For the last 11 seasons, the do-or-die match in the girls 35th District soccer semifinals has pitted Beechwood and Holy Cross.
The two well aware of the scenario and the familiarity with each other makes for an intense win or go home scenario.
Monday night was no different at Notre Dame, Beechwood getting an early goal and using that momentum for a 3-1 victory, ending the Indians season for the third straight year.
Rose Smith put the Tigers on the board in the first 10 minutes of the game, helping ease the anxiousness of the contest. Smith collected a pass in the box from Rylie Kidman and finished for the lone goal of the first half.
“First five, last five,” Tigers assistant coach Matt Hazzard said. “We really wanted to come out and set the tone and put them back on their heels a little bit and just control the pace of the game and control the ball as much as we could. So that was huge (first goal).”
Beechwood knew the task at hand to contain Holy Cross and that started with keeping the Indians all-time leading goal scorer Ivy Hoffman at bay. The Tigers were physical with Hoffman, drawing an early yellow card from a foul and were whistled for 10 fouls in the contest compared to the Indians five.
“Ivy is a threat when she gets the ball to her feet out of the air. The main assignment was just to win balls out of the air and don’t let her get it at her feet and just make it difficult for her,” Tigers defender Harper Birkemeier said. “We wanted to get in her head a little bit and just shut her down.”
The Indians still had their chances to find a first half equalizer, but Tigers keeper Brooke Fowee made three first half saves to keep them off the board.
Smith got her second goal of the game with 32:54 to play on a penalty kick after Holy Cross was whistled for a handball in the box.
Then the Tigers were dealt with some more adversity.
Already without their head coach Guima Camil due to an ejection in their previous game and having to sit the next three games, Smith went down with an injury and was unable to return. The Tigers continued to battle through it all, Ruby Fries putting the third goal in net on a cross from Katie Kocan.
“We’re going to use that going into Thursday. Rose is one of our strongest players on the team so it’s a huge loss. We just need to take that and run with it and win it for her,” Birkemeier said.
The Indians desperate attempts to get back in it finally found them with a goal in the 69th minute when Jenna Saalfeld booted a ball from about 30 yards out and past Fowee, who had come out to try and make a save. Saalfeld collected the deflection and got one past Fowee. Fowee finished with four saves, Indians keeper Suzette Klaiss with eight saves.
Holy Cross was unable to add another to put even more pressure on, their season ending at 8-8-3. Their season got off to a promising start at 6-3, but sputtered down the stretch, losing five of their last 10 with three ties mixed in. They’ll graduate six seniors.
“Beechwood always gives us a heck of a game and did the same thing tonight,” Indians coach Brittany Black said. “Lack of possession, lack of communication…then we started to figure it out, but it was too late. Couple of unfortunate calls that took the wind out of our sails.”
Hoffman finishes her high school career with 62 goals.
“Hoping she continues to do big things at TMU (Thomas More) and make us proud,” Black said. “Five of our seniors have been in the program the last six years and have been around a really long time. Longer than our current coaching staff. There’s going to be a big hole and big shoes to fill whether on the field or in the classroom.”
Beechwood heads to Thursday’s final at 6 p.m., awaiting the Notre Dame-Covington Latin winner. The Pandas have won the district title every year since the district was formed in 2012.
“I think if we played the way we did today, we can pull it out,” Birkemeier said.
Covington Latin 2, Holmes 0
Participating in the district tournament for the first time since 2017, Covington Latin won their first district tournament game since 2015 with the victory over Holmes.
After the game was a stalemate for the first 68 minutes, Elisabeth Russell broke the ice in the 69th minute. The Trojans added another in the closing seconds when Monica Juelg found the back of the net with nine seconds to play.
Kaylee Johnsonbaugh earned the clean sheet with 11 saves. The victory gets them to Tuesday’s semifinals to take on host Notre Dame at 6 p.m. The winner gets Beechwood on Thursday in the championship at 6 p.m.
Holmes season comes to a close with a record of 5-12. The five wins are the most for the program since 2003. They’ll graduate five seniors from this year’s team.