Tape was pulled and preparations were being made, until it wasn’t.
The Kentucky High School Athletic Association made an error with the state soccer brackets, flipping state semifinal contests.
It affects both the Ryle boys and Highlands girls teams. Ryle was initially set to play host Paul Laurence Dunbar on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m., but they will now play No. 1 St. Xavier on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m.
Ryle head coach Stephen Collins said he was informed of the error on Sunday night at 7:40 p.m., more than 24 hours after their 8-0 quarterfinal victory over Johnson Central. That means preparations were already being made for Dunbar until being made aware of the bracket error.
“We are still working through logistics, but our players and team are just excited to return to the State Final Four,” Collins said. “The coaching staff and players are continuing our motto of one game at a time, stay focused on what you can control and play hard no matter who the opponent is.”
Highlands girls are in the same situation. They defeated Russell 2-1 in Saturday’s quarterfinals, then were scheduled to play Dunbar on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. But no so fast, they were also informed Sunday night of the errror, and will now play No. 3 South Oldham on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m.
Ryle (23-3-1) now faces a St. Xavier team that is 23-0-1 on the season and nationally ranked (No. 9 in MaxPreps). The two did not play in the regular season.
Highlands (17-6-1) will face South Oldham, sitting at 16-1-2 on the year. The two faced off on Sept. 26, a 4-1 South Oldham victory. The four goals allowed tied for the most allowed in a game this season.
In the other semifinal matchups, for the boys, Paul Laurence Dunbar will face Bardstown. In the girls, Paul Laurence Dunbar will take on Central Hardin.
As of Monday morning, the KHSAA has not issued a statement publicly about the error. They called all teams involved Sunday night. To say the soccer postseason has run smoothly would be a farce.
In a boys 4th region championship game between Bowling Green and Warren Central, the KHSAA made the two replay penalty kicks from round seven, days after the match was initially completed. Bowling Green had won the initial penalty kick shootout, but the match was protested by Warren Central because the penalty kick order was incorrectly continued with the wrong players by both teams that had already attempted a penalty kick. Bowling Green eventually won the re-kick, a day later had to play Owensboro and lost 3-2.
Then the “host” with the semifinals. This couldn’t be forecasted, but the semifinals are supposed to be at a neutral site, unlike the first round and quarterfinals where teams got to host. It just so happens that Paul Laurence Dunbar advanced to the semifinals in both boys and girls and will get a “home” game on a “neutral” site.
The state championship games are set for Saturday at 4:30 with the girls game and 8 p.m. for the boys game at Lexington SC’s Stadium.
