, mercy-rule win over Austin on the turf at BNL Field on Thursday evening. Frank Decker scored twice to kickstart the offense, and the Stars (7-4-1) exploded for eight first-half goals to overwhelm the Eagles (2-12).
After Decker got the offensive assault started with two early goals, BNL made it a mission to get Roodschild on the board. His chance finally came at 19:06, when the Stars were awarded a free kick near the top of the penalty box. His blast was perfect, and the reaction of his team told the real story.
“It means the world, having your team celebrate with you,” said Roodschild, whose only high school score was on the junior varsity last season. “You have to fail every now and then to succeed eventually.
“It’s surreal, it’s amazing. You finally see what you’ve been training for all season, your whole life.”
Decker scored just 17 seconds into the contest, then struck again at 31:29 with a Adriano Sullivan crossing pass,
“Frank is hustling, working really hard, and that’s infectious,” BNL coach Ryan Otis said. “It’s catching on to other guys, and he’s been rewarded with a lot of goals of late. Everyone else works a little harder when you see that effort.”
J.D. Russell made it 3-0 via a J.D. Miskuf set at 27:58, followed by the Roodschild shot. BNL ended the half with goals from Manuel Morales (18:25), Braydon Patterson (14:25), Saeben Arce (10:43) and Weston Holtz (3:17).
BNL triggered the early dismissal with a Lucas Easton goal at 21:00 in the second half.
“It was good for the seniors, good for the kids, a good day to celebrate soccer,” Otis said. “They’re a good group of seniors. Beyond soccer, they’re a good group of kids. We have some talent, but it’s a group of kids that works hard. That’s more important.”
The Stars will host Bloomington North on Thursday.
