Thoroughbreds pound Crusaders, 5-1

 

G. Michael Graham Photo. Newport Central Catholic junior midfielder Noah Connolly (white) battles a St. Henry defender for control of the ball in Thursday's All "A" 9th Region championship game. The Thoroughbreds won 5-1 to improve to 3-1-1 overall.

 

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM

Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter

SILVER GROVE – The long-term goal for the Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds boys soccer program is about pride.

This program is the only male program in the school that has not won an All “A” state championship. They’d love to join the NewCath basketball and baseball programs that won the All “A” championships last year in addition to the football team winning the Class 2A title. On the female side, the basketball and soccer teams have captured All “A” state championships.

While there is still a ways to go, the Thoroughbreds took a major step Thursday at Morscher Field near Silver Grove. NewCath started off hot and beat the rival St. Henry Crusaders, 5-1 in the All “A” 9th Region championship game.

NewCath scored two quick goals and added to that lead. The Thoroughbreds led 4-0 at halftime.

“We’ve prepared well for this team,” said Mike McDonald, NewCath head coach. “(The Crusaders) are a very good team. Our kids knew they had to win 50/50 balls. Winning 50/50 balls in a high school soccer game is where you win games. We found our wings. We found our feet early and took advantage of our opportunities. We put them away early.”

They may not have played a great second half. But it was more than enough to advance in the tournament. NewCath (3-1-1) plays the 10th Region winner in a sub-sectonal game at a time to be announced.

The 10th Region All “A” Tournament has not started yet. But it has to be completed by Sept. 22. The state tournament takes place in Elizabethtown on Sept. 28 and 29. McDonald said he expects the opponent to be rival Bishop Brossart, which finished 21-2 a year ago including a 2-1 win over NewCath in the 9th/10th All “A” semifinals. The region tournaments separated this year unlike previous years.

NewCath did make the All “A” state tournament two and three years ago. The Thoroughbreds lost to Bardstown Bethlehem, 3-2 in the semifinals in 2011 after falling 5-1 to Danville in the quarterfinals in 2010.

Matt Tolle scored two quick goals just four and seven minutes into the game to put NewCath up for good at 2-0. Junior Ryan Randle and senior Evan Brannon scored with about 12 and two minutes left in the half to give the Thoroughbreds the comfortable 4-0 halftime lead.

“We were just playing as a team,” Randle said. “We were very focused. It’s about communication, passion and understanding how each other plays.”

St. Henry (3-2) did score on an indirect kick in the first half. But the goal did not count because the Crusaders were ruled offside.

St. Henry did dent the scoreboard in the second half. Cory Eibel scored as NewCath had problems clearing the ball. But NewCath did clear many balls in its defensive box.

“We just really needed to play our game in the back, which is to stay calm and composed,” said Nick Huesman, NewCath senior defender. “We had to get (the ball) out of (the defensive third) quickly because we know (the Crusaders) are fast up top. We stayed with our marks.”

Minutes later, the Thoroughbreds responded. Patrick Louis scored on a penalty kick to make the final score.

“It was a tail of two halves,” McDonald said. “It looked like we became spectators in the second half instead of coming out and winning balls. We were letting them win balls first. Then we had to defend right away. We ended up scoring a late goal. But a soccer game is 80 minutes. It’s not one half. We have to get in that habit because we have a tough schedule coming up.”

NewCath outshot St. Henry, 13-4. Goalkeeper Kevin Cawley made eight saves for the Crusaders and Paul Grosser made three for the Thoroughbreds. Both teams played 4-4-2 (defender-midfielder-forward) attacks. But St. Henry had its sweeper high and NewCath took advantage of it.

The Thoroughbreds continue action Tuesday at home against Cooper. Game time is 6 p.m.

Highlands edges NCC, 2-1 in another classic

G. Michael Graham Photo. Members of the Highlands and Newport Central Catholic soccer teams get in position for a corner kick in Tuesday's game. The Bluebirds won 2-1 in the season opener for both teams.

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM

Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter

Close soccer games often come down to two things.

That is either a well-executed run-out or the opponent not stepping forward to clear the ball in its defensive box. The Highlands Bluebirds ended up doing the extra things to beat their 36th District rival Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds, 2-1 on Tuesday at Tower Park.

Highlands continued to dominate the series between the two schools about two miles apart. The Bluebirds improved to 12-1-2 against the Thoroughbreds since 2004. NewCath’s lone win during that stretch came 1-0 in the district championship game last year.

“We absolutely hope that (momentum) carries on,” said Matthew Winkler, Highlands head coach. “It was a fantastic crowd. Playing NC, it’s always a big game. It’s kind of one of those scary situations where if we drop off, it could hurt us really bad. If we keep this momentum, we could do well the rest of the week.”

NewCath outshot Highlands, 10-6. But Highlands goalkeepers Nick Breslin and Nathan Tippenhauer recorded three and five saves in the first and second halves respectively. They also had plenty of help from their teammates in clearing balls, especially late in the game.

“It’s a matter of positioning yourself with other defenders to make sure one person is covering the back,” said Devin Dupont, Highands junior. “We need to move as a unit and keep together as a team. We can’t do anything stupid in the box.”

