Three Northern Kentucky teams punched their tickets to the KHSAA semi-state soccer tournament Saturday and will play in the state round of 16 next week.
Campbell County (19-4-2) will play at Notre Dame (24-0-1) in the girls soccer round of 16 after both teams won their regional championships Saturday. Their meeting will be Monday or Tuesday, date and site had not been determined as of Sunday afternoon.
Covington Catholic (12-8-5) will play at Montgomery County (15-7-2) Monday night in the round of 16 after the Colonels won their first Ninth Region championship since 2016.
Here’s a look at how all three teams won their championships.
Covington Catholic 2, Dixie Heights 0
Colton Pieper had not played soccer for four years, instead focusing on playing basketball at Covington Catholic.
The senior dunked on CovCath’s red Colonel rivals from Dixie Heights with two headers for goals in the second half. The goals have him nine to tie senior Coleman Middendorf for team leadership.
Middendorf delivered a perfect lob pass to Pieper in the goal box for the second goal of the game. Both scores led to mass jubilation between the Colonels and their student section.
More:Kentucky high school football: Defense, blocked field goal give CovCath an 8-7 win over Highlands
“The first one, I was in a good place and the second one was a great pass form Cole,” Pieper said. “It feels great to get those goals.”
Pieper made the tough choice to switch sports for his senior year and hasn’t regretted it for a second.
“I played basketball for three years and I decided to just play soccer for my senior year,” he said. “I didn’t even know if I would make the team or not. It ended up being great for me. I ended up being a better soccer player than a basketball player and I’m happy I did this. It’s the best decision I’ve ever made.”
CovCath won its first regional championship since 2016 and won its fifth game in a row overall. CovCath has won nine of 11 after starting 2-6 with five draws, making this title extra sweet for head coach Jeremy Robertson.
“We had a hard schedule but we played some great teams,” he said. “Yeah, we might have lost a game but you would see glimpses of 20, 30 minutes of us playing some really good soccer with powerhouse competition. The whole goal was to hopefully help us in the long run.”
Senior goalkeeper Carter Eilers was named most valuable player as the Colonels posted their fourth shutout in five games in the postseason.
Campbell County 2, Bishop Brossart 0
In the 10th Region girls final on their home field, the Camels shut out their archrivals for the third time in as many meetings this season.
The shutout was in doubt from the get-go when the Mustangs earned a penalty kick in the fifth minute of play.
Campbell County junior keeper Morgan Rawe saved the PK, then made another save from point-blank range after the ball deflected back into the goal box.
“I read the girl and I was able to save it,” Rawe said. “It was a rush of emotion. I was so excited. It was a game-changer. If I didn’t save that, this game might have ended up a lot different.”
“It was huge,” said Campbell County head coach Dave Morris. “When they called a PK, I couldn’t believe we were going to be down 1-0 that early. Fighting from behind is very difficult in a game like this, a rivalry game and a regional. It’s very difficult. You use all your energy to catch up.”
She posted the clean sheet as the Camels posted their sixth shutout in the last seven games.
"I really didn’t think it was going to happen, honestly," Rawe said. "I came into this game thinking it was going to be the hardest game of the season, and it honestly was."
Campbell got the goal it needed when junior Jeanelle Frimpong-Mansoh headed in a crossing pass in the 19th minute of play. It was just her third goal of the year, but two of them against the Mustangs in the postseason.
Senior Jenna Gies gave Campbell an insurance goal with a long-range strike with six minutes left in the game. Morris said most of her goals have come from that distance.
“(Mansoh) has been getting close on the headers and she’s been working on them all the time,” Morris said. “She finally got one in when it counts. Jenna is our senior captain. She took a little bit off of it and lifted it over. Normally she hits line drives.”
Morris picked up his 200th career win early in the season and now has 213.
Notre Dame 4, Highlands 0
The Pandas beat Highlands for the third time this year, and have won the Ninth Region title for the first time since 2017. NDA had lost to Highlands in the Ninth Region final in 2018 and 2019.
“It’s amazing,” said senior Macie Feldman. “The last three years we’ve ended our season with disappointment in this tournament, so it’s amazing to finally get what we deserve. Now we want to take home state.”
More:Notre Dame Academy soccer team looking to build on historic regular season
The Pandas led 1-0 at halftime on the strength of the first of two goals by senior Marina Ruthsatz, who ended the night with 16. She corralled a rebound in the goal box and scored in the open net.
Ruthsatz and Kennedy Clark scored on well-placed shots in the second half, and Macie Feldman scored in the final minute. Clark ended the night with 11 goals and Feldman 17.
NDA improved to 24-0-1 and has only allowed three goals all year. The coaching staff named senior Natalie Bain the tournament MVP, one day after Ninth Region coaches named her the defensive player of the year in the region.
Feldman, Carlyn Tranter and Megan McGraw were also all-tourney picks.
The Pandas will look to keep their defense in top form with four potential games through the state final.
“Keeping composed, not trying to freak out, just playing our game,” Feldman said. “Sometimes we get a little frantic. Just keep improving our game. We have to stay focused and work on the things we need to do to be successful.”
Source link
