Regional soccer: Notre Dame, Boone County advance to 9th Region girls’ championship final

By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter

Notre Dame advanced to the championship final of the 9th Region girls’ soccer tournament for the fourth consecutive year with a 1-0 win over Highlands in a semifinal match on Wednesday at St. Henry High School.

Senior striker Taylor Watts got the Pandas’ lone goal in the fifth minute and junior goalkeeper Audrey Nienaber protected the 1-0 lead for the rest of the match with the help of her teammates on defense. Nienaber had to make only one save to record the shutout.

Junior midfielder Ellie Vandergriff got the assist on the goal by Watts, who has scored a team-high 18 goals for the Pandas this season.

Notre Dame has won the 9th Region championship every year since 2012 when new regional brackets were created around the state. To continue their reign as region champs, the Pandas will have to get past Boone County in the regional final set for 7 p.m. Friday at St. Henry.

Notre Dame and Boone County did not play each other during the regular season. The winner of the 9th Region final between those two teams will advance to next week’s semi-state playoffs and take on the 10th Region champion.

GOAL: ND — Taylor Watts.
SHUTOUT: Audrey Nienaber (ND) 1 save.
RECORDS: Notre Dame 18-5, Highlands 15-9.

BOONE COUNTY 2, NEWPORT CENTRAL CATHOLIC 1

Boone County freshman Rielyn Hamilton scored the winning goal off a corner kick by sophomore Corrine Burke with less than five minutes left in the 9th Region semifinal match.

This is the first time since 2004 that the Rebels have made it to a regional final. They’ll play perennial power Notre Dame in the title match at 7 p.m. Friday at St. Henry High School.

Boone County scored both of its goals in the semifinal win on corner kicks. On the first one, Peyton Black put the ball in the net off a corner kick taken by her younger sister, Morgan. But NewCath tied the score 1-1 late in the first half on a free kick by Taylor Tolle.

Boone County goalkeeper Kylie Anderson made seven saves to limit NewCath to one goal. The Thoroughbreds were the top scoring team in Northern Kentucky this season with 101 goals in 24 matches for a 4.2 average.

GOALS: BC — Peyton Black, Rielyn Hamilton. NCC — Taylor Tolle.
RECORDS: Boone County 17-6-2, NewCath 22-2.

BISHOP BROSSART 3, BOURBON COUNTY 2

The Mustangs scored two goals in the final 27 minutes to come away with the victory in the 10th Region semifinals and move on to the title match for the third straight year.

Bourbon County striker Mady Tipton gave her team a 2-1 lead early in the second half. But Brossart got late goals from Riley Orth and Kate Goller to upset the Colonels, who had lost only one match during the regular season.

Goller’s winning goal came with less than eight minutes left on the clock. She scored off a crossing pass by Olivia Nienaber, who also got the assists on her  team’s first two goals of the match.

For the third consecutive year, Brossart will play down-the-road rival Campbell County in the 10th Region championship final. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. Saturday at Campbell County High School.

Brossart won the 2012 and 2013 regional finals, but Campbell County took the title last season. This year, the teams have a 1-1 record against each other.  Campbell County defeated Brossart, 3-0, in th 37th District final last week.

GOALS: BB — Ally Schultz, Riley Orth, Kate Goller. BC — Jalin Mills, Mady Tipton.
RECORDS: Bishop Brossart 13-9, Bourbon County 17-2-3.

CAMPBELL COUNTY 7, HARRISON COUNTY 0

Campbell County put the ball in the net twice during the first eight minutes and kept on rolling in the 10th Region semifinal match.

The first two goals were scored by Taylor Jolly and Olivia Nelson. Each of them got a second goal later in the game. Haley Gerhardstein had two assists for the Camels.

Campbell County goalkeepers Taylor Peterson and Hannah Anderson split time in the net and had a combined total of four saves in the shutout.

In their four district and regional playoff victories, the Camels have outscored their opponents, 21-2, and posted three shutouts. One of those shutouts was against Brossart in last week’s 37th District final. Those two teams will meet again in the 10th Region final at 3 p.m. Saturday at Campbell County High School.