Highlands, NC win 9th Region quarterfinal games

G. Michael Graham Photo. Highlands senior Kelsey Etherton (middle in white) and Brooklynn Rivers (far right) come upfield after Etherton's rebound goal in the first half of Monday's 5-1 9th Region quarterfinal win over Beechwood.

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM

Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter

The two girls soccer teams may not have scored in the Sept. 12 meeting at Tower Park.

But that changed completely in favor of the home team at the same location Monday. The Highlands Bluebirds (7-7-5) scored 12 minutes into the contest and cruised to a sound 5-1 9th Region quarterfinal victory over the Beechwood Lady Tigers (10-9-3).

“Anytime you get an early goal, it’s great for confidence,” said Tommy Kearns, Highlands Head Coach. “The girls played really well. We created a lot of chances again. The finishing moves were on. Anytime you score five goals, you have a great chance to win.”

Highlands made sure this one was not close after dropping a tough 2-1 decision on penalty kicks against Dixie Heights in the same round last year. The Bluebirds take on another team they tied in the regular season in the region semifinals at Dixie Heights on Wednesday at 6 p.m. in the Ryle Lady Raiders (14-4). The teams tied 2-2 at Tower Park to open the season Aug. 19.

Highlands outshot Beechwood, 19-7 including 11-6 on goal. Goalkeeper Sarah Owen made four saves for the Bluebirds and Cara Schwartz made five for Beechwood.

“The defending starts with the forwards up top,” Kearns said. “They apply pressure to the back line of the other team. The group defending all over the field has made a difference for us.”

Senior forward Kelsey Etherton led Highlands with a hat trick of three goals. Her third one put an exclamation point on the game with 18:30 left. Taylor Vaughn drew a foul in the attacking third and Kearns let Etherton take the shot to earn the hat trick. She shot the ball to the right corner for the goal.

“We struggled a little bit in the middle of the season,” Etherton said. “But winning this game shows we can work together as a team. (The hat trick) is great because this is the last game on my home field and it’s a nice way to end it.”

Vaughn scored the first goal for Highlands with 28:39 remaining. The Bluebirds then added goals with 18:20 and 12:56 left in the half when Kelsey Etherton scored on a rebound and Vaughn found Brooklynn Rivers in the middle for the score.

Beechwood earned a confidence boost early in the second half. MacKenzie Fessler scored just 2:34 into the half to cut the margin to 3-1. But Highlands did not have any other defensive breakdowns other than that, especially on Beechwood’s runouts.

“We did well communicating and keeping the ball in front of us shifting right and left,” said Brooke Dougherty, Highlands junior defender/midfielder. “We also did a good job of communicating and finding feet through our midfield then moving up to our forwards.”

Etherton’s second goal gave Highlands the insurance needed to pull away. It came with 28:26 left in the game on a nice assist from Dougherty.

Highlands last won a region crown in 2010. The Bluebirds won consecutive state championships in 2005 and 2006 and finished state runner-up in 2008.

Newport Central Catholic 2, Boone County 0:

The Lady Breds (13-3-4) ended the rough stretch in time to play another game in Florence on Monday.

NewCath had not won in October going 0-2-2 before Monday. The Lady Breds won the Ashland Invitational and All “A” State Tournaments during a brilliant September.

“We haven’t been putting the ball in the back of the net as we have been all season,” said Kevin Turnick, NewCath Head Coach. “We needed to get back to playing the way we’re used to and come out playing with a bit of confidence. At this point, it’s win or go home. They responded to that challenge.”

Sam Bunzel scored both goals for NewCath off Loren Zimmerman assists. The first one came on a header off a throw-in in the first half and the second one came when Bunzel beat an offsides trap and buried the shot to the far left post.

NewCath put up approximately four times as many shots as the hosts. Goalkeeper Meg Martin made two saves for the Lady Breds.

The win earned NewCath a rematch of last year’s region title game against Notre Dame (18-2-3). The Pandas won it 3-1 at Ryle. Notre Dame won the regular season meeting 3-2 in Park Hills on Oct. 3.

“We have to play smart and disciplined,” Turnick said. “They’re a team that you can’t reach or dive. You have to slow them down. If we slow them down and take away some of their weapons, it give us a shot.”

The Lady Breds last won consecutive region titles in 2000 and 2001.