Girls’ soccer: Keeper boosts Sayre’s confidence; LexCath favored in district
One would be hard-pressed to find a high school athlete more relentlessly optimistic and determined than Sayre soccer’s Catherine “Cat” Graves.
The senior goalkeeper and four-sport standout has been the Spartans’ starter in the box since her freshman year and was a key part of their run to the 11th Region tournament last year in one of the most successful seasons in program history.
High school soccer began postseason play in Lexington on Sunday with the 43rd District’s girls’ first-round game between Lexington Christian and Tates Creek at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School. The 42nd District tournament begins Monday at Sayre Athletic Complex.
Last year’s Sayre team graduated 12 seniors, including the majority of its starting lineup, so, naturally, expectations might have been a little different for 2021. Don’t tell Graves that.
“We’ve always known we were better than the scoreline,” Graves said about her team despite losses to district rivals Henry Clay and Scott County earlier this season.
While Sayre (11-5) drew the district play-in game against Bryan Station (3-11-1) as the No. 4 and 5 seeds, respectively, the Spartans got a huge boost of confidence Wednesday by knocking off top seed Frederick Douglass in a penalty kick shootout after a 1-1 tie in regulation and overtime of their regular-season matchup.
“I think a lot of the problem was that we started a lot of these district games scared … but the rivalry with Douglass just always gets us going. I think we really needed that competition and that aggression to start fully playing to our potential,” Graves said. “We’re so excited going into (districts). We really feel like, now, we’re not going to be looked down on, and we have the confidence that we need.”
Graves saved three of those Douglass penalty kicks and saw another one sail over the crossbar as Sayre won the shootout 3-1. Graves has faced a lot of PKs in a nearly year-round soccer career that includes playing club ball for Lexington FC. She doesn’t remember having a better night.
“I just get a feeling when they’re going up. I have a couple different things I do, but I got a feeling as they were walking up and said, ‘I’m just going to go with this,’” Graves recalled. “My instincts don’t normally take me the wrong way.”
In addition to soccer, Graves runs cross country, plays basketball and runs track for Sayre. It’s a wonder she has time for it all. She finished 11th in last season’s Class A cross country regional and 26th at state, averaged 5.8 points and 5.9 rebounds for the basketball team, and took second in the regional 1,600 meters and third in the 800 meters to qualify for the state meet where she medaled with an eighth-place finish in the 1,600.
She plans to play soccer in college and has interest from some Division II and III schools. She’ll make her official visits later this month before announcing her decision.
The favorites
Lexington Catholic (18-3) goes for its second straight 43rd District title and third straight 11th Region championship this postseason and was ranked as the No. 3 team in the state, the highest rating among teams in the 11th, according to last week’s Maher Rankings.
“When we’re connecting passes together and we’re not just knocking the ball around, we can be a pretty good team,” LexCath Coach Terry Quigley said. “What’s consistent is that they play hard every game.”
Against most foes, the Knights are able to exert relentless defensive pressure on their opponent’s side of the field. Katherine Truitt, a junior defender who was region player of the year last season, spearheads that effort.
“Our whole intention is to put pressure on their defense and break it down,” Quigley said.
That creates goal-scoring opportunities galore. LexCath has outscored its foes 80-14 and has 13 shutouts. Emily Scanlon leads 14 different scorers with 17 goals. Olivia Bretz has 10 goals and the assists lead with 11. Kylie May Stephenson has 11 goals and 10 assists.
LexCath’s schedule included a stretch where it played its own Lady Knights Challenge Cup tournament and the Kentucky 2A State Tournament in the same week. That meant playing six games in a span of eight days.
While they suffered a loss to No. 6 Highlands at the start, the Knights devoured their 2A competition, claiming that tourney with a 4-0 win over Nelson County on Sept. 19.
LexCath’s only other losses have come to No. 2 South Oldham and No. 4 Sacred Heart. Wins included topping No. 10 Lafayette — , a program it beat in both the 2020 district and region finals — 4-0 on Sept. 22. This week’s district finalists both make next week’s regional tournament.
“I think we’ll be super fit. We’ve worked hard together,” senior Sophie Smith said after the Lafayette game about their September gantlet. “It was fun. The teams we played were all good teams. … It was important for us to play those games and to really see how we can connect in a different environment with different teams.”
The Generals (10-5-2) have lost three out their last four games and must get by Paul Laurence Dunbar (8-8) in Monday’s semifinals to get a rematch with LexCath. Lafayette beat Dunbar 3-0 on Sept. 1.
In the 42nd District, No. 16 Frederick Douglass (12-3-3) gets a bye into the semifinals where it will face the winner of Bryan Station and Sayre. It’s the Broncos’ second No. 1 seed in the district in their five-year history and was secured by the program’s second-ever win over Henry Clay on Sept. 8.
Douglass has advanced to the 11th Region tournament as the district runner up twice, but has yet to go in as a district champ.
All ‘A’ run
Lexington Christian defeated Tates Creek 1-0 in Sunday’s play-in game in the 43rd, meaning the Eagles will face Lexington Catholic Monday.
While LCA (10-9-1) faces a tough postseason road in its district as a No. 4 seed, it has already made some history with its third trip to the All “A” Classic finals.
LCA defeated Sayre 4-1 in the All “A” regional and then strung together wins over Danville, Middlesboro and Prestonsburg to reach the finals in Frankfort on Sept. 26. There, they ran into No. 5 Bethlehem, who won 4-1. The Banshees (20-1-1) are two-time All “A” champs and among the favorites to claim the KHSAA title this year, too.
Girls’ soccer
42ND DISTRICT PLAYOFFS
All games at Sayre Athletic Complex
Monday: Bryan Station (3-11-1) vs. Sayre (11-5), 6 p.m.
Tuesday’s semifinals: Bryan Station-Sayre winner vs. Frederick Douglass (12-3-3), 6 p.m.
Wednesday’s semifinals: Scott County (9-6-1) vs. Henry Clay (7-7), 6 p.m.
Thursday: Championship, 6 p.m.
43RD DISTRICT PLAYOFFS
All games at Paul Laurence Dunbar
Sunday: Lexington Christian 1, Tates Creek 0.
Monday’s semifinals: Lexington Catholic (18-3) vs. Lexington Christian (10-9), 6 p.m.; Lafayette (10-5-2) vs. Paul Laurence Dunbar (8-8), 8:30 p.m.
Wednesday: Championship, 7 p.m.
This story was originally published October 3, 2021 at 4:01 PM.
