Highlands falls to rivals, 3-0

G. Michael Graham Photo. Highlands junior midfielder Allison Nienaber (right) converges on Notre Dame's Lily Weber (18) in Thursday's game at Tower Park. The Pandas won 3-0 to make it four wins in a row over the Bluebirds.

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM

Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter

It is still considered a great girls soccer rivalry.

But lately, it’s been dominated by the Notre Dame Pandas. That continued Thursday as the Pandas (3-1) knocked off the host Highlands Bluebirds, 3-0 at Tower Park.

The two consistently battled for region championships until last year. The Pandas have won four in a row in the series dating back to Highlands’ 2-0 win in the old 10th Region championship in 2010. Notre Dame won the state championship in 2011 before finishing runner-up last year.

Neither team took a lot of shots thanks to good defensive efforts on both sides. But the Pandas outshot the Bluebirds (1-1-2), 6-2 and capitalized on half of the shots. Highlands goalkeeper Sara Owen recorded three saves with Panda goalkeepers Courtney Hansel and Maddie Kim combining to stop both Highlands shots.

“If you look at their goals, they capitalized on a lot of mistakes that we made,” said Tommy Kearns, Highlands head coach. “That’s what a good team does. They punish you. They won most of the 50/50 balls in the middle of the field. They were more aggressive to the ball. There was a 20-minute stretch in the first half where we played to the level we’re capable of. But 20 minutes is not an 80-minute game.”

Highlands and Notre Dame have both won two state championships each. The Bluebirds won consecutive crowns in 2005 and 2006 while the Pandas captured their titles in 2004 and 2011.

“We have a lot of coaches who have experienced playing here at Tower Park,” said Sara McSorely, Notre Dame head coach. “We had to remind people of the rivalry and to be just as prepared mentally for the game as physically. It’s intense in this atmosphere.”

Both teams have a good mix of veteran and young players. But the Pandas did a better job in the midfield.

Ellen Combs put the Pandas on the scoreboard with a goal in the game’s first five minutes. That proved to be the only goal Notre Dame needed.

But the Pandas still added two insurance goals in the second half. Paige Kellam took a nice pass from Nica Berling in the attacking box and scored with 29:32 left in the game before Megan Barberich crossed a nice pass to Ashley Justice for the final score with 17 minutes left in the game.

Highlands did not have anyone closely marking Barberich on the last goal. Kearns said that needs to change if the Bluebirds are to beat teams like Notre Dame.

“Marking is something you have to do all over the field,” Kearns said. “They do a great job of transitioning forward. Each of the lines moves up the field as a unit. We are capable of doing that. It has to be more consistent.”

Notre Dame did receive a lot of corner kicks, especially in the second half. But the Pandas often could not get off shots. Converting corner kicks into goals has been a strong point for Notre Dame in the past.

“We’re trying to get our rhythm down,” McSorely said. “We’re working hard and have great ideas. We’re just not connecting entirely at times. So seeing them connect a couple times in the second half was nice to see.”

Kearns did note some positives from the game. He said everyone is healthy. This game marked the return of last year’s leading scorer in sophomore Brooklynn Rivers from injury.

Health was an issue in last year’s team-record low three-win campaign for the Bluebirds. Then-seniors Ava Abner and Kara Painter suffered season-ending injuries near the start of the season.