When Highlands needs a long-distance free-kick goal, senior Kaylee Mills is their choice to take the shot.
It took 67 minutes Tuesday, but Mills delivered. Her score was enough to give the Bluebirds a 1-0 win over Newport Central Catholic in the 36th District finals at Tower Park.
Tuesday was the first time Mills scored what turned into a game-winning goal.
“And it feels really good to know that I helped my team into the region tournament with a win,” Mills said.
Mills’ shot from about 45 yards went under the crossbar and eluded NewCath keeper Ava Menning by an inch or two.
“That shot goes in on me a lot, actually,” Menning said. “I off-timed my jump, and it went over my head right into the goal.”
NewCath coach Emily Wagner was nevertheless “ecstatic” with how the Thoroughbreds played.
“The Highlands team played scared the second half and weren’t sure how to defend us,” Wagner said. “And we got a result, not in our favor, but exactly where we wanted them.”
NewCath (11-6-3) junior Brooklyn Cole fouled Highlands’ Hope Darnell, but Mills was “nominated” to take the free kick. Wagner said a similar foul had been called earlier in the second half, but she said Cole’s foul should not have been called.
“I didn’t really have a lot of pressure going into it,” Mills said. “I just thought it would be better to play it quick rather than to wait – and then it ended up going in.”
PHOTOS: Slideshow provided by Charles Bolton
Sophomore goalkeeper Bailee Class recorded her fifth shutout. Bluebirds coach Kelsey Etherton, however, wants people to notice Class’ 77 saves.
“She’s kept us in multiple games, kept games close,” Etherton said.
Highlands (8-9-2) is 37-11 all-time over NewCath and 18-0 since 2016. You won’t see the Bluebirds among Northern Kentucky’s statistical leaders – Mills, Hope Darnell and Ariana Harms each have five goals.
Does that matter to Etherton? Well, not even a little.
“I would say we have one of the most difficult schedules in the state of Kentucky, if you look at the power rankings,” Etherton said. “We’ve played (Louisville) Sacred Heart, we’ve played LexCath (Lexington Catholic), obviously we’ve played Notre Dame. We’ve gone across the river and played some of last year’s state champions over there with Seton and Summit Country Day.
“And so that makes it hard because we haven’t had the number of wins we wanted to, but it also prepares us for postseason because we have seen that challenge.”
Etherton said Highlands has settled into a 4-3-3 formation for much of the season because it helps get the ball through the midfield and hopefully slide it to the outside and the endline for some crossing passes.
Wagner said her defense bothered Highlands all night. The strategy: hold their line to prevent Highlands from playing through-balls instead of building from the back and transitioning through the midfield.
“We definitely pressured them, they felt it,” Wagner said. “You could see it (the) exact same way we played them the first time (a 1-0 loss Sept. 8 at Northern Kentucky University).”
The Ninth Region draw will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at St. Henry. District winners will host first-round games, with the semifinals scheduled for 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Oct 16 and the finals at 2 p.m. Oct. 18 at St. Henry.