Izzy Skinner had practiced the same penalty kick all season – lower right corner of the net.
Lexington Catholic’s senior midfielder’s rehearsals paid off Monday. Her PK eliminated Ninth Region champion Highlands, 1-0 (3-2), at Northern Kentucky University’s Scudamore Field in the first round of the KHSAA girls state soccer tournament.
Next for the Knights: Campbell County, a 3-2 winner over Boyle County, in the quarterfinals. The date and time have yet to be determined.
Skinner hesitated a moment before she shot at Highlands goalkeeper Bailee Class, who got a hand on the shot before it went in.
“I was confident when I went up to the ball, and it was gonna go in,” Skinner said. “I was trying to wait and see where (Class) would go, but I knew I had to place it where I’d been practicing, and so I placed it where I’d been practicing. It was a little more central than I expected, but I was confident and happy it went in.”
Highlands finished at 15-6-4. The Bluebirds’ route to Monday was harder than graduate school nuclear physics – one-goal wins over Cooper, Dixie Heights and Conner.
Monday was not the first time the Bluebirds and Knights decided a state tournament game on PKs. Highlands won in 2019, and Catholic took the second in 2020.
Bluebirds coach Kelsey Etherton didn’t have a specific plan Monday; she said the 4-4-2 alignment best fits her team.
“I think we created a lot of really good opportunities,” Etherton said. “A lot of our really good chances, we ended up shooting it off-frame.”
As they have all season, the Bluebirds’ strategy was to spread its offense and attack from the wings – a sound strategy because of Scudamore’s FIFA World Cup field dimensions (110-120 yards long and 70-80 yards wide). Catholic coach Terry Quigley said the bigger field was a factor.
Highlands was the more aggressive squad over the first 10 minutes. In the ninth, the Bluebirds’ Franny Smith looked for Maren Orme, but Catholic keeper Bella Bretz made the save. Reese Wilkens’ shot in the 13th minute sailed over the crossbar.
“The girls adjusted,” Quigley said. “I think the first 15 minutes, they had us trapped. Then we evened it out, and in the last 15 minutes of the first half, it was us.”
One of Catholic’s (20-2-4) best scoring chances came in the 23rd minute inside Highlands’ 18-yard box. The Knights’ Joanna Bryant (who had returned from a month-long illness) passed to Ryan Cornelius, but the shot was wide left.
In the 81st minute, Class turned perhaps her most significant save. Catholic’s Sara-Kate Barnes (“Skate” to her teammates) eluded the Bluebirds’ back line, but not Class, who came off her line and beat Barnes to the ball.
About a minute later, Highlands’ Hope Darnell missed a shot wide. Her teammate, Kendall Graves, took one in the 85th minute, but it likewise went wide.
Barnes took the first PK, but her shot clanked off the crossbar. It didn’t hurt because Sarah Wethington rejected Kaylee Mills’ shot to the lower right.
Catholic’s Joanna Bryant and Highlands’ Hailey Frittz scored in the second round. In the third, Catholic’s Lucy DeMovellan and Highlands’ Kate Fausz both missed.
In the fourth round, Catholic’s Anna Kate DeMovellan scored in the fourth and the Bluebirds’ Reese Wilkens missed left. The Knights’ Ansley Stephenson missed high, and Kendall Graves beat Wethington to the lower right.
“I always have the same routine every single time I kick it,” Graves said. “I always go right. Typically it’s a little higher, but it went in, so it’s OK.”
In fact, four of Highlands’ six PKs went to the right side.
“We want the kids to be confident and consistent in their kicks, so I don’t specifically say you’ve got to go this side or this side,” Etherton said.
After Skinner’s score, Highlands’ Ella Jones missed over the crossbar.
“It’s a tough way to go,” said Graves, one of four seniors (Fausz, Emma Gillman and manager Sophia Agin are the others) who finished their high school careers. “But this year especially, how hard we worked for each other and everything we put into this team, I’m just so proud of all of these girls. I played with some of them for three, four years. I know they’re going to do amazing things, and it was a pleasure to share the field with them.”