Thoroughbred goalkeeper Paul Grosser also had a good game. The junior recorded four saves.

“I expected a tight game,” said Mike McDonald, NewCath head coach. “We have some things to work on. You get the first game of the season out of the way. We learn and we move on. Defensively in the center of the field, we lost our marks.”

Highlands scored both of its goals from 40 yards out. The first one came with 1:38 left in the first half. Cole Davis-Roberts drew a foul outside the box and scored on the free kick. Davis-Roberts also drew a penalty kick opportunity with 11:10 left in the game, but Grosser slid to his left to deflect the shot away.

The Bluebirds added to their 1-0 halftime lead just 4:33 into the second half. Chris Garbig also scored from about 40 yards out to put Highlands up 2-0.

“I took a touch forward, looked up and the far (right) post was wide open. I took the opportunity,” Garbig said. “You have to strike (the ball) as clean as possible and make sure the laces are coming through the ball and stay over it making sure you keep it low.”

Winkler and staff said they would love to see more shots like that. Garbig and Davis-Roberts play big scoring roles in Highlands’ 4-4-2 and 3-5-1 (defender-midifielder-forward) attacks.

“Chris (Garbig) and Cole (Davis-Roberts) are really talented,” Winkler said. “They have really good confidence behind the ball. When they see the keeper is off his line or off to the side, I’m okay with them taking that risk (of long shots). Two of them paid off for us.”

The Thoroughbreds then scored their only goal eight seconds later. Senior midfielder Connor Hanneken put one in for NewCath. The Thoroughbreds run a 4-4-2 attack.

“We just have to take advantage of our opportunities,” McDonald said. “We haven’t had a prolific scorer since Austin (Juniet, a 2012 NC graduate). We have a couple guys who are mature enough to do it. It was not for a lack of effort. It was for a lack of good play.”

Both teams return to action Thursday. Highlands plays host to St. Henry at 8 p.m. and NewCath plays host to Conner at 6 p.m.

NCC soccer teams looks for redemption, volleyball return to glory

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM

Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter

It boiled down to a matter of plays that kept the Newport Central Catholic soccer teams from the title of 9th Region champions last year.

The NewCath boys fell 2-0 in the title game to eventual state semifinalist Boone County and the girls lost 3-1 to eventual state runner-up and 2011 state champion Notre Dame. Both teams return the talent to make similar runs this year.

Boys Soccer:

Once they were healthy, the Thoroughbreds made their postseason run. They ran off three straight wins in the postseason including a 1-0 win over Highlands in the District 36 championship game and 2-1 victory over Ryle in the 9th Region semifinals. NewCath finished 7-10-5 overall.

“I believe the guys are prepared for anything that's thrown at us,” said Mike McDonald, NewCath head coach. “We have been training hard to get back to the top. We have been fortunate not have any big injuries this offseason. We have had a few tweaks and sprains, but nothing serious.”

NewCath runs a 4-4-2 (defender-midfielder-forward) formation and returns a number of players with experience. McDonald said he likes the teams skills but needs to come together as a team to be successful this year.

Junior Paul Grosser could take over at goalkeeper after his brother Nathan Grosser graduated last year. Other key returning players for the Thoroughbreds include senior Ben Tierny, Matt Tolle and junior Jacob Hensley.

NewCath opens the season Tuesday at Highlands. Game time is 8 p.m.

Girls Soccer:

The Thoroughbreds have had the same head coach since 1999 in Kevin Turnick.

They tend to reload as a result. NewCath runs several formations depending on the opponent. NewCath also won its first district championship since 2005 last year.

“Last year’s experience will benefit our returning starters,” Turnick said. “They know what to expect in terms of playing in win or go home games. I like our overall team speed, athletic ability and willingness to learn and work hard.”

NewCath returns seven starters from last year’s team that finished 14-6-1 and outscored opponents, 60-21. That includes All-Region and All-State senior midfielder Sam Bunzel, All-Region junior forward Loren Zimmerman, Honorable Mention All-Region sophomore defender Ansley Davenport and junior goalkeeper Erin Ackerson. Bunzel led NewCath with 12 goals last year and Zimmerman had 10.

NewCath plays host to Cooper on Wednesday. Game time is 6:30 p.m.

Volleyball:

The Thoroughbreds struggled through an uncharacteristic 10-20 campaign last year and did not win a district championship for the first time since 2004.

But youth and inexperience played a huge role in that as the majority of the players played on varsity for the first time. Only Maria Froendhoff returned from the 2011 team that finished a run of six consecutive 10th Region titles. NewCath lost to Ryle in the 9th quarterfinals last year.

“We knew it was going to be a growing year last season and it did take a toll on the girls mentally,” said Vicki Fleissner, NewCath head coach. “They have been working extremely hard in the offseason on their skills and conditioning. The experiences from last season are making these girls more determined while on the court.”

Senior hitter Nikki Kiernan returns for NewCath along with senior setter Alyssa Maier. The other four seniors are Abbie Lukens, Molly Mertle, Rachel Parnell and Madison Volk. Four juniors, two sophomores and a freshman round out the roster.

NewCath opens the season Monday in the All “A” 9th Region Tournament. The Thoroughbreds travel to Beechwood. Game time is 7:30 p.m.