Defending champs overcome rocky start for fifth title in six years
Playing a district rival who knows them almost as well as they know themselves, Lexington Catholic faced a deficit for only the fourth time this season in Thursday’s 11th Region girls’ soccer finals, but the Lady Knights showed why they’re a favorite for hardware every year in a 3-1 victory over Lafayette at Great Crossing High School.
Two minutes after Lafayette freshman Brooke Dawahare put the Generals in front, LexCath’s Mary Martin Hampton played the ball into Emily Scanlon running across Lafayette’s box. Scanlon took a touch around the keeper and fired a shot just inside the near post to tie it 1-1.
“I wasn’t worried,” Hampton said of the deficit. “The whole time, I knew we could bring it out. Every single goal was really important because the game can change like that.”
LexCath made sure it was the team doing the game changing.
Just before the break, Olivia Bretz won a second ball played back to her off a LexCath goal kick and fed Emily Scanlon at midfield. Scanlon quickly played ahead to forward Abbey Rowe and the race to the keeper was on. With a central defender trying to close her down, Rowe passed across to a streaking Hampton who gave the Knights a 2-1 lead with just under six minutes left in the first half.
“They were tearing us apart in the beginning,” LexCath Coach Terry Quigley said. Lafayette’s goal came at the end of a nifty sequence of passes right in the heart of LexCath’s defense. “I didn’t know when we were going to get our act together to slow them down. The first 20 minutes was really rocky. After we started possessing the ball, then it became an easier game for us.”
In the second half, Lexington Catholic dramatically stepped up its intensity and hounded Lafayette’s efforts to work the ball through its midfield. The Knights’ high pressure kept the Generals’ chances to a minimum.
“It was 2-1 at half. You can’t end a game like that,” senior defender Emma James Bryant said. “They’re very much still in the game, so (coach’s halftime) talk was basically that we have to score at least another goal to punch that win.”
Bryant provided that opportunity as a LexCath corner kick was cleared back to her.
“Everyone was running at me trying to get the ball, and I knew I had to get it back in as soon as possible while we still had players up,” she said.
Bryant’s volley found Hampton, whose shot was saved into Scanlon’s path for an easy finish and a 3-1 lead with 15 minutes left. Scanlon’s second goal of the game essentially sealed it for LexCath and wrapped up the tournament’s most valuable player honors for her.
LexCath won its fifth region title in six years. Thursday’s finals replayed last week’s 43rd District championship and matched the No. 2 Knights (13-2-0) against the No. 10 Generals (10-4-1), according to the latest MaherRankings.com ratings. LexCath beat Sayre 3-0 and Great Crossing 6-1 to reach the finals. Lafayette topped Western Hills 4-1 and then Henry Clay 1-0 earlier in the week.
“Of the three games we played against Lafayette, this was their best.” Quigley said. “They were more threatening than they were in the other two and they came to play. They took it to us.”
Coach Taylor Roden, in her fifth season with the Generals, praised her team’s effort and the leadership of her five seniors. Lafayette’s district and region finals appearances were the first for the school since 2005.
“We build every year, slowly chipping a piece off the block each time and improving each year,” Roden said. “We’re just going to keep working. We’re going to be returning a lot of girls … our goal is for state, and we’ll keep working at it.”
For Lexington Catholic, “state” begins Saturday and because of the luck of the Kentucky High School Athletic Association’s draw, the Knights will have to face one of the toughest opponents in the field besides themselves, No. 3 Highlands. The Bluebirds ousted Lexington Catholic in the state quarterfinals last year in a penalty kick shootout and went on to the finals where they lost to Greenwood. This year, Highlands survived a 9th Region that included No. 1 ranked Notre Dame and No. 7 Dixie Heights.
“We would have to play somebody like Highlands sooner or later, so if we win the game, I’ll be glad it was sooner,” Quigley said.
KHSAA State Soccer Tournament
All games start Saturday at 4 p.m. local time
(Matchups listed in bracketed order)
Bishop Brossart (8-7-1) at West Jessamine (8-6-1)
Lexington Catholic (13-2-0) at Highlands (15-1-2)
Estill Co. (4-4-0) at Russell (5-8-2)
Prestonsburg (13-3-0) at North Laurel (13-0-0)
Madisonville (9-6-2) at Greenwood (14-2-1)
Owensboro Catholic (9-7-0) at Marshall Co. (11-2-2)
Mercy (9-3-0) at Simon Kenton (12-6-0)
Sacred Heart (13-4-1) at Bardstown (16-1-1)
All-Region Tournament Team
Lexington Catholic: Emily Scanlon (MVP), Emma James Bryant, Katherine Truitt and Olivia Bretz; Lafayette: Sarah Hall, Brooke Dawahare and Kristen Gamble; Henry Clay: Elisabeth Hundley and Ella Pugh; Great Crossing: Meren Patton and Kamri Smith; Sayre: Alexis Henry; Western Hills: Kennedy Carter, Hills; Madison Southern: Keyara Savia; and Model: Analyce Valencia.
This story was originally published October 22, 2020 at 11:50 PM.
