Nothing decided between the preseason top two in the 9th

In a matchup of the Northern Kentucky High School Boys Soccer Coaches Association preseason favorites, No. 1 Covington Catholic and No. 2 Ryle played to a 1-1 draw Thursday night in Park Hills, leaving the race for 9th Region supremacy wide open.

Both teams are still trying to find their way, evidenced by a combined 1-5 start heading into Thursday’s game, but with the combined schedule the two have played, the records weren’t all that surprising.

CovCath is still trying to find their offensive firepower with essentially a “whole new offense” according to Colonels coach Jeremy Robertson while Ryle has been hit with the injury bug, Raiders coach Stephen Collins stating they were down five starters by the end of Thursday’s contest, most notably key defender Marcos Hoenderkamp.

The Colonels dictated much of the first half, but the offense still trying to figure things out struggled to put much on target. They finally did in the 32nd minute when senior forward Charlie Bakker converted off a Dylan Warner corner kick. With Ryle struggling to find attacking rhythm, CovCath carried the 1-0 lead into halftime, holding the Raiders without a shot on goal the entire first half.

“Consistent play, we did not do that tonight…at all,” Robertson said. “We had a lot of players that were not on. Probably out of all the games at the beginning this year, this was probably the worst that we’ve had. No one had a good day and sometimes that happens.”

PHOTO GALLERY (provided by Charles Bolton)

The first 20 minutes of the second half told a different story. Ryle, finally able to put their first shot on goal in the 41st minute, stormed back with new energy. Just three minutes later, Preston Scott cleaned up a rebound to equalize and from there Ryle piled on the pressure, firing eight shots on target in the half.

“We just tweaked a couple small things,” Collins said. “We didn’t really change formations or anything. We just kind of tweaked a couple small things, and talked to our guys about getting back to what we stress and what we do. And they made those adjustments, and we were able to get a little momentum.”

Colonels keeper Booker Gifford kept his side level with a series of strong saves, while Ryle’s Nicholas Heredia delivered the night’s biggest stop — a diving denial of Warner with 15 minutes left. Neither side could convert in the closing stretch as the two heavyweights settled for a draw.

While it may have ended in a draw, one may be a little more pleased with the result than the other.

“We need guys to step up and score. With us losing some key goal scorers from last year, it’s basically a brand new team offensively, so we’re still trying to search. Even in those losses, I was happy with our play. This tie, I’m not happy with our play,” Robertson said.

Collins feels the injuries are certainly providing the Raiders chances to see how much depth they have.

“It was a good for these young kids that had to step up and get playing time that we weren’t expecting,” Collins said. “It’s kind of helping them learn the ropes. And this is Northern Kentucky soccer. You’re going to get a lot of ties, a lot of physicality, and you have to go deal with it.”

The two won’t meet again in the regular season, but don’t be surprised if the last five region champions (three for Ryle, two for CovCath) meet again in October come 9th Region tournament time.

“We have a lot of things to learn from this game,” Robertson said. “Ryle is a good team.
So postseason is going to be fun.”

The Raiders (0-2-1) host Foundation Christian Academy out of Bowling Green their next time out on Saturday at 2 p.m.

Covington Catholic (1-3-1) continues their murderers row with Moeller (Ohio) on Tuesday at home at 7:30 p.m.