NewCath edges Highlands, 2-1 in 36th District battle

 

G. Michael Graham Photo. Newport Central Catholic goalkeeper Meg Martin (black) dives on the ball in Monday's game while several Highlands players surround her. Martin made two saves in NewCath's 2-1 victory.

 

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM

Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter

It was a case of the well-traveled against the well-rested.

In the rivalry game between the two Northern Kentucky 36th District girls soccer rivals, the well-traveled Newport Central Catholic Lady Breds downed the Highlands Bluebirds, 2-1 at Tower Park on Monday. NewCath has won two in a row in the series.

The Lady Breds downed the Bluebirds, 2-0 in last year’s 36th District title game. That ended Highlands’ run of six consecutive district championships.

“We (seniors) keep telling (teammates) not to get a big head,” said Sam Bunzel, NewCath senior midfielder. “You have to go in strong and refocus on what we’ve been practicing. You can’t let down.”

NewCath (12-1-2) has not lost since a 1-0 defeat at Ryle on Aug. 26. The Lady Breds played for the fifth time in six days also winning the All “A” State championship and tieing Dixie Heights, 1-1.

“We had a very emotional weekend,” said Kevin Turnick, NewCath Head Coach. “The good thing is this has always been a very good rivalry so it’s easy to get up for it. I was impressed with their positive mindset. When I got here, they were pretty loose. But they deserve a couple days off.”

On the other side, Highlands (4-6-3) had not played in nine days. The Bluebirds finished runner-up in the prestigious Lexington Catholic Cup to Louisville Sacred Heart, 2-0. Highlands beat last year’s state runner-up and arch-rival Notre Dame in the semifinals of that tournament.

“We played well enough to win,” said Tommy Kearns, Highlands Head Coach. “We didn’t get the result. We look forward to a rematch here in October.”

The Lady Breds had more shots that would have been goals had the goalkeeper not stopped them. They won that category 5-3. Both teams ran 4-4-2 (defender-midfielder-forward) attacks.

NewCath came out of the gate strong scoring quickly. Michaela Ware scored on a throw-in from teammate Loren Zimmerman just 1:13 into the game.

“The first five (minutes) and last five has been huge for us,” Turnick said. “We made a mistake, but we battled back. I just got done telling them it was nice to see that. We went undefeated for the month of September so that was a cool feeling too.”

But Highlands came back and tied the game with 16:03 left in the first half. Ellie New scored on a nice pass from Taylor Vaughn.

“The early goal was a killer,” Kearns said. “If you give up a goal early in the match, you’re digging out of a hole. We played well creating a ton of chances again.”

Zimmerman scored the game-winning goal for the Lady Breds with 7:08 left in the first half. She took a nice pass from Taylor Tolle and put it away.

NewCath could have made the score 3-1 later in the half. But a shot went off the crossbar.

Both defenses played well. Highlands goalkeeper Sarah Owen recorded three saves and NewCath goalkeeper Meg Martin recorded two. She dove to stop a Highlands throw-in early in the second half.

“I try to go after (the ball) when I’m pretty much the last hope,” Martin said. “When (opponents) have it too long and the pressure is not coming, I’ll go after it. But I usually trust my defenders. They’re just awesome.”

The game was played clean. Neither team received any yellow or red cards. Neither team committed any offside violations as well.

Both teams continue action Thursday against other 9th Region powers. Highlands goes to St. Henry for a 7:30 p.m. contest and NewCath ventures to Notre Dame for a 5:15 p.m. game.