Ryle freshman midfielder Chase McCarthy, No. 38, tries to push the ball past a NewCath defender during the 9th Region championship game. (Photo by Ted Jackson)
By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Scoring a goal against the Ryle boys soccer team has become a difficult task and coach Stephen Collins wants it to stay that way for the Raiders to make a run in the state playoffs over the next two weeks.
Ryle won the 9th Region championship for the second straight year with shutout victories in three matches, including a 1-0 decision over Newport Central Catholic in the region final on Saturday at Boone County High School.
Ryle forward Josh Line retains possession of the ball against NewCath midfielder Vinnie Petroze. (Photo by Ted Jackson)
That puts Ryle (20-2-1) in the 16-team boys state tournament bracket with a first-round match against 10th Region champion Brossart (17-4-5) set for 7 p.m. Monday at Brossart.
“Our defense played one helluva tournament,” Collins said after the win over NewCath. “We just went through one of the toughest regions in the state and didn’t give up one goal in three games. That just shows you how strong our defense is. They’re playing really well right now.”
The Raiders scored their goal midway through the first half of the region final. Diego Lakkis centered the ball from the left side of the penalty area and Diego Hoenderkamp put it in the net.
Ryle’s defensive unit held NewCath to just one shot on goal for the remainder of the game. That shot by Brady Diedenhofer with 6:15 remaining went over the crossbar.
“In the first half, our offense had a lot of shots and we just didn’t get a second one to fall, but we put a lot of pressure on them,” coach Collins said. “Second half, (NewCath) regrouped at halftime and had a little more tempo. But they only had a couple solid shots on goal today and that was our defense doing their work.”
Ryle senior striker Diego Hoenderkamp scored the only goal in the region final. (Photo by Ted Jackson)
It was the 15th shutout of the season for the Raiders, who have gone 20-0-1 after losing their first two matches in August. The starting players on Ryle’s defensive backline are Chris Maraduaga, Owen Schierberg, Marcos Hoenderkamp and Pierce Wilson with Landon Barth at goalkeeper.
Schierberg was asked if he agrees with the old sports adage that defense wins championships. “I sure do,” he replied. “I think we’re strong enough and we can contain anyone who comes against us.”
In Monday’s state tournament match, Ryle’s defense will be trying to contain Brossart senior forward Tyler Smith, who scored 12 goals in his team’s three 10th Region tournament victories. This is the first time since 2013 that the Mustangs have won the region title and advanced to the state tournament.
Smith had a hat trick in Brossart’s 3-0 win over Campbell County in Saturday’s region final. He’s among the state’s top scorers with 79 points (35 goals, nine assists) for the Mustangs, the only small-school team in the state tournament bracket.
Ryle defeated Brossart, 3-0, in a regular season match on Aug. 17. That happened to be the first shutout of the season for the Raiders’ highly aggressive defense that’s become the team’s trademark.
“It goes back to something we started saying in August to get these guys to understand that the longer you go in the tournament the more you have play defense,” coach Collins said.
9th REGION BOYS SOCCER ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Ryle — Diego Hoenderkamp (MVP), Landon Barth, Chris Maraduaga, Anes Smajlovic. NewCath — Mason McCluskey, Jonathan Green, Ryan Desmond. Highlands — Chad Gesenhues, Adarsh Khullar. Dixie Heights — Trevor Bolte, Donovan Lameier. CovCath — Cole Hubert. St. Henry — Jake Elfers. Holy Cross — Brady Reusch. Cooper — Angel Ramirez.
