2 goals early, 2 goals late help Bethlehem stun Sacred Heart for girls state soccer title
Bethlehem’s 2-0 halftime lead over seven-time state champion Sacred Heart in the 2023 KHSAA Girls Soccer State Tournament championship game Saturday would have shocked anyone who knew anything about the sport.
And the Banshees of Bardstown were just getting warmed up.
“I think it’s one of the best sporting events I’ve ever seen,” Bethlehem coach Scott Deopere declared. “This year I knew we had a team that could compete with most everybody in the state. We are a really talented group. But to say you expect something like this, I’d be lying.”
Just when it appeared Sacred Heart had taken command with three second half goals, including two inside the last eight minutes of the game, Bethlehem bounced back.
Ashlyn Miles uncorked a 29-yard blast from straight away into the bottom left corner of the goal to tie the game back up at 3-3 with 4:55 to play.
Exactly three minutes later, Tessa Miles, Ashlyn’s younger sister, stepped into another long-range blast, also from about 29 yards. The Sacred Heart keeper barely reacted as the ball screamed over her head and put Bethlehem back in front 4-3 with 1:55 left.
“With time running out, we knew we had to take advantage of every second we had the ball in their half,” Tessa Miles said. “We just ripped those shots, and we had confidence in ourselves.”
This time, Sacred Heart could not answer.
The win at Lafayette High School’s Ishmael Stadium gave Bethlehem its first girls state soccer championship and made it the smallest school to do so.
At last enrollment count, Bethlehem totaled 296 boys and girls, more than 200 students fewer than 2010 champion St. Henry District. Its 153 girls enrolled are far fewer than the 750 enrolled at the Louisville all-girls Catholic school on the other side of the field.
Sacred Heart’s seven titles are more than the number of Bethlehem’s state tournament appearances over the last two decades. The Banshees hadn’t made the tournament since 2018. Sacred Heart has won two titles in that span.
And this year’s Valkyries handed Bethlehem a 4-1 loss in the regular season on Sept. 19.
“A lot of people … didn’t think that we would win tonight,” Ashlyn Miles said. “It just comes down to who wants it more. All season, we’ve been checking all of our boxes off and this is definitely the biggest box we wanted to check. We’re so grateful and I’m so proud of my team.”
A counter attack gave Bethlehem the lead in the first half. Tessa Miles placed a pass in front of the run of Carlie Thurmond, who calmly finished with a defender on her shoulder to put the Banshees up 1-0 with just over seven minutes until the break.
Moments later, Thurmond capitalized on a defensive miscue as she intercepted a soft pass back to the Sacred Heart keeper and got enough of a toe to it to guide the ball into the goal for a 2-0 lead.
Last winter, Thurmond helped lead the Banshees to the Girls’ Sweet 16 as their point guard and second leading scorer with 17.2 points per game. Though she plans to play soccer for Morehead State after she graduates, she’s still set to suit up for the basketball team once more. She’ll have a soccer state tournament MVP plaque to her credit when she takes the court.
“I hope Coach (Jason Clark) gives her a day off before she checks into basketball,” Deopere said, laughing. “She’s just one of the best athletes, if not the best, to ever come through the school. She’s just a competitor.”
Sacred Heart’s rally started with a goal by Lilia Work on an Ava Birk assist 12 minutes into the second half. Then came a Mia Lancaster goal on a pass from Lilly Lund for the tie with 7:32 left in the game. A Birk shot from 26 yards away to put the Valkyries up 3-2 less than two minutes later.
Thurmond said her team’s confidence didn’t waver.
“We’re never going to give up, and we’re always going to come out 100 percent and give it all we’ve got no matter what,” Thurmond said.
All-State Tournament Team
Ashton Lynam, Henderson County; Ava Quinn, Russell; Ella Rison, South Laurel; Maggie Morris, Bowling Green; Payton Bugg and Maggie Gnann, Boyle County; Kimberly Woeste and Carlyn Tranter, Notre Dame; Ava Hendrick, Lilly Lund and Mary VonderHaar, Sacred Heart; Ashlyn Miles, Gracie Zutterman and Carlie Thurmond (MVP), Bethlehem.
This story was originally published October 29, 2023 at 9:15 AM.
