The Ryle Raiders defeated Dixie Heights 5-2 in the 9th Region tournament quarterfinals Tuesday night to win their seventh straight region tournament game.
An early goal five minutes in from the Colonels Trevor Bolte certainly woke the Raiders up.
“Dixie was able to get that early goal which forced us to really dig in early,” Ryle head coach Stephen Collins said. “It was a bit of a reality check for us early because I think everything clicked for us after that moment.”
Diego Lakkis understood the moment. The Ryle senior scored three unanswered goals in the first half. The first came a minute after Bolte’s goal, the second six minutes later as Ryle suddenly turned the tides with a 2-1 advantage 12 minutes into the game. Lakkis’ hat trick came from a 20-yard strike to make it 3-1 at the break.
“I think part of it has to be with just being in the right place at the right time,” Lakkis said. “I admit it’s part luck but my teammates do a lot of the dirty work.”
In the span of just two weeks, Lakkis has nearly tripled his scoring totals from the season as he leads the Raiders with 11 goals on the year.
Photo slideshow below, provided by Charles Bolton:
“We’ve moved him (Lakkis) in different positions this year but no matter where he’s at, he goes at 100%,” Collins said. “We like to call him the energizer bunny with the way he moves around the field.”
Ryle was able to find space along the sidelines throughout the game, but especially in the second half as the Raiders controlled their lead through possession. Despite playing on their heels, the Colonels kept the game within reach as time ticked away.
With one final push, a header from Colonels senior James Toebbe was finished by defender Aiden Legg in the 65th minute to put Dixie within a goal at 3-2. Weathering the storm once again, Ryle turned up the pressure and found two more goals in the final minutes to seal their spot in the semifinals.
Unable to find an answer late, Dixie Heights’ season came to an end, finishing 10-8-1 on the year. The Colonels will graduate five seniors, but are expected to return an experienced class of 11 juniors.
Continuing their tournament hopes, Ryle will have a quick turnaround as they’ll face Covington Catholic on Thursday night.
“I always get a little nervous going into games, but once the whistle blows I find my way,” Lakkis said. “It’ll be a challenge for sure, but we’re looking forward to it.”
Ryle has won three of the last four regional tournaments, CovCath the other in 2021. The matchup takes place at 5:30 p.m. at Dixie Heights.
Conner 1, St. Henry 0
The Cougars collected their first region tournament win in 16 years with the shutout over St. Henry.
Dallas Marshall’s goal in the 10th minute was the lone scoring on the night, assisted by Owen Mayhew.
Trey Wagner earned the clean sheet.
Conner will face Highlands in Thursday’s semifinals at 7:30 p.m. at Dixie Heights. The Cougars (13-4-3) are riding a nine-game unbeaten streak into the contest.
St. Henry’s season comes to a close at 13-7-2, a big improvement from the last two seasons in which they won a combined 10 games.
Highlands 1, Beechwood 0
The Bluebirds advanced to a ninth straight region semifinal with the blanking of Beechwood as Thomas Haggard provided the golden goal in extra time with a header into the back of the net.
Highlands and Conner did not play in the regular season.
The Bluebirds improved to 7-4-4 with the win, the Tigers season coming to an end at 10-7-2.
Covington Catholic 6, Newport Central Catholic 1
The Colonels won their sixth straight game with a six-spot against the Thoroughbreds.
10th Region
Campbell County 3, Bourbon County 1
Luke Linville, Austin Bush and Joey Enzweiler collected goals as the Camels advanced to the 10th Region semifinals in Maysville.
Alex Jenkins recorded seven saves in goal as the Camels will take on Mason County on the Royals turf on Thursday at 8 p.m.
Bishop Brossart will meet George Rogers Clark in the other semifinal on Thursday at 6 p.m., the Mustangs getting a bye in the quarterfinals while the Cardinals beat Harrison County, 7-0.