The 9th Region boys soccer tournament semifinals took place at Dixie Heights on Thursday with Covington Catholic taking on two-time defending champ Ryle, then Highlands battling with Conner.
Here’s how it went down:
Covington Catholic 4, Ryle 2
Ryle entered on a seven-game region tournament winning streak in their quest for a three-peat. CovCath had other plans.
Ryan Burke scored two first half goals as the Colonels (15-5-4) dominated the first 40 minutes, holding Ryle to one shot on goal on their way to the 4-2 victory.
“That was us at our best,” Colonels assistant coach Jason Lewis said.
Burke’s first goal came on a header from a corner kick by Cole Spaulding 12 minutes in. Burke put a head on it and it found the left corner of the net.
“Saw the ball up in the air, aw It was near me and I had to go up and get it,” Burke said. “Had to be aggressive and I just happened to be perfect, perfectly placed. Perfect ball too by Cole,”
Photo slideshow below, provided by Charles Bolton:
His second goal, Burke took advantage of a mishap in the Raiders back and slotting one home for a 2-0 advantage 15 minutes into the game. The Colonels junior picked the right time to break out, his two goals on Thursday doubling his season total of just one on the year.
The Colonels continued to control things in the first half, putting up seven shots and four of them on target as they went into the half with the 2-0 advantage.
A Raiders team decimated by injuries had the deer in the headlights look early, but regrouped quickly out of the half with a quick goal from Marcos Hoenderkamp on a nice cross from Eddie Francis to make it 2-1 with 35 minutes left to play.
To say the Raiders were shorthanded not only in this one, but throughout the season would be an understatement.
“We had nearly an entire starting lineup sitting on our bench with injuries. Seven guys that have started varsity some time this year,” Raiders coach Stephen Collins said. “Every man stepped up that we put out there and everyone did their job. Just proud of the resilience.”
The scoring continued, this time from David Do for CovCath as his flick off a header from Chris Wessels made it 3-1 Colonels with 29 minutes to play. Do’s goal came from a corner kick, the second time they scored on a set piece.
“Kept the ball in the area a lot tonight which was great,” Lewis said. “The back heel goal by Do was great. You get deeper in the playoffs, set pieces are a big part of the game.”
Ryle wasn’t quite done yet, Ishan Sentil was able to find a goal off a rebound, making it 3-2 with 26 minutes to play.
With things tightening up and Ryle needing to open up more to try and find the equalizer, it was the Colonels Jack Fleck putting the finishing touches on this one. He scored on a laser and a perfectly placed ball into the left corner of the net to make it 4-2 Colonels with eight minutes to play.
“Fleck really deserved that one. He’s worked his butt off for us,” Lewis said.
Covington Catholic heads to Saturday’s region championship game with Highlands looking for their first title since 2021. The Colonels and Bluebirds played to a 1-1 tie on Sept. 19.
Ryle finishes at 13-9-1 in what Collins categorized as a rebuilding year with so much turnover and injuries to deal with throughout the season.
Highlands 1, Conner 0
The nightcap was a physical battle that featured 23 fouls between the two with multiple yellow cards.
Harrison Gamble’s goal in the 14th minute was the only damage in the contest.
The Bluebirds marked up and held on from there as the Cougars dominated possession in the second half, but were unable to crack Highlands back line and keeper Sam Lang.
“Overall staying together, keeping it really tight,” Lang said. “We communicated all year on staying together and keeping it really tight. All credit to the back line for staying strong and solid in the back.”
It was the second straight shutout for Highlands in the region tourney, blanking Beechwood 1-0 in the quarterfinals.
“We did what we wanted to do today which is create our opportunities, but protect our goal very well,” Bluebirds coach Suli Kayed said. “They’re really good at the long ball game and they do it really well. So we’ve been working all week on protecting that, because Beechwood earlier this week did the same thing as well.”
Lang finished with six saves, Gamble’s goal his team leading 10th of the season.
“That’s Harrison for ya,” Kayed said. “He’s been an awesome player for us, I think he’s the best attacker in the region here. That’s what Harrison has done for us this year.”
Gamble’s strike was from about 35 yards out.
“Just picked my head up, thought it would be a good chance with the keeper off his line a little bit,” Gamble said. “Just hit it and it went in.”
Photo slideshow below, provided by Charles Bolton:
Conner was unable to find the equalizer, a special season that was met with their first district championship since 2019 and a first region tournament victory since 2008. Their 13 wins this season were the most since the 2021 season.
“They’re an outstanding group of young men,” Cougars coach John Walker said. “We are moving along six seniors and those guys are going to be greatly missed.”
Gamble had a chance to make it 2-0 on a penalty kick just five minutes after his goal, but Trey Wagner stoned him with a dive to his left and a save to keep it a one-goal game.
Highlands controlled the first half for a while, Conner’s best chances coming in the later stages of the first half, but were denied by Lang and company. Numerous opportunities came up empty in the second half as they rattled the post once, put a header inches wide and were stuffed by Lang on numerous occasions.
“I don’t know that we would be where we are now without Sam Lang and our center backs,” Kayed said. “But credit goes to the whole team, we just dug deep. It’s not the style of soccer that’s maybe the most enjoyable to watch, but postseason is do or die and we did today.”
Highlands will play for their first region championship since 2019 when they claimed the title over the Colonels.
Saturday’s championship is 4 p.m. at Dixie Heights.