It could’ve been Highlands freshman Ally Lickert’s goal in the 67th minute.
Or it could’ve been her Bluebird sophomore goalkeeper Bailee Class’ eight saves.
Actually, it was both. Lickert’s scoring and Class in goal propelled Highlands to its second straight Ninth Region girls soccer title, a 1-0 win over Notre Dame on Saturday at St. Henry.
Next for the Bluebirds: 12th Region champion Boyle County in the first round of the state tournament at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Danville.
As Highlands (12-9-2) prepares for the Rebels, surely the Bluebirds will blissfully remember Gabby Simons’ pass to Lickert, who beat Notre Dame keeper Joelle Hentz from about eight yards away – her sixth goal of the season.
PHOTOS: Slideshow provided by Charles Bolton
“I just beat my first defender and kept going with my left foot,” Lickert said. “And then I had to beat the goalie, like a left side touch, and then I hit it with my left foot.”
Class recorded her ninth shutout, but Saturday might have been the most stressful. In the 43rdminute, she stopped a shot by Addi Frondorf and the rebound by Sadie Yapp.
“I knew I could get to the first one; I knew I wasn’t going to catch it,” Class said. “So just being there to follow up for that second shot is just really important.”
Highlands coach Kelsey Etherton has seen Class do much the same thing all year.
“Bailee has pretty much played every single game like that this year,” Etherton said. “She has been our rock in our defense in addition to the people we have in our back line. But I’ve said it at the beginning of the year, I think she’s the best goalie in the state, and I will double down after her performance (Saturday) – I truly believe she is the best keeper in the state.”
Saturday was Highlands’ 13th regional tournament win since 2002. (The Bluebirds took the 10th Region in 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2010 and the Ninth in 2003, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022 and last year.)
Notre Dame finished at 13-5-2. Coach Cory Dan said the Pandas “never settled into the match.”
“(Highlands) got their one goal off their one opportunity,” Dan said. “They finished, they did what they had to do to beat us. The whole match, even in the second half, we didn’t connect passes like we usually do in all of our of our matches.”
Etherton said both teams “were playing panicked.”
“And specifically us,” she said. “And I think we let them have a lot of chances, but with Bailee in the goal, I mean, we just, we know she’s going to make those incredible saves.”
Etherton said Highlands’ 4-3-3 setup with its four defenders and three midfielders was designed to widen the pitch and force Notre Dame to defend the wings and create more space for the Bluebirds.
“I feel like in the first half we definitely did that,” Etherton said. “I think we struggled a little bit more in the second half to do it, but we did it enough that it still forced them to spread out wide.”
Highlands’ only miss came when athletic director Wes Caldwell mostly fanned on dumping the ice water bucket on Etherton; he succeeded with the second bucket. (“He got my feet the first time,” Etherton said.)
As the clock wound down Saturday, Etherton remembered the 2023 tournament final – and Notre Dame’s 2-1 win on a goal with 38 seconds left in regulation.
“So when I saw 38 seconds left in the game,” Etherton said, “I couldn’t breathe until that clock hit zero.”
Ninth Region All-Tournament team
Cooper: Jayden Herald
St. Henry: Jayne Knollman
Beechwood: Winter Wyant
Newport Central Catholic: Ava Menning
Dixie Heights: Kate Riedmiller and Hadley Greene
Conner: Maya Owen and Ella Folke
Notre Dame: Joelle Hentz, Sadie Yapp and Ellie Heyob
Highlands: Ariana Harms, Ally Lickert and Katie Bucher
Most Valuable Player: Bailee Class, Highlands