Ladybirds, Lady Breds meet for annual tilt

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM

Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter

The two Northern Kentucky women’s soccer powers meet again for bragging rights Wednesday at Tower Park.

But it’s not like it was even a year ago in the old 19th District. The Highlands Ladybirds and Newport Central Catholic Lady Breds often met many times for postseason survival and seeding purposes in those days. The two battled Campbell County and Bishop Brossart to advance to the 10th Region tournament.

They both advance to the 9th Region Tournament this year. Bellevue and Dayton have teams but won’t participate in the 36th District Tournament.

Last year saw two tight battles. NewCath won the regular season game 3-2. But Highlands came back and beat the Lady Breds, 1-0 in the district semifinals. The Ladybirds won the district championship before falling 4-1 to eventual state champion Notre Dame in the 10th Region title game.

So far this season, NewCath has tasted victory way more than Highlands. The Lady Breds are 10-4-1 after losing 3-2 to Covington Holy Cross on Monday. Sam Bunzel and Christina Seibert scored goals for NewCath with Erin Ackerson making two saves. The Lady Breds have outscored opponents 51-16.

“I like their work ethic and commitment to keep getting better as the season goes,” said Kevin Turnick, NewCath head coach. “They are willing and eager to always learn more about the game and even play new positions if it benefits the overall team. We have stressed to always be accountable for your play on the field and learn from our opportunities. We have been very competitive in all of our games so far this season and our record and goals for and against prove that. Our scoring has been diverse and our defense has played solid so far.”

Meanwhile, Highlands has struggled to a 2-9-2 record against a tough schedule. The Ladybirds have been outscored 38-9 and have been shut out seven times.

“I think they’re a great group of girls. They’d obviously love to be winning more games,” said Tommy Kearns, Highands head coach. “But sometimes, the results don’t go your way. They come to practice every day and work hard. They’re trying to get bigger, faster and stronger every day. They know they’re playing better. We’re playing some of the best teams in the state to challenge ourselves for October.”

Freshmen Brooklynn Rivers has emerged as Highlands’ leading goal-scorer. She has six goals and junior Kelsey Etherton has scored two. Jesse Daley and Sarah Owen split time at goalkeeper for the Ladybirds. The Ladybirds have lost Kara Painter and Ava Abner for the year with injuries.

“Basically, we take one game at a time,” Owen said. “We look at what we’ve done well at that game and we learn from all our mistakes. We take the next play and the next game as the important one. Our fans should not let down on us because we’re not letting down.”

NewCath graduated a number of seniors from last year’s team that finished 16-6-1. That includes Olivia Huber and Aubrey Muench, the second and third-leading point-scorers in team history. But Seibert said the team chemistry has been great this year. The Lady Breds won the Poage Landings Tournament in Ashland and Russell earlier this season.

“I think any issue on the team is considered our issue,” Seibert said. “We take that to heart when someone else is hurting. We all help them do better on the field.”

The Lady Breds may be favored to win. But NewCath Sweeper Courtney Hagedorn said Highlands is still dangerous. Both teams run a 4-4-2 (defender-midfielder-forward) attack.

“They have a lot of speed up top,” Hagedorn said. “We’re going to do our best to mark up on them and contain them.”

The old saying in rivalry games goes, “Play with emotion, but don’t get emotional.” That could prove to be the case this year.

“One of the things we say here is ‘Be quick but don’t hurry,” Kearns said. “You need to play within yourselves and don’t try to do too much.”

Turnick has a simple way to handle emotion. He’s been the head coach of the Lady Breds since 1999.

“For 80 minutes, your focus should be on soccer and the role you play on the team,” Turnick said. “Keep your emotions in check and then at end of the game, you can celebrate.”

Game time is 7:30 p.m.