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Noblesville shuts down Brebeuf    The Noblesville High School boys soccer team hopes to ride its stingy defense to the program's first semistate championship since 1999.

The way it is playing, the odds appear pretty good.

The Millers' defense continued its scoreless streak in the state tournament, and Noblesville kept its season alive with a 2-0 victory over Brebeuf Jesuit in Saturday's North Central Regional final.

In four tournament games, the Millers have outscored their opponents 14-0. They allowed 10 goals in the regular season, five of which came in a Sept. 2 loss to Zionsville.

"It's the total team buying into it. It starts all the way from the top and goes to the back," said Noblesville coach Nick Swaim, who led the Millers to their first regional title since 2002.

"We've been preaching defense the whole year, and not to be cliché, but defense does win championships. We're starting to prove that."

Noblesville (17-3), ranked 10th, earned a spot in the North Central Semistate next Saturday. The Millers face Roncalli in the semifinals at noon. The championship is scheduled for 8 p.m.

Brebeuf coach Michael Durs was impressed with Noblesville. The Braves, who upset No. 3 Westfield in Wednesday's regional semifinals, finished their season at 12-5-3.

"Yeah, I see Noblesville going all the way (to the state finals)," Durs said. "Our schedule is one of the toughest, and they are the best team we played."

Millers senior Taylor Anthony, who put Noblesville ahead 1-0 with a first-half goal on Saturday, also likes his team's chances to compete for a semistate championship.

"We're excited about our opportunity," Anthony said.

"With these draws, we think we can take it all the way to state."

Anthony's goal against Brebeuf didn't come without some controversy.

Braves goalie Jon Dawson was called for illegal touching after the referee said he touched the ball, dropped it and touched it again with his hands.

That call resulted in a free indirect kick for Noblesville, and Anthony scored on a pass from teammate Tyler Thatcher.

"Without trying to be a poor sport, I would say that was an awful call," Durs said. "That put us behind, and I had to change our tactics immediately to go after them a little bit."

Swaim said it was a "very, very close judgment call."

"Sometimes that's what happens," he added. "I don't necessarily know it was (a penalty), but the call was made and both teams had to deal with it."

Noblesville got an insurance goal from sophomore Joey Henne with 3:38 left in the second half.