PARK HILLS, Ky. – While the orange and blue representing FC Cincinnati were in New Jersey working toward their first playoff win in Major League Soccer, an orange team and a blue team were battling it out for local postseason glory of their own.
The orange and black of the Ryle Raiders soccer team got the best of Covington Catholic's blue and white on Decision Day in the Kentucky High School Athletic Association Ninth Region boys soccer tournament.
Ryle defeated Covington Catholic 2-0 in the Ninth Region final Saturday afternoon at CovCath. Ryle, 17-4-2 overall, will host Montgomery County (15-9) Tuesday night in the state round of 16. Montgomery County eliminated Bishop Brossart Saturday, winning 5-0 in the 10th Region final.
CovCath, last year’s state runner-up, finished 12-11-1.
“It feels amazing,” Ryle senior Cole Marsh said. “You can only dream of doing this, especially your senior year. It means everything.”
Several members of Lance Paul’s family joined in the celebration, wearing his name and jersey number on a black T-shirt. Paul, a 2021 graduate and leader of Ryle’s last regional champion team in 2020, passed away in September 2021.
Paul, the leading scorer on the 2020 team and an emotional leader, was a freshman player on the Transylvania University men’s soccer team in Lexington. Ryle has continued to honor his memory with a scholarship fund and dedicated its game with Cooper Sept. 20, which was near the first anniversary of his death, in Paul’s honor.
