futbalfan

Just received a text from a coach that Bryce Day is up for the Enquirer Soccer Player of the Year and is up against some great players from across the river. Leader is Joey Sabato from Elder and with their size and active alumni will be the one to beat. Opportunity for NKY to have one of their own get further recognition across the river. Enquirer Soccer Player of the Year Fan vote: Boys' soccer player of the year Good Luck Bryce

Ran into his father last night at T&C and spoke to him briefly. He said the who family is glad the process is over and happy to see the pressure off of Bryce. Came down to four schools with Belarmine, Centre and Bradley being the others. Congrats to Bryce and the whole Day family. Very nice folks. Best of luck to him at NKU.

It was a great game to watch with a very large talent pool for both teams. I was a bit surprised by the results though but it is HS and emotions come into play more. The talent pool coming up for Mason is equally impressive as the current graduating class which I'm assuming you are referring to in terms of CUP players. IMHO, the biggest difference in watching Ohio state tournament games versus Kentucky state games is the total quality of matches throughout. You almost have to go back to early Ohio regional matches to find lopsided matches versus some of the games I saw scores on in Kentucky including CCHS' semi-final. Of course much of the discrepancy between the two is due to the shear volume of talented teams Ohio which is based on the volume of schools. However; I also think the discrepancy in quality state matches is in part due to how Ohio does a seeding of teams and brackets are set as well as how their set their regions which is why you can see a Mason/Moeller state quaterfinal match. In no way am I trying to shed a negative light on KHSAA's state tournament beyond wanting as a life long fan of the game wanting to see the best teams play the best whenever possible. That said, this is High School athletics and will leave it at that.

correct. Many states in the south either play spring only or play winter. A couple I'm aware of do a split season (Nov - Feb with 2 weeks off during winter break). Keep in mind this is pure american football country and resource available and focus is a major factor even more so than in northern states.

Finally watched the reply of the finals and it looked like CCH was able to put it all together after a rocky first 10 minutes. Nice to see the biggest question mark they had going into the game was answered which was ability to capitalize on scoring chances with quality finishes. As stated the back and midfield played to the level expected and with both Lamb and Litzler sp?) able finish well they were able to play up to their potential. Sort of makes one wonder if that finishing was there all year long how some previous games would have ended. But alas, water under the bridge and a final congrats to the boys from Park Hills bringing home the first boys title to NKy. I honestly wasn't aware of that aspect of the accomplishment until I saw the replay of the Fox News broadcast this morning. (sorry, I'm an OH guy and been tied up with those games the past week). Big congrats to the players, coaches, staff , school and the CCH community.

The lad sounds like an exemplary young man and well deserving of the award and yes hopefully putting a spotlight on him will give witness to what HS sports in general should be about which is love of the game, sportsmanship, and representing the school as well as the broader BBHS community. Congrats to such a fine young man. He definitely sounds like he is going down a good path beyond his time at BBHS. On a related note, I just watched a replay of the FoxNews broadcast of the CCHS team's live interview and the Day kid came across as presenting himself in a similar manner which was also good to see.

Forgot to add my congrats to each of the young men from NKY who received this honor. First team – Nathan Roe (Ryle); Bryce Day, Ben Darpel (Covington Catholic) Second team – Adam Snow (Cooper), Michael Wessels (Covington Catholic) Honorable mention – Charlie Wend, Gavin Siekman (Conner); Matt Roe (Ryle); Sam Romes (Covington Catholic); Brady Gesenhues, Noah Sellers (Highlands); Devin Morgan (Scott)

