State soccer semifinals preview: Bryan Station, Lexington Catholic draw Goliaths
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Bryan Station reaches state semifinal for first time, posts school-record 20 wins.
- Lexington Catholic returns to semifinals; Joanna Bryant leads scoring with 33 goals.
- Sacred Heart and St. Xavier remain dominant programs and target another title.
For Lexington Catholic’s girls soccer team, making the state tournament semifinals could almost be considered routine. The Knights have made the final four in five of the last 10 years, including last season.
For Bryan Station’s boys soccer team, the state semifinals represent a new frontier. The Defenders are postseason pioneers who until this season had never won a playoff game beyond the district tournament.
Both are one win away from the first KHSAA State Soccer Tournament championship games to be played at a professional venue, Lexington Sporting Club Stadium.
But each faces the most daunting opponents they could draw for this week’s semifinals at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School — Louisville’s St. Xavier and Sacred Heart, the two most decorated private school programs in the state.
‘We’re going to have to come ready to play.’
St. Xavier (21-2-3), the No. 2 team in the state in the Rundell Rankings, has 16 state championships, the last in 2023. That’s more state championships than all of Lexington’s schools combined (Paul Laurence Dunbar, six; Henry Clay, four; Lexington Catholic and Tates Creek, two each; and Lafayette, one).
No. 8 Bryan Station (20-4-4) has never faced St. X. But the Defenders did take down No. 1 Henry Clay for their first 11th Region title on the way to Tuesday’s 7:30 p.m. matchup. And Henry Clay defeated St. X 2-1 on Sept. 30, the last game of the regular season.
“We haven’t made it this far without us being able to do some things,” Bryan Station coach Alex Tungate said. “We need to make sure we have a good game plan together and that we are making sure we’re competing for every single ball. … They have a lot of quality all over the field, so we’re going to have to come ready to play.”
Bryan Station reached the semifinals by defeating Ashland Blazer 5-0 Saturday at home on the Northside. Dylan Gomez scored twice to go with goals by Steven Green, Benjamin Mechak and Musa Malango.
Success difficult to come by against Valkyries
No. 2 Lexington Catholic knows No. 1 Sacred Heart well.
The Valkyries (22-2-1) tied South Oldham’s state record eight state championships with a 3-1 win against the Knights in last season’s finals.
The two have faced each other 43 times over the last 25 years, according to KHSAA records. Sacred Heart is 5-1 against LexCath in the state tournament, which includes a 2-0 mark in state semifinals and 3-1 record in state finals.
Lexington Catholic’s state championship in 2002 came via a 2-1 overtime win against Sacred Heart.
Lexington Catholic coach Terry Quigley doesn’t sweat his program’s 7-36 record against Sacred Heart since 2000, however. He’s glad to have the seven wins. Of the state’s traditional girls soccer powers, only Sacred Heart’s 7th Region rival Assumption has more in that span (11, against 49 losses).
“Nobody has a good record against Sacred Heart,” Quigley said. “They’ve slaughtered us. … But I don’t get down about losing a state final or even a state semifinal — because we’re playing on the big stage. I never walk across that field and at the end and say we didn’t do our best. That doesn’t matter. It matters that we showed up and played.”
Lexington Catholic (21-4-1) reached the semifinals with a 4-0 win against Russell at home on Saturday. Knights senior Joanna Bryant, a Miami (Ohio) commit, scored three goals and delivered the assist for Emme Peterson’s game-opening goal. That brought Bryant’s team-high totals to 33 goals and 22 assists this season.
“I don’t think most people would bet on us against Sacred Heart, but I think we do have the best player in the state,” Quigley said. “This will be something good.”
The Knights (24-4-1) could be without second-leading scorer Harper Ward, a sophomore who has piled up 25 goals and 11 assists alongside Bryant this season. Ward suffered an ankle injury against Bishop Brossart. Her status for the semifinals is uncertain.
Below are some of the top players and notes from this year’s state semifinals teams. The rankings are from the online Rundell Rankings, which update daily, and the KHSAA’s RPI Standings, which are frozen at the end of the regular season.
Boys state soccer semifinals at a glance
BRYAN STATION (20-4-4)
- Rundell/RPI ranking: 8/16.
- Top scorers: Steven Green, junior (10 goals, 5 assists); Elkin Maldonado Trochez, sophomore (7 goals, 8 assists).
- In goal: Luke Majors, senior (112 saves, 0.7 goals against average).
