Highlands Saturday Sports Round-Up

Bluebirds Down Generals

PHOTO: G. Michael Graham, Fort Thomas Matters. Highlands senior Jordan Frisk makes a move in a recent game.

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The Highlands Bluebirds boys soccer team (12-3-1 overall) concluded an outstanding week with an impressive 3-1 win over the Lexington Lafayette Generals (8-3-2) at Tower Park.

"They've beaten some decent teams," said Chad Niedert, Highlands Head Coach. "In Lexington, you typically don't have an easy night out. We scored early and set the right tone then we just kind of took it from there. I thought that we had a pretty good game overall."

Highlands had 20 shots including 14 on goal to go with nine fouls, one corner kick and one yellow card. Junior goalkeeper Connor Mathis made six saves and sophomore goalkeeper Jack Wilson had two.

Sophomore forward/midfielder Chad Gesenhues put home after junior forward Colin Pieper shot one off the post for the game's lone goal of the first half. That is the sixth assist for Pieper and sixth goal of the year for Gesenhues.

The Bluebirds built a 2-0 advantage in the second half off another rebound. Junior midfielder Caden Schroeder put one off a shot from junior midfielder/forward Casey Stiles. Schroeder has six goals and Stiles tallied his first assist of the season.

But the Generals scored their lone goal with 20 minutes left in the game. Highlands senior forward/midfielder Jordan Frisk. That marked Frisk's 10th goal of the season.

"Usually whenever we get scored on in the game, it doesn't usually phase us," Frisk said. "Early this week, we played (Newport Central Catholic) and let in two early goals. But neither of them really defined the rest of the game. We ended up coming back and playing stronger after the goals."

The Bluebirds travel to Covington Holmes on Tuesday. Game time is 7 p.m.

Soccer, Girls:

Notre Dame 3, Highlands 0:

The Bluebirds (8-3) trailed just 1-0 at halftime in the championship game of the Lady Knights Challenge Cup. They stayed in it until the Pandas (15-0) scored twice in the last 10 minutes of the game. Notre Dame has outscored opponents, 57-2 on the season.

Notre Dame had 14 shots on goal to five for Highlands. Highlands senior goalkeeper Hailey Parks recorded 11 saves.

"It was a tough game against a really strong team," said Chris Norris, Highlands Head Coach. "We changed our formation late to get more players upfield. They found a seam and followed up a saved shot. We felt like we needed to do something to put more pressure on them."

Highlands also lost 3-0 to Notre Dame at Tower Park on Aug. 30. The Bluebirds have lost in the Lady Knights Challenge Cup title game the last three years.

Highlands travels to Dixie Heights on Wednesday. Game time is 8 p.m.