Highlands Girls Soccer Ties Simon Kenton

Bluebirds Lose Lead in Second Half

PHOTO: G. Michael Graham, Fort Thomas Matters. Highlands senior defender Jade Rehberger takes and makes a penalty shot earlier in the week.

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The first half belonged to the host Highlands Bluebirds girls soccer team (10-4-1 overall).

The Bluebirds built a 2-0 lead. It started when senior Chloe Bramble scored her seventh goal of the season on the ninth assist of the season from sophomore Laney Smith.

Smith scored her 14th goal of the season on a shot from 20 yards out off a pass from sophomore Claire Cavacini. Cavacini has three assists and Smith has a team-high 37 points on the season.

But the Lady Pioneers (7-9-1) did not quit. They scored on a corner kick just two minutes into the second half. Simon Kenton tied the game on another corner kick with six minutes left in the game.

"I think that we are playing well. We just need to work on that mental aspect," said Jade Rehberger, Highlands senior defender. "We can't be making mental lapses in the postseason. We need to be in the game for the whole 80 minutes or extra time. It's about preparing for the win or go home mentality."

Simon Kenton had eight shots on goal to seven for Highlands. Senior goalkeeper Meg Gessner had six saves for the Bluebirds.

"I thought we played some of our best soccer in the first half," said Chris Norris, Highlands Head Coach. "We were playing quick. I thought that we played really well. Then in the second half, they made some tactical changes and I think we just got caught in the transition. They were able to work the ball down and got a couple corners. They were very dangerous on those corners. We just couldn't figure out how to get the ball out of danger."

Highlands Downs Dixie Heights in Rain

Bluebirds Overcome Colonels, Elements

PHOTO: G. Michael Graham, Fort Thomas Matters. The Highlands girls soccer team beat Dixie Heights, 4-3 in 9th Region play Wednesday.

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The Highlands Bluebirds girls soccer team (9-3 overall) needed a late goal and to overcome a formidable rain storm to record a road 9th Region win Wednesday.

"In the second half, we had a pretty strong head wind that was pushing their punts and goalkeeper clearances pretty far," said Chris Norris, Highlands Head Coach. "The whole goal was to keep it from bouncing. It was slippery. It was a cold, nasty night. But I thought we had enough soccer knowledge and abilities to fight our way through it."

But the Bluebirds overcame the challenge in the rematch of last year's region championship game at the Dixie Heights Colonels (9-6-2) by a 4-3 score. Senior defender Jade Rehberger had three assists in the win and senior goalkeeper Hailey Parks had three saves. Rehberger has a team-high nine assists on the season.

Senior midfielder Faith Broering scored her sixth goal of the season to put Highlands up 1-0. Senior forward Macy Hedenberg scored her first goal of the season with three minutes left in the half to put Highlands up 2-1 at halftime.

Sophomore forward Claire Cavacini scored her ninth goal of the season to put Highlands up 3-1 early in the second half. But after Dixie Heights tied the game, senior midfielder Julia Heck scored the game-winning goal with 15 minutes left in the game. It marked the first of the season for Heck.

"I think that when we scored our first goal, we didn't think they were going to come back so fast," said Lindsay Stein, Highlands sophomore forward. "That gave us momentum to push forward and continue trying to score more. We've been working more on our communication and talking on our free kicks. I think it's working well."

Highlands Girls Soccer Victorious Again in LexCath Cup

Bluebirds Back in Tournament Title Game

PHOTO: G. Michael Graham, Fort Thomas Matters. Highlands senior defender Jade Rehberger prepares to take a corner kick in a recent game.

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The Highlands Bluebirds girls soccer team (8-2 overall) finds itself in the title game of the Lexington Catholic Lady Knights Challenge Cup hoping the third time is the charm.

Highlands earned its way back to the title game with a convincing 3-0 win over the Louisville Assumption Rockets (8-4-1) in the second round of the winner's bracket. The Bluebirds have lost in the last two tournament championship games including a 3-2 loss on kicks from the mark against Lexington Lafayette last year.

"I think the first 20 minutes, we definitely had a very prescribed game plan that we were going to use," said Chris Norris, Highlands Head Coach. "I think we executed well to get the 2-0 lead. Then Assumption made some tactical changes, kind of put us on our heels a little bit. Our defense had to reorganize to make sure the passing lanes were shut down."

Highlands will play for that elusive crown on Saturday at 7 p.m. The opponent will be the winner of the late Thursday contest between Notre Dame (13-0) or Louisville DuPont Manual (5-3). This marked the second shut-out of the year for the Bluebirds.

This marked the second win over the Rockets. The Bluebirds downed host Assumption, 4-2 on Aug. 21.

