Tuesday Highlands Sports Round-up

Highlands Soccer Teams Both Beat Conner

PHOTO: G. Michael Graham, Fort Thomas Matters. Highlands senior goalkeeper Jasmine Rehberger watches during a recent game.

The Highlands Bluebirds girls soccer team (10-1-2 overall) had not faced the Conner Lady Cougars (5-6) since beating them 6-0 win at Tower Park on Aug. 25, 2005.

Highlands beat Conner, 4-0 on Tuesday in a 9th Region battle. That marked the ninth shutout of the season. Goalkeepers Meg Gessner and Jasmine Rehberger had one save each for the Bluebirds.

"We didn't really know what they had," said Alex Dean, Highlands Head Coach. "But they came out, were possessing the ball and they played very well. It was very nice competition switching it up for a team any of the girls hadn't seen. It can also be a team that we see in the postseason."

Highlands freshman forward Laney Smith again led the way with two goals for four points. She scored just eight minutes into the game and another with 28:49 left in the game. Smith has 13 goals and four assists for 30 points on the season.

"We talked about at halftime how much weight was pulled off the shoulders of our strikers being able to put one in then follow it with three more," Dean said. "When we can do it in that first 10-15 minutes, it's huge."

Junior Macy Hedenberg added a goal and one assist for three points with junior midfielder Faith Broering scoring the other goal. Senior Jenna Hartung, junior Chloe Bramble and sophomore Alyssa Harris added assists. Broering has 10 goals and five assists for 25 points on the season.

"For people that come off the bench, it gives them motivation because they're not super stressed out when they get in," Hedenberg said. "We never want to back down. It's just a boost of energy for everyone."

The Bluebirds led 3-0 at halftime. They did not score Monday against Newport Central Catholic until the second half.

Highlands concludes the regular season at St. Henry (4-5-1) on Thursday. Game time is 7:30 p.m.

Soccer, Boys:

Highlands 3, Conner 0:

Highlands (6-3-2) has wins in three of its last four games.

The Bluebirds had seven shots with three on goal to five shots and four on goal for the Cougars (2-7). Sophomore goalkeeper Connor Mathis had three saves for Highlands.

"I thought we played better," said Chad Niedert, Highlands Head Coach. "We started the game a little stronger. Our goal is if we have three quality chances, we want to finish at least one of those early. We finished our third chance."

Sophomore Peyton Helminiak, senior Carter Smith and sophomore Caden Schroeder had the goals. Senior Brayden Gillman and sophomore Colin Pieper had assists. Gillman has a team-high six assists on the season.

"It was a little crazy with grass," Helminiak said. "But I think we played pretty well. We calmed the ball pretty well. Once we got the ball on the ground, it was fine. That is a big thing."

The Bluebirds play host to Cooper (8-2-1) on Thursday. Game time is 8 p.m.

Boys State Golf Tournament Update:

The Bluebirds are in 11th place out of 12 teams after the first day of the tournament at Bowling Green Country Club firing a team total of 349, which is 61 over par on the par 72, 18-hole course.

Senior Justin Gabbard shot 75 shooting three birdies (one-under par) good for a tie for 21st place. Sophomore Joel Craft shot 88 with junior Jack Schneider and eighth grader Hank Shick completing the scoring at 89 and 97.

Highlands senior Luke Muller was unfortunately not able to count any scores from the day, Highlands Head Coach Bert Richey reported on Twitter. He had constantly finished in the top five in tournaments for the Bluebirds all season.

"After the round looking over scores, Luke realized that the person's score he kept was not correct," Richey said. "We called and alerted the officials it was not correct. The officials talked to both kids and the player said he did have a higher score on that hole. The officials stated that Luke signed and attested to a wrong scorecard and that he'd be disqualified, too. Tough day, but I'm proud of Luke for doing what was right."

The second day of the tournament starts Wednesday morning.

Volleyball:

Covington Holy Cross 3, Highlands 0:

The Bluebirds (10-5 overall) dropped their third straight to the Indians (14-2) at home by 25-20, 25-22, 26-24.

Highlands had a .083 hitting percentage connecting on 30-of-109 attempts with 21 errors. Highlands also had 30 assists, 10 aces, 56 digs, three solo blocks and two assisted blocks. The Bluebirds had one general ball-hitting error, four blocking errors, seven receiving errors and seven serving errors.

Senior Laura Winkler had seven kills, 12 assists, two aces and five digs with senior setter Maria Little tallying 16 assists, nine digs and three aces. Junior Lauren Buemi had nine kills, four aces, four digs and a solo block. Junior CC Shick had seven kills and a solo block. Junior Madison Clore had 20 digs and an ace.

Highlands travels to Cooper on Thursday. Game time is 7 p.m.