‘We want this so bad.’ South Oldham ousts LexCath, E-town tops WestJess in state semis.
After about 20 minutes of playing on its heels, No. 1 South Oldham had its fans jumping to their feet Wednesday in the KHSAA Girls’ State Soccer Tournament semifinals against No. 2 Lexington Catholic at Frederick Douglass High School.
Ava Roberson won the ball on a quick counterattack from midfield and served a perfectly weighted pass into the center of the pitch that found teammate Katie Beth May in stride between defenders.
“When Ava played me that ball I took my first touch and I just knew kind of, ‘This is it. I’ve got to put it in the back of the net. This is what’s going to turn the game around,’” May said. “I just had a feeling. I wanted to score. We all want to get there. I was like, ‘Let’s go. We’ve got it,’ as soon as I got the ball.”
May tucked her shot under Lexington Catholic’s keeper and into the net for a 1-0 lead that South Oldham added to less than two minutes later. Breanna Daldano capitalized on a foul in the box and made it 2-0 Dragons on a penalty kick with 16:19 left in the first half.
South Oldham’s defense held from there for the victory and a trip to Saturday’s state championship game against Elizabethtown.
“It was very difficult and this was probably the biggest test we’ve had all year,” May said. “It was hard staying super focused and just making sure we were executing and playing our style to the best of our ability.”
Saturday will mark the Dragons’ (22-2-0) second straight trip to the state finals as they try for an eighth championship, which would break its tie with Sacred Heart for the most in Kentucky high school girls’ soccer.
“This is probably one of the hungriest teams I’ve ever played for,” said May, who came off the bench as one of nine current players that saw the field in last year’s championship game loss to Notre Dame. “Literally, the next day after (last year’s finals) we created a group chat for the next year. … We want this so bad, because we were so close to the girls last year and all of the girls who came before us. We want it for them.”
Lexington Catholic (26-2-0) heaped pressure on the Dragons early, maintaining possession, forcing two corner kicks and getting off four shots, two of them on goal. The Dragons limited LexCath to just two shots on goal in the second half and one corner kick.
The Dragons’ defense has been the state’s stingiest, allowing only eight goals in 24 games. LexCath tied for the most goals in the state with 152. But South Oldham is no slouch offensively either, notching 115 goals heading into the semis.
“You knew going into tonight that both of these teams are the two probably the most prolific offensive teams this year. … They came out hungry and they came out fierce, and the fact that we were able to keep them out of the back of the net, not only in those 10-15 minutes, but the rest of the game is extraordinary,” South Oldham Coach Kenneth Burke said.
Lexington Catholic Coach Terry Quigley praised his players’ effort. Senior leaders Katherine Truitt, Mary Martin Hampton, Olivia Bretz, Kyle May Stephenson and others have been part of a run to the state finals and semifinals in the last three years amid four straight 11th Region championships.
“This is such a wonderful season. They played up to their potential and it just didn’t go their way,” Quigley said. “I know we put as much pressure on (South Oldham) as they put on us. But they’re a great team. And it was a great game. I couldn’t be prouder.”
Elizabethtown tops West Jessamine
A corner kick goal to tie the game with only 12 seconds left until halftime sparked Elizabethtown to a 4-1 win over West Jessamine, earning the Panthers’ first trip to the girls’ soccer state championship game.
Langley Wallace’s header for a 1-1 tie off Emma Zoeller’s corner kick answered West Jessamine’s strike from Kylie Archer just a couple of minutes earlier.
“I usually go for corners, but I haven’t been able to finish one all year,” Wallace said. “It just felt good to finish. I haven’t finished one since preseason.”
The West Jessamine goal was a wake-up call, players said.
“I know at halftime, I pointed out the fact that we had one punt come from our goalie in the first half,” said Emma Zoeller, a senior and Elizabethtown Coach Rob Zoeller’s daughter. “But we were getting to the balls that we needed. We were doing what we needed to do. We just needed that extra little push. And I think them scoring and us getting that goal back was the push that we needed.”
Early in the second half, Adelyn Inman got loose along the endline and centered a pass into the foot of Isabella Yates for a 2-1 lead. Later, Zoeller looped a 40-yard free kick into the box that Campbell Wallace headed over the keeper and into the net for a 3-1 lead. Zoeller tacked on a penalty kick with 18:10 to play in the game for what would be the final margin.
“You give up that first goal, and it definitely didn’t set the right tone,” Coach Zoeller said. “The first half we had some chances, but really didn’t settle in and get many dangerous ones. But then when they grabbed the lead, we responded very well.”
West Jessamine Coach Ben Hall-Volpenhein, who has led the Colts to two state semifinals in his two years in charge, rued the Panthers’ goal at the end of the first half.
“We get the 1-0 lead, and we knew we had to get through that next five minutes, but those are things I just don’t want to talk about right now,” Hall-Volpenhein said. “They just need to think about how far they’ve come and think about where they were. No one thought we’d get here. … I’m thankful for the hard work they put in and their perseverance.”
Next up, RPI No. 4 Elizabethtown will face No. 1 South Oldham at 4 p.m. Saturday for the state title. It’s E-town’s first trip to the state finals against a program that was there last year and has seven state championships in eight finals appearances. The Dragons beat Elizabethtown 4-0 this season back on Sept. 17.
“Our goal was to extend our season a couple of more days, and we did,” Zoeller said. “We’ve got three more days together. Now, we’ve got to try to play our best game.”
This story was originally published October 27, 2022 at 7:35 AM.
