The 9th Region girls soccer tournament semifinals took place Wednesday night at Tower Park in Fort Thomas, with Ryle and Highlands punching their tickets to Saturday’s championship game.
Ryle rolled past St. Henry, 6-1, in the first matchup, while Highlands outlasted Notre Dame in a penalty shootout after the teams played to a scoreless draw through regulation and overtime. The Bluebirds won the shootout, 4-2.
Ryle and Highlands will meet Saturday with a spot in the state tournament on the line.
Here’s how the semifinals unfolded:
Highlands 0, Notre Dame 0 (Highlands wins 4-2 in penalty kicks)
PHOTOS: Slideshow provided by Charles Bolton
Class is in session.
Highlands goalkeeper Bailee Class once again proved her postseason mettle Wednesday night, making a crucial save in penalty kicks to lead the Bluebirds past Notre Dame, 4-2, after a scoreless 90 minutes of regulation and overtime in the 9th Region semifinals at Tower Park.
Class stopped Julia Stegman’s attempt in the shootout, and Notre Dame’s Gabby Meiners sent another kick wide left. Highlands converted all four of its attempts, with Gabby Neufarth drilling the decisive shot into the left side of the goal to send the Bluebirds to Saturday’s championship game.
Hailey Fritz, Maddy Lickert and Ally Lickert converted Highlands’ first three kicks before Neufarth sealed the win.
“It’s all about making sure that whoever’s up there on the line at the time is comfortable and confident,” Bluebirds coach Kelsey Etherton said. “That’s what I always preach because if you’re not comfortable and confident, then it’s hard to be successful.”
Class, a junior, is now 2-1 in elimination games decided by penalty kicks over the past three years. After losing to Lexington Catholic as a freshman, Class said she changed her mindset toward shootouts.
“They’ve grown on me. I’ve hated them like my first few years, especially freshman year when we lost versus Lex Cath,” Class said. “After that, I was like, I’m never losing in PKs again. That feeling’s terrible.”
Class also helped Highlands defeat Central Hardin in last season’s state tournament semifinals. Now, the Bluebirds are one win away from their third consecutive state tournament appearance.
Wednesday’s matchup brought together programs that have combined to win the last 14 Ninth Region championships. Both defenses lived up to their reputations, limiting the teams to just five shots on goal combined.
Notre Dame controlled possession in the first half before Highlands gained more of the ball after halftime. The Pandas threatened late, but Class made a diving stop on a breakaway, a shot in the 73rd minute went wide, and another chance fizzled near the goal in the 77th.
Highlands nearly found a winner in the 79th minute when a header off a corner kick bounced inches over the crossbar.
“My center backs and my wingers, definitely my whole defense altogether, even my midfield, all worked as one team tonight,” Class said. “We all shifted well and just communicated.”
The defensive battle was exactly what Highlands expected against Notre Dame.
“That’s something that we come to expect when we play against a team like Notre Dame,” Etherton said. “We have to limit their chances at the net, and they’re going to absolutely limit ours. It’s all about finding the opportunities and capitalizing when you get them, because they do come few and far in between.”
The loss ends Notre Dame’s season against Highlands for the third consecutive year. The Bluebirds have won seven of the last eight postseason meetings between the programs, following a stretch in which the Pandas captured six straight region titles from 2012-17.
Highlands will face Ryle in Saturday’s championship. The Lady Raiders defeated St. Henry, 6-1, in Wednesday’s other semifinal.
Ryle 6, St. Henry 1
PHOTOS: Slideshow provided by Charles Bolton
For the first time since 2006, Ryle is headed to the 9th Region championship.
The Lady Raiders overwhelmed St. Henry, 6-1, in Wednesday’s semifinal, scoring six goals from six different players and adding five assists in a balanced offensive performance.
“We’re a really good possession team,” Ryle coach John Pohlman said. “When we got into the final third, I felt like we were able to break that line really well. If you back off us, we’re capable of shooting well, too. I thought we played really well as a team.”
Lexi Andros opened the scoring with a shot from just outside the box in the seventh minute, and Kourtney Rahschulte doubled the lead six minutes later.
Liza Andros delivered the highlight of the night, burying a free kick from about 40 yards out into the top of the goal to make it 3-0 with just over 11 minutes remaining in the first half.
Hailey Chalfant added a goal in the 50th minute before leading scorer Ella Hoenderkamp and Kiera Mathis scored a minute apart in the 62nd and 63rd minutes to put the game away. St. Henry’s Kate Mueller scored with 12 minutes remaining, but the outcome was already decided.
Liza Andros and Claire Jansen each recorded two assists, while Abby Lee added another.
“We connected passes really well, which got us a lot of our success,” Jansen said.
Ryle is now one win away from its first state tournament appearance in 20 years, a milestone Pohlman said reflects several seasons of building belief within the program.
“It’s been a three- or four-year process of getting them to believe. When I first arrived, there were teams within our region they didn’t think they could compete with, so I scheduled tough over the last three years to show them what it took to play at this level,” Pohlman said. “The girls have bought in. They believe. It’s been about shifting that culture from being an OK team to believing we can compete with anybody in the state.”
Standing in Ryle’s way is Highlands, which has won seven of the last eight 9th Region championships. The Lady Raiders defeated the Bluebirds, 1-0, in their regular-season meeting on Aug. 22.
The teams will meet Saturday for the region title and a spot in the state tournament, first touch is 4:30 p.m. back at Tower Park.
BLUEBIRDS 0, PANDAS 0 (Highlands advances 4-2 in penalty kicks)
NOTRE DAME — 0-0 — 0
HIGHLANDS — 0-0 — 0
Game Stats
Shots (On Goal): Highlands 6 (2), Notre Dame 6 (3)
Saves: Highlands 3 (Class), Notre Dame 2 (Fesmire)
Corner Kicks: Highlands 3, Notre Dame 2
Fouls: Highlands 9, Notre Dame 5
Offsides: Highlands 2, Notre Dame 2
Records: Highlands 12-6-1, Notre Dame 10-6-1
LADY RAIDERS 6, CRUSADERS 1
ST. HENRY — 0-1 — 1
RYLE — 3-3 — 6
Game Stats
Goals: (R) Lexi Andros (7′), Rahschulte (13′), Liza Andros (29′), Chalfant (50′), Hoenderkamp (62′), Mathis (63′)
Assists: (R) Liza Andros 2, Jansen 2, Lee
Shots (On Goal): St. Henry 10 (5), Ryle 16 (9)
Saves: St. Henry 3 (Ryan), Ryle 4 (Smith)
Corner Kicks: St. Henry 3, Ryle 3
Fouls: St. Henry 3, Ryle 2
Offsides: St. Henry 0, Ryle 0
Records: St. Henry 11-7-2, Ryle 12-6-3
