Record-breaking goals help Sayre advance in girls 42nd District soccer playoffs
Going into Monday night’s opening round of the 42nd District girls soccer tournament, Sayre’s Katherine Monohan needed one goal to break the 11th Region’s all-time career scoring record.
As it turned out, the Spartans needed more than that to defeat Bryan Station and advance to a semifinals matchup Wednesday against top-seeded tournament host Frederick Douglass.
Monohan and her Spartans teammates accomplished both tasks in a 2-1 win over the Defenders that saw the senior forward score the 203rd and 204th goals of her outstanding four-year varsity career.
Monohan scored the game-winner with 12:48 left as she sprinted onto a through ball from Robin Lynch and got off her shot ahead of a sliding save attempt of Bryan Station keeper Sofia Haggard.
“I’ve been really wanting to break the record for a long time and I finally got it. It’s really exciting,” Monohan said. “It feels really, really nice, and knowing I have all the support from my teammates and coaches, it’s just really fun.”
Berea’s Hannah Wallhausser scored 202 goals in a career that spanned from 2014 to 2017. It held as the state record as well for one year until Henderson County’s Maddie Griggs put up 217. Prestonsburg’s Anna Burchett blew past everyone in 2022 with 275 career goals.
However many goals Monohan ends up with after Sayre’s season is complete, she will rank as the third all-time leading scorer in Kentucky girls high school soccer history.
“I think two things can happen when you have a player that’s as special as her. You can have a team that kind of thinks she’s getting all the attention or you can have a team that comes together around her and supports her. That’s what this team has done,” Sayre coach Michael McKinney said. “They’ve really been bought into helping her.”
The record-breaker came about 12 minutes into the first half when Sayre midfielder Zeia Fanucchi headed a ball into Monohan’s path just outside the 18-yard box in the center of the field. Monohan sprinted past Bryan Station’s back line, took a touch around the keeper and struck the opening goal of the game. It was Fanucchi’s 23rd assist of the season, which ranks among the top five in the state.
Bryan Station (5-9-1) gave up seven goals to Sayre during a regular-season shutout last month, but its tactics had clearly changed for their playoff rematch. Haggard came out aggressively to stuff Monohan attacks throughout the game.
“Bryan Station played an exceptional game from back to front,” McKinney said. “They clearly changed some things around and added some speed back there, and it gave us fits.”
As the second half got underway, the Defenders poured on pressure in Sayre’s defensive third of the field and won a foul in the box. Fabianna Herrera’s penalty kick tied the game at 1-1 less than five minutes into the second frame.
As the game wore on, though, Sayre’s addition of a third striker up top began to switch the momentum to the Spartans.
“Their back line was really, really fast and we tried to adjust to it and it worked,” Monohan said. “We added another forward and it really opened up the field. … It just let us get more chances and we got a lot more shots in the second half.”
Next, Sayre (13-5-1) will face Douglass in the district semifinals at 8 p.m. Wednesday. The Broncos (16-3-1) topped the Spartans 6-0 in their regular-season game on Sept. 25. This is the fourth consecutive year Douglass and Sayre have met in the semifinals. Sayre upset Douglass in a game decided by penalty kicks in 2021, Monohan’s freshman year.
Katherine Monohan career stats
2021: 39 goals, 7 assists.
2022: 53 goals, 16 assists.
2023: 54 goals, 7 assists.
2024: 58 goals, 11 assists.
Totals: 204 goals, 41 assists.
This story was originally published October 8, 2024 at 9:11 AM.
