NewCath advances, Highlands falls in 9th quarters

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM

Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter

ERLANGER – The Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds and Highlands Bluebirds soccer teams found themselves on opposite ends of 1-0 scores in the 9th Region quarterfinals Sunday.

NewCath defeated Villa Madonna by that score and Highlands fell to the host St. Henry Crusaders to finish its season. The games took place Sunday because St. Henry is also playing host to the 9th Region volleyball tournament.

The Thoroughbreds have won three straight to improve to 6-9-5 overall and move to the 9th semifinals. Josh Hensley scored the game-winning goal 1:35 into overtime for NewCath. The two teams did not face each other in the regular season.

“We came out pretty flat in the first half,” said Mike McDonald, NewCath head coach. “I had a talk with the guys at halftime about it being a win or go-home regional. Take a look at the guys around you and don’t play for yourself. Play as a team. We played much better in the second half. We had to fight the wind. It was pretty bad.”

Throughbreds claim second straight district title

Photo by G. Michael Graham. The Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds won their second straight district title with a 1-0 win over Highlands at Tower Park on Thursday.

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM

Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter

There are many reasons to throw out records once the postseason comes around.

One is the return of key players from injuries.

The Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds soccer team played competitive soccer all year, but had a hard time finding victories because of injuries, defensive mistakes and an inability to score goals. That changed Thursday in NewCath’s 1-0 District 36 victory over the Highlands Bluebirds at Tower Park. Both teams advance to the 9th Region Tournament.

This marked the second consecutive district title for the Thoroughbreds. They beat Bishop Brossart for the 19th District title last year before beating Covington Catholic, 1-0 to win the 10th Region crown and losing 1-0 to Montgomery County in the first round of the state tournament.

NewCath also beat Highlands for the first time since 2004. The Bluebirds went 11-0-2 in the last 13 meeting against the Thoroughbreds, including a 2-0 win on Sept. 22 at Tower Park.

Weekend Sports Briefs

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM

Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter

The Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds soccer team broke through in a big way with a 9-0 win over the visiting Russell Red Devils on Saturday.

NewCath improved to 3-7-5 and snapped a five-game winless streak. Russell dropped to 7-8. The Thoroughbreds recorded their third shutout of the year behind five saves from Nathan Grosser.

Matt Tolle scored a hat trick of three goals for the Thorobreds and Cody Guthier scored twice. Evan Brannon, Connor Hanneken, Sam Barth and Kyle Simon scored the other goals for NewCath. Josh Liles had three assists for NewCath with Hanneken recording two. Jacob Hensley, Nathan Tackett and Brannon all added assists.

NewCath travels to Covington Holmes for a 6:45 p.m. contest Monday.

Lady Breds win:

The Newport Central Catholic Lady Breds soccer team knocked off Russell, 4-1 on Saturday.

The Lady Breds improved to 11-4-1 and Russell fell to 12-6.

NewCath has two home games remaining. The Lady Breds play host to St. Henry at 5:30 p.m. Monday.

Highlands volleyball goes 2-3 in Louisville:

The Highlands Ladybirds went 2-3 in the Jefferson County Invitational in Louisville over the weekend.

Highlands lost to Covington Holy Cross, 2-0 (25-18, 25-23) and Owensboro Catholic, 2-0 (25-15, 25-20) on Friday in pool play to fall into the Bronze Bracket on Saturday.

Highlands won the first two games of the day to snap a 13-game losing streak. This included a 2-0 (25-8, 25-16) win over Fern Creek before falling in the Bronze title game, 2-1 (15-25, 25-21, 25-15) to Green County.

The Ladybirds (10-21) take on Bellevue on Senior Night on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.

Ladybirds soccer ties Boyle County:

The Highlands Ladybirds tied the Boyle County Lady Rebels, 0-0 on Saturday at Tower Park.

Jesse Daley played the entire game and made three saves in net for the Ladybirds. Highlands is 2-9-3 with the eight-game winless streak. The Ladybirds are 0-9-3 against teams outside of Boone County.

Highlands travels to Cooper at 7:30 p.m. Monday.

Tuesday Sports Briefs

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM

Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter

The Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds volleyball team wrapped up a perfect run through District 36 action 2-0 (25-10, 25-7) over Newport High on Tuesday.

NewCath moved to 9-18 overall and 4-0 in district play. The Lady Breds will be the top seed in the district tournament.

Nikki Kiernan led NewCath with four kills and six aces. Molly Mertle added four kills. Alyssa Maier followed with 14 assists and Maria Froendhoff had five digs.

NewCath travels to Conner tonight at 7:30 p.m.

Highlands volleyball loses at Ryle:

Highlands fell 3-0 (25-6, 25-13, 25-19) at Ryle on Tuesday. The Ladybirds have lost 11 in a row to fall to 8-18.

Highlands plays in the Jefferson County Invitational Tournament over the weekend.

Simon Kenton edges NCC:

The tough luck continued for the Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds soccer team Tuesday in a 2-1 loss at Simon Kenton.

The Thoroughbreds are 2-7-5 and have a five-game winless streak. Their last win came Sept. 13 at Calvary Christian.

Sam Barth scored the goal for NCC and Nathan Grosser had eight saves at goalkeeper.

NewCath plays host to Russell on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.

Highlands, NewCath renew soccer rivalry Saturday

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM

Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter

This matchup used to have plenty of implications for the old 19th District Tournament.

But the Kentucky High School Athletic Association shuffled around the districts making them similar to the basketball districts. Thus, the Highlands Bluebirds and Newport Central Catholic men’s soccer teams will battle each other mostly for pride during Saturday’s regular season matchup and for Ninth Region seedings in the District 36 championship game. District rivals Bellevue, Dayton and Newport do not field men’s soccer squads.

Highlands and NewCath battled Campbell County and Bishop Brossart to get to the 10th Region tournament in the old 19th District. Highlands eliminated NewCath in 2010, 2009, 2008, 2006 and 2005 in the 19th semifinals.

Last year, Highlands won the regular-season meeting 3-1. But NewCath won the District Tournament and beat Covington Catholic to win the 10th Region title before losing 1-0 at Montgomery County in the first round of the state tournament.

NewCath eliminated Highlands, 1-0 in the 19th semifinals in 2004. Since then, it has been all Highlands. The Bluebirds are 10-0-2 against their rivals just two miles down the road during that time frame.

Both teams need a win in big ways. The Bluebirds are just 1-4-2 in their last seven games since starting the season 5-2, including big wins over Boone County and St. Henry. The Bluebirds are 6-6-2 overall.

“The season is going well,” said Matthew Winkler, Highlands head coach. “Sure, there are games that I think we should have won. Rebuilding each year is always a challenge and it takes time to find the right mix for everyone. Someone that might play center-mid in club might play defense in high school. I enjoy the group of guys that we have this year and hope that they continue to work hard. We both have high goals for the season and we intend to give it our best to meet these goals.”