Boys’ state soccer highlights: Covington Catholic upends No. 1 Collegiate
Covington Catholic eyes a title a repeat in the KHSAA State Boys’ Soccer Tournament this season, but it does so with a bunch of new eyeballs. It made a big step towards that goal with a 2-0 victory over Collegiate in the state quarterfinals Saturday afternoon at Lafayette.
The Colonels graduated 18 seniors from the team that defeated Henry Clay 3-0 in last year’s state finals, the first team from Northern Kentucky to win the boys’ title. CovCath returned only nine players who logged minutes last season, five of whom accounted for 20 of its 109 goals in 2015.
Griffin Lamb with the likely dagger for Covington Catholic. Only 2:21 left here. Colonels lead No. 1 Collegiate 2-0. pic.twitter.com/rxzJMrR7mF
— Josh Moore (@HLpreps) October 29, 2016
One of those returnees is Griffin Lamb, who scored twice in the finals and led the Colonels with 31 goal this season. He went one-on-one for an in-the-box dagger with 2:21 to play on Saturday.
Covington Catholic put the pressure on Collegiate early as Noah Wulfeck scored on a header ball assisted by Dominic Russo following a corner kick opportunity just 3:09 into the game.
“It’s exciting,” Lamb said. “We lost 18 seniors last year and they were good. ... We knew it was going to be difficult but these underclassmen have worked so hard all season.”
Collegiate was ranked No. 1 in the most recent Maher Rankings. The Titans’ only previous loss was 3-1 at the hands of St. Xavier in their second game. They tied 2-2 at South Warren after that before reeling off 23 straight wins — including a dominating run to the All “A” Classic title — entering Saturday. It defeated St. Xavier 2-1 in the 7th Region finals before handling Butler 5-0 in the semi-state round.
Covington Catholic, ranked sixth in the latest ratings, will look to win its ninth straight game when it meets No. 16 North Hardin in the semifinals at Bryan Station on Thursday.
The Trojans defeated Perry County Central 5-0 on Saturday. Micah Winscott scored two goals against the Commodores.
Dunbar takes care of South Laurel
Paul Laurence Dunbar made quick work of South Laurel in a 6-1 quarterfinals victory at Lafayette on Saturday night. The Bulldogs earned their sixth trip to the state semifinals in the last 12 seasons.
Edward Navarro scored twice for the Bulldogs, once unassisted in the first half and another off a Caleb Norris assist. Javier Delgado started the barrage for Dunbar just as the third minute ticked over. Will Cornelius, Jack Sheroan and Jack Rodes also scored for the 11th Region champs.
Daviess County, the highest-ranked team remaining in the field at No. 2, defeated South Warren 2-1 thanks to two second-half goals by Kegan Settle and Isaac Amaya within two minutes of each other.
The Panthers, whose only loss this season was to Oldham County on a neutral site, and Dunbar will meet for a state finals berth 6 p.m. Thursday at Bryan Station.
Josh Moore: 859-231-1307, @HLpreps
Covington Catholic 2, Collegiate 0
G—CC: Wulfeck (4’), Lamb (78’).
GK—CC: Cody. Col: Konermann.
Records: Covington Catholic 21-5-2, Collegiate 24-2-1.
North Hardin 5, Perry County Central 0
G—NH: Linscott 2 (14’, 78’), Rugerio (47’), Barrick (50’), Bennett (79’).
GK—NH: Phoutharansy, Whiting (71’). PCC: Summerset.
Records: North Hardin 19-8-1, Perry Coutny Central 17-8.
Daviess County 2, South Warren 1.
G—DC: Settle (62’), Amaya (64’). SW: Dervisevic (73’).
GK—DC: Croft. SW: Bohnlein.
Records: Daviess County 25-1, South Warren 20-4-2
Paul Laurence Dunbar 6, South Laurel 1
G—PD: Navarro (18’, 58’), Delgado (2’), Cornelius (38’), Sheroan (46’), Rodes (69’). SL: Weaver (23’).
GK—PD: Szydlik. SL: Bustos-Soto.
Records: Dunbar 18-4-2, South Laurel 24-2-1.
This story was originally published October 29, 2016 at 9:30 PM with the headline "Boys’ state soccer highlights: Covington Catholic upends No. 1 Collegiate."