Lake Central junior goalkeeper Connor Billmeyer is making quite an impression this season.
Sophomore forward Ethan Brewer didn’t mince words as he lauded his teammate Thursday night.
“He’s the best keeper in the state,” Brewer said. “He is, by far, the best keeper I know. It’s always really nice to have him in goal.”
Billmeyer demonstrated his prowess during a Class 3A regional semifinal against Chesterton. After the Duneland Athletic Conference rivals played to a 1-1 tie through regulation and overtime, Billmeyer made three saves in penalty kicks as the visiting Indians prevailed 4-3.
Following the win, Lake Central (11-6) will play Goshen (16-3), which is ranked No. 4 in the Class 3A state coaches poll, in the regional final at Penn at 3 p.m. Saturday. Billmeyer was eager to share the credit.
“I trusted my team,” Billmeyer said. “I knew that if they gave me time, if they made their shots, I knew I was going to be able to get back. I knew I was going to have their back. It’s all thanks to my team. I wouldn’t have been in the position to make those saves if my team wouldn’t have fought back.
“You can sit here and say I made some saves, but I would have never been in that position if I didn’t have any single one of those boys, whether it was the boys on the bench, whether it was the coaches, whether it was the people on the field, whether it was the fans. Without any of them, I wouldn’t be where I am, and I wouldn’t have done what I did.”
Billmeyer, who also made five saves through regulation and OT, was asked if he thinks he’s the best goalkeeper in the state.
“Not a doubt,” he said. “But, look, there’s still a lot of work I need to do. There’s still a lot of performances I need to show, and everything right now is in the past. We’re in performance, and we’re in preparation for Saturday.”
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Lake Central, which lost to Chesterton 3-2 during the regular season as the teams wound up sharing the DAC title, continued to rally Thursday.
The No. 8 Trojans (16-3) took a 1-0 lead with less than six minutes left in the first half when sophomore midfielder/forward Mikey Roberts scored after a cross from senior midfielder Oliver Nelson.
The Indians tied the score with 19-plus minutes left in the second half. Brewer finished on a long pass out of the back from central defender Ayoub Hamed, the lone senior on the roster.
Brewer also got the Indians on the board in PKs after they didn’t convert any of their first three attempts, coolly rolling his shot into the back of the net. With PKs tied 2-2, Billmeyer made a save on the Trojans’ fifth shooter to extend the proceedings.
Longtime Lake Central coach Jereme Rainwater couldn’t recall the team having been in that position over the years.
“If anyone can do it, Connor Billmeyer can do it,” Rainwater said. “He’s really done a lot for us, getting to that moment.
“The lights are bright, the fans from Chesterton, they’re at their own place, the environment’s electric. There were a lot of nerves. Connor after the first two saves settled everyone, and Brewer scored a big goal in the game, but he also showed us the way in the penalties.”
Billmeyer, who is in his second season as Lake Central’s No. 1 goalkeeper, believes he has been peaking at the right time.
“There have been a lot of ups and downs,” he said. “The start of the season was definitely down, and it’s just kept going up and down. But I feel like in training, I’m starting to find my rhythm, and I think it’s definitely showing on the field in clutch moments.”
The Indians, whose star junior midfielder Ethan Tarry suffered a torn ACL on Sept. 4, sent five sophomores, a freshman and a junior to take their PKs. It’s indicative of their composition.
“It’s just a tremendous effort by these guys,” Rainwater said. “Any time you feel like these guys have capped out — you’re like, ‘OK, you can only have so many underclassmen do this’ — they go one step farther. They seemingly learn on the run. I just couldn’t be prouder of all these guys.”