Noblesville High School boys soccer coach Ken Dollaske understands the talent his team had last season.
After all, the Millers captured the Class 3A state title Oct. 30, 2021, beating Carmel 3-1 in the final. Noblesville finished with a 20-1-1 record, with the only loss coming to an out-of-state team, Cleveland St. Ignatius.
Five of those 2022 NHS graduates will play NCAA Division I soccer.
“To have five of them go on, and three play for the same school, is just super impressive,” Dollaske said.
Goalie Gabe Ingle, defender Brady Horn and forward Spencer Holland are going to play at IUPUI. Forward Palmer Ault will play for Butler University while midfielder Brayden Doll is headed to the University of Evansville.
“It’s extremely special because you don’t have scenarios like this very often,” Ingle said. “It’s great to even have two but we have five and that really showed our dominance.”
Ingle said it was a bit surprising that three of the Millers ended up at IUPUI.
“Spencer, Brady, and I have always fiddled with the idea of playing together but never thought it would end up being all three of us,” he said. “It’s great that I’m able to continue playing with my brothers that I’ve been playing with since we were 8 years old.”
Ingle said most of the seniors have been playing with each other since age 8, which has made chemistry easier.
“Now with our talent, I believe that we were one of the most dominant and talented teams in Indiana high school soccer history,” Ingle said.
Doll, the Class 3A Mental Attitude Award winner, agreed it was special to have five Division I signees on one team.
“But I don’t think it’s surprising it was our group,” he said. “The last few seasons before last fall were disappointing. We came up short from what the main goal was but that made it all the sweeter to cap off our senior year.”
Dollaske said the five going on the play at a high level in college is attributed to the players’ dedication to playing high school soccer instead of opting for the MLS Academy.
“Some think the MLS Academy is the only way to get recruited for college,” he said. “These five kids were dedicated to playing high school soccer with their friends and realizing high school was also a way they could be seen, they could get recruited and they could ultimately go on to play at the next level. They are singing examples that there are multiple ways to get to college soccer.”
Ault, the Indiana Soccer Coaches Association Player of the Year, and Holland signed in the fall. Horn, Ingle and Doll signed in the spring.
“They are such a close-knit group, and they are able to push each other to be better, which is why we have so many seniors going on to play college soccer,” Dollaske said.
Dollaske said IUPUI will play Oct. 8 at Butler.
“I texted the four guys that I’d love to be there at their game, but that’s the date of sectional championships,” he said. “So, hopefully, I get to coach in a sectional championship but watch from afar when Butler gets to play IUPUI. They’re going from teammates to opponents, which I think is pretty cool.”