By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Two high school soccer teams with a long history of success in post-season playoffs defeated Northern Kentucky opponents in state championship matches on Saturday at Lexington Sporting Club.
Louisville St. Xavier outscored Covington Catholic, 2-0, in the boys final to claim its 17th state title overall and 13th under coach Andy Schulten. In the girls final, Louisville Sacred Heart won its second straight state title and ninth overall with a 3-0 victory over Highlands.
Sacred Heart took a 2-0 lead in the first half of the girls state final on unassisted goals by junior Emma Zutterman and senior Mia Lancaster.
With less than five minutes left in the second half, Lancaster got her second tally for the Valkyries (24-2-1), who had a 10-3 advantage in shots on goal.
Highlands (15-10-2) named seniors Reese Wilkens and Macy Hargis and sophomore goalkeeper Bailee Class to the state all-tournament team.
Class was credited with four saves during the state championship match and came out of goal to stop other Sacred Heart scoring opportunities.
The Bluebirds now have a 2-4 record in girls state championship matches. They have faced Sacred Heart four times with their only win coming in 2006.
St. Xavier took a 1-0 lead in the first 10 minutes of the boys game. The Tigers made a steal near the top of the penalty area and Graham Wheatley passed the ball inside. His pass was deflected, but the ball came to St. Xavier junior Brady Youssefizad, who drove a shot past CovCath junior goalkeeper Booker Gifford.
The Colonels weren’t able to get an equalizer against St. Xavier senior TC Cron, who was voted Goalkeeper of the Year by the state coaches association. With less than two minutes left, St. Xavier got a goal from junior Trey Smith to come away with a 2-0 victory and final record of 23-2-3.
The CovCath players named to the state all-tournament team were Gifford, senior defender Tanner Robertson and senior striker Cole Bishop. The Colonels, who lost in the first round of last year’s state playoffs, finished this season with a 18-8-2 record and the program’s fifth state runner-up trophy. CovCath won its only state title in 2015.