By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Goalkeepers are the top returning starters on the Highlands girls and Covington Catholic boys soccer teams that both made it to the state championship finals last season.
Highlands junior Bailee Class will be back in the net Monday when the 2026 season opens with matches all around the state. One of them will be Brossart vs. Highlands at 8 p.m. at Tower Park in Ft. Thomas.
On Tuesday, CovCath will visit Conner at 7:30 p.m. in a rematch between last year’s 9th Region boys finalists. The Colonels won the title match behind 10 saves by returning senior goalkeeper Booker Gifford.
Last year, the Highlands girls finished the regular season with a 7-9-1 record and weren’t ranked among the state’s top 20 teams. But the Bluebirds won eight straight district, region and state playoff games to reach the state final.
That run began with Class posting five straight shutouts. She was named most valuable player in the 9th Region final for making eight saves in a 1-0 win over Notre Dame.
In the state semifinals, Class blasted a penalty kick into the net to win a shootout against Central Hardin. But the Bluebirds lost to top-ranked Louisville Sacred Heart, 3-0, in the state championship match.
Class was named to the state all-tournament team. She finished the season with a 1.0 goals-allowed average in 23 games and 120 total saves for a 5.2 average.
Gifford was named to the boys state all-tournament team after CovCath’s 2-0 loss to Louisville St. Xavier in the state final. He was credited with 14 saves in that season-ending match.
The Colonels won three penalty-kick shootouts with Gifford in the net during their 8-1 playoff run. His final averages were 1.0 goals allowed and 6.7 saves in 27 matches.
The Brossart girls soccer team that won the All “A” Classic state championship and the 10th Region post-season tournament last season has one of the state’s top returning scorers.
Junior forward Kyle Smith totaled 93 points with 38 goals and 17 assists for the Mustangs, who finished with a 20-3-3 record. At the All “A” Classic state tournament, Smith was named most valuable player after getting six goals and one assist in her team’s three victories.
Brossart claimed the All “A” Classic girls state title for the second consecutive year. That’s something no other Northern Kentucky soccer team has been able to do in the 13-year history of the small school state playoffs.