Bluebirds hope to put together another solid postseason run

G. Michael Graham Photo. Highlands Head Boys Soccer Coach Matthew Winkler (right) discussed strategy with assistant Dave Kraus after a recent practice. Winkler is entering his fifth season as the head coach of the Bluebirds.

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM

Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter

It’s the feeling of joy teams receive when they play great soccer at the right time of the year.

The Highlands Bluebirds soccer team put things together in the 9th Region Tournament and embarked on a memorable run. They shut out their three region opponents by a combined 9-0 on their way to their first region championship since 2010. The Bluebirds edged Newport Central Catholic, 1-0 when Mitch Gesenhues scored on a ball that bounced in the box following a Cole Davis-Roberts free kick about a minute into overtime.

Highlands then beat West Jessamine by the same score in the first round of the state tournament before falling 3-1 to eventual state champion Lexington Paul Dunbar in the state quarterfinals. Highlands finished 17-8-1.

The Bluebirds hope momentum carries over from that season despite graduating 10 seniors. Last year’s leading goal-scorer with 16 in Chris Garbig signed to play at Ohio Northern University and Colin Dean will be playing at nearby Thomas More College. Davis-Roberts signed with Earlham College in Richmond (Indiana).

Highlands Head Coach Matthew Winkler is entering his fifth season at the helm of the Bluebirds. He said the team’s work ethic has been great in the offseason knowing Highlands is not far away from challenging for the ultimate goal of a state championship.

“They were up (at Tower Park) training the day school got out. It went really well,” Winkler said. “They had good attendance throughout the summer. The boys came in eager to see how far they can push it this year. There are enough of them on the squad who got a taste of it last year. They still want. It’s a different mix than we had last year. When we put it together, we hope to be a competitive team in this area good talent and.”

Senior Nick Breslin returns at goalkeeper for Highlands. He split games with Nate Tippenhauer in between the pipes last season after spending most of the time there his sophomore year. There are no plans to split time there this season.

Breslin and senior Devin Dupont will be among the leaders on defense. The Bluebirds outscored opponents, 69-33 and recorded 10 shutouts.

“The defensive philosophy has been to give 100 percent,” Breslin said. “If you don’t give 100 percent, you’re not made to run things. We don’t want anyone coming in and giving 50 percent. We want a good defenseman who is going to come in and take care of business.”

Highlands has normally played a 4-4-2 (defender-midfielder-forward) set. But Winkler said strategies change not just year-to-year but also day-to-day depending on aspects like opponents and injuries. The good news is most of the players play club soccer.

“It’s always the hope on the first day of tryouts that the team is in shape that way you can get technical and tactical right away,” Winkler said. “We try to build the conditioning into our training as opposed to doing just static running. We train two times three days a week so there’s time for running and time for training. It’s a good balance.”

Highlands hopes to again have solid senior leadership. The other six listed seniors are Adam Barbro, Brady Dean, Logan Groneck, Vadim Lightner, Eric Schurr and Dakota Tate.

“We’re just trying to lead practice and make sure we’re giving effort,” Dupont said. “We’re trying to work more as a family than a team this year. I think that will help us go far in the postseason.”

The Bluebirds have had to make cuts in year’s past. Highlands generally carries 18-20 on the varsity roster during the regular season before pulling players up from the junior varsity. Teams can carry 24 on the postseason roster and play 21 games during the regular season.

Highlands needs to mostly find players to fill in the roles offensively. Highlands could also see contributions from players like junior Mark Baron, Brady Gesenhues, Jason Schreiber, Noah Sellers, Ben Schweitzer and sophomore Colton Wagoner.

“The talent pool is different,” Winkler said. “But we have some guys that might surprise some people with the talent they’ve developed over the last year. We have some guys who are fast up top. I think that will work to our benefit.”

Highlands takes on St. Henry in a SocceRama at Tower Park this Saturday at 8 p.m. The Bluebirds open the season Aug. 19 against Scott at Tower Park at the same time.