NewCath Survives St. Henry in PKs, Ryle Dominates Beechwood to Reach 9th Region Soccer Final

The intensity ramped up Thursday night at Tower Park in Fort Thomas as the boys took center stage in the 9th Region soccer tournament semifinals. Newport Central Catholic and St. Henry battled in a physical showdown, while Ryle and Beechwood squared off in the other semifinal with a spot in the championship game on the line.

Here’s how the action played out:

Newport Central Catholic 1, St. Henry 1 (NewCath advances 4-3 in penalty kicks)

The last time Newport Central Catholic met St. Henry, the Thoroughbreds called it a wake-up call in a 5-1 loss on Aug. 26.

“It was a wake-up call for really our whole team,” NewCath coach Ben Williams said. “Was not happy at halftime. Not happy after the game. We changed a lot after that game.”

Thursday night, the Thoroughbreds answered with a victory that took every bit of 90 minutes…and then some.

Neither 80 minutes of regulation nor two five-minute overtime periods could separate the teams in a physical 9th Region semifinal at Tower Park. It took a penalty-kick shootout, where NewCath outlasted St. Henry 4-3 to punch its ticket to Saturday’s championship game.

Goalkeeper Logan Purcell delivered the decisive moment in the fifth and final round, diving to his left to deny St. Henry’s Behren Salyers and seal the victory. Purcell said it was his first-ever penalty-kick shootout, and the stop marked his second save of the Crusaders’ five attempts.

“I’ve practiced penalties since I was little,” Purcell said. “All the little cues. You just put them all into this one moment and thought I could get it done for us.”

To get there, the Thoroughbreds needed a little luck.

PHOTOS: Slideshow provided by Charles Bolton

Scoring chances were scarce in the first 40 minutes, but St. Henry finally broke through in the 50th. Cassian Carran collected a deflected ball in the box and finished to give the Crusaders the lead.

St. Henry outshot NewCath 12-4 on the night and had opportunities to build a two-goal cushion, but a couple of Cooper Gastright’s attempts sailed just over the crossbar.

With the Thoroughbreds down to their final six-plus minutes, Simon Hoskins found the equalizer. His corner kick from the right side curled toward the front post, where St. Henry goalkeeper Landon Schuler inadvertently knocked the ball into his own net.

“I was really just aiming front post there, just because I knew we had a crowd of guys in the middle. That was the plan there, but never expected the keeper to put it in like that,” Hoskins said.

The physical battle continued, with 23 fouls called throughout the contest. Neither side could find a winner in the rest of regulation or overtime, sending the semifinal to penalty kicks.

St. Henry held a 2-1 advantage after two rounds. Cooper Gastright and Finnigan Carran converted for the Crusaders, while NewCath’s Grant Desmond connected on his attempt. Schuler then came up with a diving save to his right to deny Andrew Green.

Purcell responded by stopping Cassian Carran’s attempt, and Andrew Verst converted for NewCath to even the shootout at 2-2 after three rounds.

Hoskins and Nikolas Maher traded successful kicks before Jason Frisk converted for the Thoroughbreds to put them ahead 4-3.

That left Salyers needing to score to keep St. Henry alive. After eight of the first nine attempts went to the right side, Salyers switched directions and went left. Purcell stretched out and got his fingertips on the ball, making the game-winning save. It was quite the redemption moment as he said he got benched in the first meeting between the two.

“That was a wake-up call of the whole team really,” Purcell said. “We just had to get ready and knew there was plenty of season left to go.”

The victory continues NewCath’s late-season surge. The Thoroughbreds have won 11 of their last 12 games heading into Saturday’s regional championship against Ryle.

“We knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but we’re finding ways to win, and this is the perfect time to be doing that,” Williams said.

The teams also met in the 2023 9th Region championship game, when Ryle claimed a 1-0 victory.

Ryle 7, Beechwood 1

The second game of the night was anything but anticlimactic. Ryle scored just 20 seconds into its matchup with Beechwood and kept the pressure on throughout a dominant 7-1 victory in the 9th Region semifinals Thursday night at Tower Park.

Cooper Neace, Chase McCarthy and Hayden McDaniel scored two goals apiece to help the Raiders punch their ticket to Saturday’s championship game against Newport Central Catholic.

For the second straight game, Ryle struck before its opponent knew what hit it. After opening Tuesday’s quarterfinal contest with 4-0 win over Highlands with a goal in less than a minute, the Raiders wasted little time against Beechwood. McCarthy opened the scoring just 20 seconds in, finishing a pass from Preston Scott.

“That’s been quite a few times this season,” McCarthy said. ” It’s really a team effort thing. It’s an immediate effort from everybody. Preston made a beautiful pass. Cooper had a great string of passes. It’s immediate effort from the team altogether to come get a beautiful goal.”

That early strike set the tone for the night.

Ryle unleashed 15 shots in the first half, putting nine on goal while building a 3-0 lead that could have been even larger.

“Our spacing was good, our passing was good, we were connecting with both sides of the field,” Raiders coach Stephen Collins said. “When we can do that, we’re hard to defend.”

PHOTOS: Slideshow provided by Charles Bolton

Neace scored his first goal in the seventh minute, converting a cross from McCarthy. His second was even more impressive. From just outside the box, Neace unleashed a left-footed shot into the upper-left corner of the net, leaving Beechwood goalkeeper Matthew Holiday with no chance.

“I just cut it back to my left and just hit it,” Neace said. “Then you hope for the best.”

By halftime, Ryle had outshot Beechwood 15-1.

McCarthy added his second goal with a precise finish inside the left post, extending the Raiders’ advantage. An own goal pushed the lead to 5-0 in the 52nd minute before McDaniel took over late, scoring twice to put the game out of reach.

Beechwood avoided the shutout when leading scorer Westin Wyant found the back of the net in the 75th minute, but the Tigers had little answer for Ryle’s relentless attack.

After opening the season 1-2, the Raiders have won 18 of their last 20 games and now turn their attention to Saturday’s regional championship against NewCath.

“They’re playing as good as anybody. They’re on a roll, very physical, a lot of solid players,” Collins said. “I mean, we’re going to have to play our best, or they can beat us.”

Saturday’s championsip will take place at 1 p.m., back at Tower Park.

THOROUGHBREDS 1, CRUSADERS 1 (NewCath 4-3 in penalty kicks)

St. Henry — 0-1 — 1

Newport Central Catholic — 0-1 — 1

Game Stats

Goals: (SH) Carran (50′), (NCC) Hoskins (’74)

Shots (On Goal): St. Henry 12 (4), NewCath 4 (1)

Saves: St. Henry 0, NewCath 3 (Purcell)

Corner Kicks: St. Henry 2, NewCath 5

Fouls: St. Henry 13, NewCath 10

Offsides: St. Henry 1, NewCath 0

Records: St. Henry 14-7-1, NewCath 17-5-1