Girls soccer
It is not a surprise this game stayed tight until the very end and it came down to one uncleared ball.
The Notre Dame Pandas (6-1-1 overall) outlasted the determined Dixie Heights Colonels (3-4-2) by a 1-0 score at Rice Mountjoy Stadium in front of a nice crowd. The Pandas are 3-0 in region play and Dixie Heights is 0-2.
“We possessed the ball for about 80 percent of the game,” said Suli Kayed, Notre Dame head coach. “We didn’t let them get off any shots that made my heart sink. We’re still trying to figure out which players work well together.”
The Pandas put up 12 shots with four on target to three for Dixie Heights including two on target. Senior goalkeeper Sarah Legg had three saves to two for Notre Dame junior goalkeeper Hannah Renaker.
The game’s lone goal came with 14:12 left in the first half. Sophomore Cam Kirtley found senior Tori Danneman for the score. That marked the first goal for Danneman and first assist for Kirtley this year.
“(Kirtley) gave me a great ball,” Danneman said. “I took a few steps and put it in. It was a great team win.”
“We take the mindset of playing our brand of soccer,” said Ellie Greenwell, Notre Dame senior. “We can’t worry about who the other team has or what they do. If we do that, we’re generally successful.”
Dixie Heights had a corner kick with 30 seconds left trying to tie the game. The Colonels have a lot to build on even though they are 0-3-2 in the last five games.
“Every game, we have to keep picking up one element and getting better,” said Chris Sturm, Dixie Heights head coach. “From the midline to the back line, we’ve gotten better. Now we have to run our offense better. So when the next time we see them, which actually might be next week, we have to have a better attack for a strong team like Notre Dame. That’s really where the next part of our development as team is. Our last step is we have to get more dangerous shots on the net. It’s that simple.”
Dixie Heights plays at Villa Madonna (6-3) on Thursday at 5 p.m. Notre Dame travels to the Zionsville (Indiana) Invitational to face Mishawaka (Indiana) Penn at 6 p.m. on Friday.
Simon Kenton 3, Cooper 0
The Pioneers (7-1-3) handled the Jaguars (5-3-1) for their seventh shutout of the year and fifth straight.
Junior Cam Ruble, senior Margo Roberts and freshman Ella smith had the Pioneer goals. Senior Sophia Decker had two assists with freshman Megan Gadzala recording one.
“I feel definitely a big part of it is we’ve been trying to bond outside as a team aside from the soccer stuff so that’s been helping us,” Roberts said. “I feel like our offense was on point because we were building each other up for success instead of tearing each other down.”
Simon Kenton outshot Cooper, 14-8. Senior goalkeeper Olivia York stopped all eight Cooper shots.
“We didn’t really have the best offensive effort (Monday) against Beechwood so we really took (Tuesday) to break that down,” said Hillary Johnson, Simon Kenton head coach. “I think they great team soccer offensively and defensively and responded well. Both Cam and Reese (Johnson) were being double-teamed up top and our midfielders did a really good job of recognizing that and playing to their strengths going wide. Our midfielders have a really high soccer IQ and were able to adjust well mid-game.”
Cooper travels to take on Murray (6-2) and Graves County (2-4-1) at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. respectively Saturday. Simon Kenton plays at Lexington Catholic next Monday.
Campbell County 3, Scott 0
The Camels (5-2-2) won the crucial 37th District seed game against the Eagles (1-4-1) in Alexandria. Campbell County snapped a four-game winless skid in the process.
Campbell County had 19 shots on target to two for Scott. Senior goalkeeper Morgan Rawe saved both Eagle shots. Senior Gabriella Cox had 16 saves at goalkeeper for Scott.
“We were getting the ball to the goal line and we were trying to get them to hit the ball back up the field on the ground as we were running and attacking,” said Dave Morris, Campbell County head coach. “For most of the game, girls were taking shots or weren’t playing it back up the field. When you have three or four attackers coming in there, you have a chance to stick it in there. The goalkeeper doesn’t have a chance. We didn’t actually score off that. But we did do better at that in the second half.”
Senior forward Ruby Dunlevy scored a goal and had an assist for Campbell County. Freshman forward Kennedy Crowley had the goal in the first half to put the Camels up 1-0. Senior midfielder Bella Menetrey scored the other goal.
“It was a big game for us. We knew we had to win to get the number one seed. We want to get our name out there,” said Camels senior midfielder Madison Gamble. “This was a good step for us. We had the majority of the 50/50 balls. We counter-attacked and did very well from them.”
Campbell County travels to Highlands (4-4-1) on Saturday at 1 p.m. Scott does not play again until Sept. 7 when Highlands comes to Taylor Mill for a 7:30 p.m. game.
Highlands 4, Newport Central Catholic 2
The Bluebirds (4-4-1) made it 13 straight in the series against the Thoroughbreds (3-6) with the win at Tower Park. Highlands outshot NewCath, 20-4.
Junior forward Laney Smith scored twice and junior Claire Cavacini had one goal and one assist with junior Kate Jamie adding an assist. Senior goalkeeper Isabella Moreno had one save.
Highlands plays host to Campbell County (5-2-2) on Saturday at 1 p.m. NewCath travels to Holy Cross on Sept. 7 at 5 p.m.
Conner 2, George Rogers Clark 0
The host Cougars (8-3-1) knocked off the Cardinals (7-3-1) recording 16 shots. Freshman forward Ariel Brogan and senior Breanna Maidens had the unassisted goals. Sophomore goalkeeper Ally Welch had six saves in the shutout.
