Highlands ties Scott, 2-2

Mary Schmalzl Photo. Highlands junior Ben Seiter (19) battles Scott's Stephen Kiehborth (8) in Tuesday's game. The teams tied 2-2 to open the season.

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM

Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter

They fought back to tie the game twice.

Down the stretch, the Highlands Bluebirds soccer team had its chances to take the lead, but could not finish. The end result was a 2-2 against the Scott Eagles in the season-opener for both teams at Tower Park on Tuesday.

“In our case, we have 22 practice games to get ready for the regional (tournament),” said Matthew Winkler, Highlands Head Coach. “We have to take something away from each game. We hope to hit our peak at the end of the season.”

Both teams scored one goal in each half. Scott outshot Highlands, 19-10 including 13-9 on net. Bluebird senior goalkeeper Nick Breslin played a brilliant game with eight saves and Eagle goalkeeper C.J. Seay made five saves.

The game was physical the entire evening. Highlands had 17 free kicks and three yellow cards and Scott had 12 free kicks and three yellow cards.

Both teams kicked the ball upfield hoping to outrace the defense. It worked some for both teams. Temperatures hit above 80 degrees.

“This was the first day it was this hot,” Winkler said. “No one is acclimated to it. That’s when you revert to old tactics instead of possessing the ball and flowing upfield.”

The Eagles scored their first goal quickly. Blake Schneider broke away on the right side and scored with 32:58 left in the first half.

The Bluebirds tied the game with 4:50 left in the half. Logan Groneck took a feed on the left side and scored.

Both goals in the second half came less than two minutes apart. Luke Treadway scored for the Eagles with 22:24 left and Brady Gesenhues equaled it with 20:58 remaining.

Gesenhues got two good looks in the final two minutes. But Seay made nice plays on the shots to preserve the tie. Gesenhues is one of the players Highlands is looking to fill in roles with the graduation of eight seniors from last year’s 9th Region championship team.

“I feel like we’ve played well as a team,” Gesenhues said. “It was a good first game of the season. We’re working on possessing the ball and making better first touches.”

The Highlands junior varsity team won its game against Scott. The Bluebirds shut out the Eagles, 3-0.

Highlands travels to St. Henry on Thursday. Game time is 8 p.m.

Volleyball:
Cincinnati Anderson 3, Highlands 0:

The Ladybirds dropped the season opener just across the river to open the season Tuesday. Anderson won 25-9, 26-24 and 25-18. First-year Highlands Head Coach Katelyn Sallee said Highlands made some adjustments to the line-up after a tough first set.

"They were a tough serving team that kept us out of system and struggling to be aggressive offensively all night," Sallee said. "We will be working on some of these things in practice."

Highlands plays Kings (Ohio) on Thursday in its home opener. Game time is 7:30 p.m.