Highlands Saturday Results

Bluebirds Soccer Teams Knock Off Ohio Opponents

PHOTO: G. Michael Graham, Fort Thomas Matters. Highlands senior Macy Hendenberg moves into position in a recent game.

The Highlands Bluebirds boys soccer team (9-3-1 overall) ventured into Ohio for the second time this week and third time this season and earned a huge 4-0 win.

Highlands took out the Walnut Hills Eagles (2-2-2) for the first win over an Ohio opponent this year. The Eagles tied Cincinnati St. Xavier, 1-1 on Sept. 7.

"This is a really big win for us frankly," said Chad Niedert, Highlands Head Coach. "We expected a great game and that's what we got. We kind of made a slight adjustment just on how to proceed tactically. We were very patient. We scored pretty early and we did a good job of never turning back. We kept after them, which hasn't always been the case. We kept pushing for more. Overall, I thought our entire team was much sharper than Thursday at Summit (Country Day). Our legs are back and we weren't so tired. It was a pretty good showing overall."

The Bluebirds had 21 shots with 12 on goal to three on goal for the Eagles. Highlands junior goalkeeper Connor Mathis had two saves and sophomore Jack Wilson made one.

"I just feel like we did a good job sticking together, playing as a team knowing when to push, when to stay back," Mathis said. "As long as we don't over-push and things like that, we're really strong together as a group."

Junior Colin Pieper had two goals and an assist for five points for Highlands. Pieper has a team-high eight goals and two assists for 18 points on the season.

Junior Caden Schroeder and senior Jordan Frisk had the other two goals. Schroeder has four goals this year and Frisk has seven. Frisk added his fifth assist this season.

Seniors Joel Kendall and Sam Jones added assists. Kendall has five assists and Jones has two.

Highlands plays Newport Central Catholic (5-6-1) at Morscher Field on Tuesday. Game time is 5 p.m.

Soccer, Girls:

Highlands 10, Eastern Brown (Ohio):

The Bluebirds (6-2) forced an early ending to the game in the second half for the first time since beating Dayton, 11-0 in the first round of the 36th District Tournament on Oct. 7, 2019.

"I think the girls had three main goals. They wanted to have fun," said Chris Norris, Highlands Head Coach. "They wanted to keep the passes to one and two touches and they wanted to play quick. I think they put all three of those things together."

Sophomore forwards Laney Smith and Claire Cavacini led the Bluebirds with hat tricks of three goals and an assist for seven points each. Senior midfielder Faith Broering had one goal and two assists for four points. Smith has team-highs of eight goals and seven assists on the season for 23 points. Cavacini has seven goals and two assists for 16 points with Broering recording six goals and three assists for 15 points.

Junior forward Anna Melson along with seniors Jade Rehberger and Chloe Bramble had one goal and one assist each for three points. Senior Julia Heck and sophomore Lindsay Stein added their first assists of the year. Bramble has four goals and four assists for 12 points on the season. Rehberger has six assists. Melson has two goals and an assist on the season.

"I think the thing the starters and the senior noticed was the intensity never went down when the non-starters came in," said Macy Hedenberg, Highlands senior forward. "It was really good to see. We needed to keep a high intensity level coming off that (1-0) loss (Thursday) to East Central (Indiana). We kept going and just didn't stop."

Highlands takes on Lexington Catholic (11-2) in the annual Lady Knights Cup Challenge on Monday. Game time is 8 p.m.

Cross Country:

Highlands Boys Take Second at Mason County:

The Bluebirds took second in the Mason County Invitational at Mason County High with 94 points. Villa Madonna won it with 72.

Sophomore Malcolm Robertson led the way finishing sixth in 17 minutes, 2.51 seconds. The other scorers were sophomore Owen McCain in 15th in 17:42.74, senior Thomas Gray-Torsell in 17th in 17:46.69, junior Sam Hopper in 17:47.77 and senior John Laskey at 40th in 18:29.39.

Sophomore Ezra McKenzie and junior Cameron Myers also ran for the Bluebirds. McKenzie took 40th in 18:30.86 and Myers took 53rd in 18:52.65.

Highlands runs in the Campbell County championships Sept. 20.

Golf, Boys:

Bluebirds Take 8th:

Highlands shot 324 to take eighth out of 18 teams in the Grant County Invitational. Freshman Nate Surrey led the way shooting 78.

Senior Jack Schneider shot 81 with two freshmen finishing out the scoring. Hank Shick shot 82 and Oliver Golden shot 83. Junior Joel Craft shot 87.

Highlands plays Covington Catholic and Newport Central Catholic on Senior Night on Monday at Highland Country Club. Tee time is 3:30 p.m.