Last week, the Highlands boys and girls soccer teams competed in their respective regional tournaments. Both teams beat Newport Central Catholic before advancing to the region. First, let’s look at how the boys did.

The boys started the regional tournament with a shutout against the Beechwood Tigers 3-0. 

Junior Jack Haggard opened the game with an early goal, with junior Chad Gesenhues and senior Casey Stiles scoring. The assists went to seniors Caden Schroeder, Colin Pieper, and Peyton Helminiak. 

After Beechwood, they, unfortunately, lost to the Ryle Raiders, who eventually won the region. 

The boys had a great season, finishing with a record of 14-5-3. We wish the best of luck to all 16 seniors and the one senior manager a part of the team.

The girl’s soccer team had a great week and started the regional tournament with a 1-0 win over the Conner Cougars.

They followed up that win with a nail-biter against the Dixie Heights Colonels, eventually winning 2-1 in overtime. 

Finally, the girls played Notre Dame Academy for the regional championship, looking to avenge their loss from last year. The game went into penalty kicks, and the girls were able to take home a 4-3 after a walk-off PK by senior Anna Melson.

Melson spoke about the big win and how she felt.

“It still feels amazing. We lost in that round last year to Notre Dame and it felt really good to get the win.”

Not only did she have the walk-off PK, but she also won the MVP of the tournament. When asked about it, she described the feeling as surprising yet exciting.

“I was surprised, a bunch of my teammates worked hard and could have deserved it but I feel like they picked me because of my final PK and I was excited.”

The Ladybirds will now head to state, to take on Lexington Catholic Monday at 7:00. Be sure to make the trip to support the girls!