Assumption had 18 shots on goal to seven. But senior goalkeeper Meg Gessner stopped all 11 shots in the first half and senior goalkeeper Hailey Parks stopped all seven in the second half.

"They were taking a lot of shots. But most of their shots were coming from 30 yards out-plus," Norris said. "So a lot of their shots were on target. But they weren't necessarily dangerous. I thought we were handle everything they were throwing at us for the most part. I thought the girls really stepped up and did a fantastic job."

Highlands won a good number of balls near midfield allowing the midfielders to pass the ball to the forwards. Assumption had 10 fouls to seven for Highlands. The Bluebirds committed the game's long yellow card.

"I felt like we did a lot better than we have been," said Ava Meyer, Highlands sophomore midfielder. "But I still feel like we need to work on a lot of the 50/50 balls in the middle. You just have to think that you want the ball more than (opponents) and that you need to get the first ball in the air, not the second ball."

The first goal came 11 minutes into the first half. Sophomore forward Laney Smith scored her 10th goal of the season.

The second goal came with 24 minutes left in the first half to put Highlands up 2-0 at halftime. Senior forward Chloe Bramble found senior defender Jade Rehberger on a cross. Rehberger has two goals and Bramble six assists on the season.

The Bluebirds added another goal just 100 seconds into the second half to make the final score when Smith scored her second goal of the game and 11th on the season. Smith also has team-highs of seven assists and 29 points on the season.

Since last winning the cup crown in 2006, Highlands has gone back to the title game four times. The Bluebirds also made the championship game in 2013 and 2016.

Highlands Girls Soccer Downs Lexington Catholic

Bluebirds Open LexCath Tournament with Biggest Win of Season

PHOTO: G. Michael Graham, Fort Thomas Matters. Highlands sophomore Claire Cavacini (5) and Lindsey Stein (13) go after the ball in a recent game.

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It may not have played a factor in this game.

But it's not been lost in the fact these two teams have met in the state tournament at Tower Park the last two seasons. Lexington Catholic ended the Highlands season in the first round last year in kicks from the mark on the way to a state runner-up finish. The Bluebirds beat the Lady Knights in the state quarterfinals on the way to a similar finish in 2019, also on kicks from the mark.

Highlands (7-2 overall) came away with this battle by a 2-1 score in the first round of the Lady Knights Cup Challenge. The Bluebirds take on Assumption (8-3-1) for the second time this year back at LexCath on Wednesday. Game time is 8 p.m.

"I think in the second half, we were on the attack most of the time," said Chris Norris, Highlands Head Coach. "Most of their attacks were kind of hail maries. We possessed the ball well in the midfield. We were attacking the corners really well."

LexCath (11-3) outshot Highlands, 13-8 on goal. But senior goalkeeper Meg Gessner made 12 saves for the Bluebirds. Junior Caitlin Loope made six for the Lady Knights.

"Meg played fantastic," Norris said. "She came off the line very well. She had a couple high saves that she had to get her hands on. But I think overall, our back line played very stellar."

The Bluebirds had six fouls to five for the Lady Knights. They also had just three corner kicks compared to six for LexCath. Neither team had any yellow or red cards.

The teams played a scoreless first half. But senior forward Chloe Bramble found sophomore forward Claire Cavacini for the first Highlands goal with 30 minutes left in the game. That marked the fifth assist for Bramble and eighth goal for Cavacini on the season.

"Our team chemistry is really coming together," Bramble said. "The way that we connect passes, play to feet and we know what runs that our other teammates are making. It makes playing the game a lot easier. It's always a really fun tournament to be in."

But the Bluebirds grabbed a huge goal with eight minutes left in the game. Sophomore forward Laney Smith scored her team-high ninth goal of the season on a throw-in from junior forward Anna Melson. That marked Melson's second goal of the season.

The Lady Knights made it interesting with under five minutes left when junior Katherine Truitt scored off a free kick from junior defender Oliva Bretz. Truitt has three goals and Bretz nine assists on the season.

The Bluebirds are still recovering from injuries. But younger players such as freshman Kendall Graves have stepped forward.

"It feeds our confidence. We came together as a team and we moved the ball," Graves said. "We just stepped to the ball quickly and cut off the passes."

The Bluebirds have advanced to the title game of this tournament the last two years, but have not come away with the crown. They last won the tournament in 2006.

Highlands Dominates Dayton

Bluebirds Play for District Title on Wednesday

PHOTO: G. Michael Graham. Highlands knocked off Dayton, 11-0 on Monday to move on in the 36th District Tournament.

