Fans from both teams left Campbell County Stadium after witnessing an exciting ending in the rivalry girls soccer game.
But it might not be the final one this season. They could twice meet again in the post-season like last season.
But in terms of the 37th District tournament seedings, the Campbell County Camels (6-3-2 overall) put themselves in the driver’s seat for the top seed with a thrilling 2-1 victory over the visiting Bishop Brossart Mustangs (5-4-5).
“Our defense has been (limiting hard shots) all year,” said Dave Morris, Campbell County head coach. “We’ve tied a lot of people not scoring a lot. Our goals per game average is down from last year. They bend a lot. But they step and win the ball.”
Both senior goalkeepers had nice games. Lauren Gooderson had eight for the Mustangs and Morgan Rawe made seven for the Camels.
“This is always a big game. It’s big for the girls,” said Andy Smith, Bishop Brossart head coach. “A lot of them grew up together and played together, which makes it real important to them. I thought the game was hard-fought on both sides. I felt we had some opportunities we should have finished on. I thought we had decent possession in the second half. I think in the first half, there were some things that didn’t go our way.”
Senior midfielder Jill Planeaux and junior forward/midfielder Emma Sandfoss lead Brossart with seven goals each. Planeaux also has a team-high eight assists.
But Campbell County contained them.
“It’s especially difficult keeping up with them (defensively) because they have those fast girls,” said Julia Busam, Campbell County senior defender. “I think we controlled it for most of the game. But we get in slumps. But the four defenders have been playing together for so long that we’re just used to each other and we’re strong back there.”
Both teams had a number of chances in the first half though neither team dented the scoreboard until the Camels took advantage of a free kick drawing a Mustangs foul with 4:20 left in the first half.
Sophomore forward Jozie Holmes passed it to the right to senior forward Ruby Dunlevy for the score. That marked the seventh goal of the season and fourth assist for Holmes.
“I believe Ruby and I have done that four times,” Holmes said. “It’s a little roll and she kicks it right in. It was definitely a difficult, long game. It always is against Brossart.”
The teams had a number of chances in the second half. Holmes had a good shot with 10:05 left in the game. But Gooderson jumped up, stopped it and snatched it in the air for the save.
The Mustangs tied the game 1-1 with 2:50 left in the game. Bishop Brossart junior midfielder Abby Lloyd made a nice centering pass from the left side to sophomore midfielder Zoey Woosley for the score. Woosley has three goals and Lloyd one assist this year.
“It felt pretty good as a team to get that momentum back up and getting that pressure off,” Lloyd said. “We’re excited to face them again and challenge them.”
But instead of settling for overtime, Campbell County made the most of the final 170 seconds left in regulation. With 1:25 left, senior midfielder Ambria Poynter found Dunlevy up the left side and Dunlevy dribbled past the Mustang defense and put one in for her eighth goal this year.
“It was a tremendous, unbelievable night,” Morris said. “Ruby took it on herself there, beat the player at midfield, took it up and sank it. That’s what she’s done historically. There was no letdown. There was on the sideline. But the players on the field keep pushing through the end of regulation.”
Campbell County has won the last four meetings including all three last season and nine of the last 10 meetings. Brossart last downed Campbell County, 2-1 on Oct. 12, 2020 in the 37th District semifinals on the way to the 10th Region championship.
Campbell County travels to Morscher Field to take on Newport Central Catholic (3-7) on Wednesday at 5 p.m. Bishop Brossart travels to St. Henry (7-1-2) for a 7:30 p.m. game.
Girls Soccer
St. Henry 4, Conner 2
Some say this is an upset based on the latest Maher rankings that had Conner (11-4-1) number six in the state and St. Henry (7-1-2) number 25.
“Conner is a good team. Make no mistake about that,” said Brian Bamberger, St. Henry head coach. “This is just our team playing good soccer. They’re well-coached. It’s nice to get the win.”
The Crusaders pulled off the huge win behind another hat trick from senior midfielder Mandy Schlueter. The dynamic Ohio State commit scored four times for her fourth hat trick of the season. Schlueter has 20 goals and four assists on the season for 44 points.
St. Henry gave her plenty of support. Senior forward Cassidy Cline and sophomore midfielder Avery Pleiman had assists. Pleiman has three on the season.
St. Henry had 17 shots in the game. Senior goalkeepers Avery Collins and Ella Thompson combined for 16 saves.
“I feel like we definitely won a lot of 50/50 balls out of the air,” said Josie Knollman, St. Henry junior defender. “I thought we marked up in the middle pretty well and prevented them from passing to the wings. They’re really fast.”
Junior midfielder Ella Mann and freshman forward Ariel Brogan had the goals for Conner and freshman midfielder Reagan Buchert had the assist. Sophomore goalkeeper Ally Welch had four saves. Mann has a team-high nine goals.
Both teams have big games Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. St. Henry plays host to Bishop Brossart (5-4-5) in the All A Sectional game and Conner plays host to Cooper (9-3-1) in a crucial 33rd District seed game.
Other Girls Soccer Scores:
Notre Dame 4, Holy Cross 0
Beechwood 9, Calvary Christian 0
Bellevue 2, Dayton 1
Boone County 1, Harrison County 0
Holmes 4, St. Patrick 0
Dixie Heights 10, Ludlow 0
Scott 2, Newport Central Catholic 2
Simon Kenton 6, Grant County 0
Cooper 6, Villa Madonna 1
Boys Soccer Score:
Holmes 8, St. Patrick 2
Volleyball Scores:
Ludlow 2 (25-9, 25-16), Heritage Academy 0
Villa Madonna 2 (25-11, 25-6), Newport 0
Scott County 3 (29-27, 25-20, 25-23), Beechwood 0
Highlands 2 (25-11, 25-11), Holmes 0
Scott 3 (25-13, 25-11, 25-7), Walton-Verona 0