Conner plays host to Beechwood (6-2-1) on Saturday at 11 a.m.
Boone County 1, Ryle 0
The Rebels (6-4-1) downed the Raiders (1-5-1) snapping a six-game Ryle winning streak in the series in the crucial 33rd District win.
Freshman forward/midfielder Avery Jones scored the game’s lone goal for the Rebels on a corner kick. Jones leads Boone County with six goals this year.
Boone County travels to Cooper (5-3-1) on Sept. 7 for a 7:30 p.m. game. Ryle plays host to Conner (8-3-1) on the same day at 7:45 p.m.
Other Girls Soccer Scores
Beechwood 13, Holmes 0
Pendleton County 7, Dayton 0
Holy Cross 6, Walton-Verona 0
Volleyball
Notre Dame 3, Louisville Mercy 1:
The Pandas (6-2) brought home the 25-19, 19-25, 25-18, 25-22 road win in the battle of Kentucky powers for their biggest win of the season against the Jaguars (8-3). Notre Dame has won three in a row in the series including the 2020 state championship game.
Notre Dame dug up 73 balls leading to 42 assists and 47 kills. Then the Pandas won battles at the net against Mercy senior power hitters Maddie Hagan at 6-feet-even and middle blocker Meredith Brown at 6-4 recording six blocks and serving three aces.
Notre Dame senior libero Kamden Schrand led the way with 29 digs and senior defensive specialist Kayla Hostetler had 17. Sophomore Ella Goetz also contributed defensively with two blocks.
The Panda setters then set things up for the hitters. Sophomore Lauren Ott had 22 assists and freshman Lizzy Larkins had 19.
“We tell them what to do. But they’re the ones that execute it,” said Jenna Leistner, Notre Dame associate head coach. “The credit definitely goes to the girls. Our defense was in the right spots. We did a great job digging (Hagan and Brown) to keep us in the game.”
Notre Dame then displayed its balance on the attack. Senior 6-3 middle blocker Sydney Nolan had 15 kills and sophomore Riley McCloskey had 10. Sophomore Ava Tilden and senior Peyton Mast had eight and seven respectively.
“We made some line-up changes. We adjusted to where their front row was and to contain their best hitters, which worked in our favor,” Nolan said. “We also did a good job in keeping our missed serves low because we’ve had a hard time with that this season. But we’ve been practicing a lot and we’re getting better at it.
The Pandas travel to Campbell County (1-3) on Tuesday. Game time is 7:30 p.m.
Villa Madonna 2, Beechwood 1
The Vikings stayed undefeated at 10-0 pulling off an impressive 19-25, 25-20, 25-23 win over the Tigers (3-4) in the All A 9th Region Quarterfinals at Newport.
Beechwood had won 10 straight in the series and 16 of the previous 17 meetings dating back to 2002. The Vikings last beat the Tigers, 2-1 (14-25, 25-16, 25-15) on Sept. 9, 2008.
“This competition was different from what we’d seen the last couple games really,” said Sandi Kitchen, Villa Madonna head coach. “There’s kind of a distinct rivalry. I think a lot of the girls know from one another from club. We really didn’t know what we were up against. I noticed they’ve had tight scores against some good team. Our offense has been solid. We’re not going to overpower people. But we’re very consistent. We keep the ball in play. I felt that our serving kept us in the game for the most part. I was very happy with our overall play.”
Villa Madonna moves into the All “A” 9th Region semifinals on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. back at Newport against Dayton (3-7). Dayton downed 36th District rival Bellevue, 2-0 (27-25, 25-22) in the last game that evening.
Sophomore middle blocker Maya Kondik had eight blocks and six kills. Senior middle hitter Ava Borchers had five kills with sophomore setter Catherine Gifford tallying 15 assists. Junior outside hitter Joci Demler and senior outside hitter Anna Popham had two aces each.
“Now that we’ve beaten a good team, we’ve gotten our confidence up,” Kondik said. “Coming together as a team has really helped us. Coach Kitchens knows how other teams work.”
Villa Madonna travels to Bishop Brossart (6-3) on Thursday. Game time is 7 p.m.
Holy Cross 2, Bishop Brossart 1
The Indians (5-1) ventured to Alexandria and picked up a win over the Lady ‘Stangs (6-3).
Senior Maya Hunt had 29 assists and five kills for Holy Cross. Junior middle blocker Julia Hunt had 22 kills and three blocks with senior outside hitter Rylee Hood adding eight kills.
Brossart had 27 kills, 42 digs, seven aces, 24 assists and nine blocks. Junior libero Maddie Kremer had 15 digs and two aces with sophomore middle blocker Corrine Blackburn tallying eight kills, two aces and two blocks for the Lady ‘Stangs.
Junior middle blocker Payton Parker had six kills and three blocks for the Lady ‘Stangs. Senior setter Savannah Seiter had 10 assists and seven digs with eighth grade setter Aubrey Rebholz recording 11 assists. Sophomore opposite hitter Kate Neltner had six kills and eight digs with senior Ava Thomas recording two kills and two blocks.
Bishop Brossart plays host to Villa Madonna (10-0) on Thursday at 7 p.m. Holy Cross plays in the September Slam at Scott starting Friday with two games at Woodland Middle School against Newport Central Catholic (5-4) at 6 p.m. then Southwestern (5-1) at 8 p.m.
Other Volleyball Scores:
Bracken County 2 (24-26, 25-15, 25-17), Holmes 1
Newport Central Catholic 2 (25-9, 25-10), Heritage Academy 0
Boys Soccer Score:
Cincinnati Withrow 5, Holmes 0