The Highlands Bluebirds girls soccer team (13-3-5 overall) dominated the Dayton Lady Devils, 11-0 in the semifinals of the 36th District Tournament at Tower Park on Monday.

Monday Highlands Sports Notes

Bluebirds Earn Fifth Straight Win over Thoroughbreds

PHOTO: Allen Ramsey, DWCPhoto.com. Highlands senior Lindsey Meyer (10) approaches Newport Central Catholic goalkeeper Kacy Zimmerman on Monday in 36th District play. Highlands won 3-0.

It has been clear from the beginning the waves will come and come and come.

Head Coach Alex Dean said the Highlands Bluebirds girls soccer team wants to continuously put pressure on the opponents hoping to capitalize on mistakes. It worked out well for the second game as the Bluebirds (2-0 overall) downed the rival Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds (1-1) by a 3-0 count at Tower Park on Monday in 36th District action.

Highlands girls soccer earns first win on new surface

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM

Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter

It marked the post-game run they’d been wanting for nearly two years.

The Highlands Bluebirds girls soccer team won for the first time since the new turf graced Tower Park in 2012 in a decisive 5-1 win over the Dixie Heights Lady Colonels on Monday. Highlands entered the game 0-8-5 in its first 13 games on the new artificial surface and had not won at Tower Park since beating Bishop Brossart, 3-2 for the 19th District championship on Oct. 13, 2011.

“I thought we played really well,” said Tommy Kearns, Highlands Head Coach. “I think Dixie is a really good team. They have some really talented players and I think we did a really good job containing them.”

Highlands girls soccer hopes to bounce back from tough campaign

G. Michael Graham Photo. The Highlands girls soccer team does group drills in a recent practice. The Bluebirds hope to put last year's 3-11-3 campaign behind them quickly.

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM

Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter

The Highlands Bluebirds girls soccer team wants to put last year in the rear-view mirror quickly.

The Bluebirds struggled to a 3-11-3 mark for the lowest win total in school history since the program began in 1987. Highlands also did not win a district championship for the first time since 2005 losing 2-0 to Newport Central Catholic in the 36th District championship game. That followed with a 2-1 to Dixie Heights on penalty kicks in the 9th Region quarterfinals at Ryle.

Highlands graduated 10 seniors from that squad. Kara Painter took her talents to Division III Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea (Ohio) just outside Cleveland and Ava Abner took her talents to Arkansas State. Goalkeeper Jesse “Dirt” Daley signed to play basketball at nearby Thomas More College, but will miss the season after suffering injuries from a car accident.

But the Bluebirds do return a solid group of eight seniors and eight juniors. Many of them have varsity experience.

“I think we have a good group of senior leaders,” said Tommy Kearns, Highlands head coach. “They are doing a good job with the underclassmen. They’re showing them how to play the game and how to be good role models for their teammates.”

Senior Sarah Owen returns at goalkeeper after splitting time with Daley between the pipes last year. Junior Lydia Graves will back her up and also play defender/midfielder.

The other seven seniors are midfielder Lauren Daly, midfielder/defender Alyssa Farley, defender/midfielder Anna Bardgett, defender/midfielder McKenzie Goyert, forward Kelsey Etherton, midfielder/forward Kristin Venneman and midfielder Ellie New. The Bluebirds play 4-4-2 and 3-5-1 (defender-midfielder-forward) sets.

“I talked to Tommy (Kearns) about what we’re going to do to get better this year,” New said. “We’re going to work on defense more. We’re focused on not just going out and having fun, but also getting results.”

Highlands recently played in the Bluegrass games. The Bluebirds outshot one opponent, 20-4 but still lost 3-2.

Scoring and health were huge issues for Highlands last year. Opponents outscored Highlands, 45-14 and shut them out nine times last year. It did not help the Bluebirds lost Painter and Abner to season-ending injuries last year.

Sophomore forward Brooklynn Rivers returns after leading Highlands in goals last year. Kearns also said Etherton and junior midfielder/forward Taylor Vaughn are also capable of scoring double-digit goals this year. Rivers and Daly are currently out for Highlands.

“A key for us is obviously staying healthy,” Kearns said. “We’re hoping to get both of them back soon.”

Six other juniors don the roster in midfielder/forward Hilary Gadd, defender/forward Peyton Bankemper, midfielder Allyson Bridewell, midfielder Allison Nienaber, midfielder Kristyn Lukjan and defender/midfielder Brooke Dougherty. Rounding out the roster are sophomore midfielder Maddy Hope and freshmen forward/midfielders Kayla Nehus and Kiersten Clukey.

Highlands opens the season Monday against Ryle at home. Game time is 8 p.m.