- Notes: The Defenders’ 20 wins this season are the most in school history. Their 77 goals rank second. Since Station won its only 42nd District title in 2018 under former coach Manes Preptit, it hasn’t had a losing season. It had only two winning seasons in the 17 years prior.
ST. XAVIER (21-2-3)
- Rundell/RPI ranking: 2/12.
- Top scorers: Trey White, junior (13 goals, 4 assists); Reed Newman, senior (10 goals, 6 assists).
- In goal: Thomas “TC” Kron, junior (81 saves, 0.7 goals against average).
- Notes: Brady Youssefi, one of two players injured in a grandstand railing collapse after their region semifinals win over Trinity on Oct. 16, returned to action Saturday against Bowling Green and scored the game’s only goal. Andy Schulten is Kentucky boys’ soccer’s all-time wins leader with a record of 572-96-49.
SOUTH OLDHAM (17-2-1)
- Rundell/RPI ranking: 4/9.
- Top scorers: Ryder Roberson, senior (9 goals, 8 assists); Jacobi Hinkle, senior (8 goals, 3 assists).
- In goal: Ethan Briscoe, senior (47 saves, 0.7 goals against average).
- Notes: The Dragons are making their first state tournament appearance since 2018. This is the deepest state run of their five trips since 2000.
COVINGTON CATHOLIC (17-7-2)
- Rundell/RPI ranking: 14/39.
- Top scorers: Cole Bishop, senior (20 goals, 9 assists); Chase Kokocinski, senior (10 goals, 4 assists).
- In goal: Booker Gifford, junior (155 saves, 1.0 goals against average).
- Notes: The Colonels have made five state finals appearances and won it all under coach Jeremy Robertson in 2015.
TUESDAY’S SEMIFINALS
At Paul Laurence Dunbar High School.
- South Oldham vs. Covington Catholic, 4:30 p.m.
- Bryan Station vs. St. Xavier, 7:30 p.m.
SATURDAY’S FINALS
At Lexington Sporting Club Stadium.
- Championship game, 4 p.m.
Girls state soccer semifinals at a glance
LEXINGTON CATHOLIC (21-4-1)
- Rundell/RPI ranking: 2/8.
- Top scorers: Joanna Bryant, senior (33 goals, 22 assists); Harper Ward, sophomore (25 goals, 11 assists).
- In goal: Bella Bretz, senior (no stats recorded).
- Notes: Bretz returned at midseason after recovery from an ACL injury and wears a brace on her right knee. LexCath has won the 11th Region title in nine of the last 11 years and reached the state semifinals six times in that span, making the finals four times.
SACRED HEART (22-2-1)
- Rundell/RPI ranking: 1/4.
- Top scorers: Mia Lancaster, senior (20 goals, 12 assists); Emma Zutterman, senior (16 goals, 1 assist).
- In goal: Amira Hendrick, senior (82 goals, 0.3 goals against average).
- Notes: Sacred Heart has reached more girls state finals than any other school, winning eight of their 13 appearances. They are trying for their third straight finals trip.
CENTRAL HARDIN (17-7-0)
- Rundell/RPI ranking: 4/25.
- Top scorers: Audrey McGee, junior (16 goals, 6 assists); Sophia Swink, freshman (11 goals, 7 assists).
- In goal: Hannah Ferguson, junior (67 saves, 1.3 goals against average).
- Notes: This will be the first meeting between Highlands and Central Hardin. The Bruins last made the state tournament in 2019 and are making their deepest run in five trips since 2000.
HIGHLANDS (14-9-2)
- Rundell/RPI ranking: 5/82.
- Top scorers: Ally Lickert, freshman (7 goals, 3 assists); Ariana Harms, senior (7 goals, 3 assists).
- In goal: Bailee Class, sophomore (104 saves, 1.0 goals against average).
- Notes: Highlands has five state finals appearances and state titles in 2005 and 2006. They’ve won the 9th Region in six of the eight years and reached the finals in 2018 and 2019.
WEDNESDAY’S SEMIFINALS
At Paul Laurence Dunbar High School.
- Central Hardin vs. Highlands, 4:30 p.m.
- Lexington Catholic vs. Sacred Heart, 7:30 p.m.
SATURDAY’S FINALS
At Lexington Sporting Club Stadium.
- Championship game, 4 p.m.
This story was originally published October 27, 2025 at 7:08 AM.