The winner of Kentucky’s Mr. Soccer award will be announced later this month. Here are the complete All-State teams: WEST (REGIONS 1-8) * First team – Donald Aviles, Gilio Aviles (Bowling Green); Drew Goetz, Greg Fischer (Trinity); Fahruden Dervisevic (South Warren); Haji Abdikadir (Collegiate); Jonathan Laise (Kentucky Country Day); Ryan Freer, Nolan Mattingly (Daviess County); Brett Royster (Henderson County); David Ibrahimkadic (Butler). * Second team – Trent Stigler (St. Xavier); Jacob Teasley (Fern Creek); Andrew Hagan, Dylan Barth (Manual); Arif Smajlovic (Bowling Green); Micah Linscott, Simeon Packer (North Hardin); Cooper Cantrell, Chris Martin (South Oldham); Jackson Alford (Kentucky Country Day); Caleb Mattingly (South Warren). * Honorable mention – Colin Kremer (St. Xavier); Armando Zamarripa (Henderson County); Brennan Horn (Hopkinsville); Isaac Amaya, Josef Winkler (Daviess County); William McFarland (Owensboro); Ryan Hughes (Bowling Green); Michael Bohnlein, Almir Selimovic (South Warren); Nick Coffman (Elizabethtown); Chris McGregor (North Hardin); Devin Boggs (Bardstown); Igor Ibrahimkadic (Butler); Hatsul Bratcher (Atherton); Cameron Wheeler (Collegiate); Ryan Murr (Trinity); Osman Hussein (Waggener); Tucker Monheimer, Zabdiel Justiniano (Ballard); Cole Gallagher (Kentucky Country Day); David Higdon (South Oldham); Mark Lanham (Collins). EAST (REGIONS 9-16) * First team – Caswell Fuller (Montgomery County); Jason Murillo (Woodford County); Nathan Roe (Ryle); Bryce Day, Ben Darpel (Covington Catholic); Aime Mabika, Collin Rose (Henry Clay); Ricky Clemente, Travis Schuler (Paul Dunbar); Cubaka Mutyonawga (Tates Creek); Jake Overbee (West Jessamine). * Second team – Adam Snow (Cooper); Alex Shkraba (Montgomery County); Jax Young, Jack Batman (Woodford County); Chris Hunt (Henry Clay); Will Newton (Sayre); Bonface Kipchimba (Madison Central); Corey Zamrik (Boyle County); Garrett Dean (Mercer County); Larry Whelan (Rowan County); Michael Wessels (Covington Catholic). * Honorable mention – Charlie Wend, Gavin Siekman (Conner); Matt Roe (Ryle); Sam Romes (Covington Catholic); Brady Gesenhues, Noah Sellers (Highlands); Devin Morgan (Scott); Zach Hill (Montgomery County); Zach Devore (Woodford County); Nicholas Whitehouse (Henry Clay); Jimmy Kaindu (Lafayette); Justin Kelley, Harrison Grabmeyer (Paul Dunbar); Amadi Mubelela (Tates Creek); Trent Marshall (Lexington Catholic); Peyton Netherton, Dylan Dobson (Madison Central); Connor Burns, Evan McMann (Boyle County); Sawyer Ransdell (Mercer County); Luca Canineu (Corbin); Adam Duff (Rowan County); Carlos Canella (Somerset).

Girls All-State selections were published on the 4th. I got a message last night from a Louisville contact that the boys were expected to be released today. Not confirmed but sharing.

From what I saw online watching the game the goal was actually not directly off the corner. Both teams packed the box especially inside the 18. The corner was played in and then cleared by BG but cleared to just outside the Penalty box dead in the middle where no one from either side was positioned. The scorer who looked to be about 15 yards or so outside of the box (not really positioned already at top of the box) reacted very well. Saw the ball pop straight out sprinted about 10 yards up and struck it hard and right on the ground. I couldn't tell from the footage who it pinged off of but it definitely glanced off of one of the 15 or so players still crowded in the box and it was just a glance and into the back of the net. I'm not even sure the BG keeper even saw the ball coming as it didn't look like he reacted to the shot.

The one I posted is northern Kentucky only. There are then a an all-state tournament team made up of players from the teams playing in state tourney. Last is the coaches All-State based on the voting of all members of then Ky boys soccer association. There are two teams consisting of an East and a West team. First, second, third and honorable mention squads. This aren't announced until after state finals and as YC stated the next few days.

Each district and region has their own tournament team which are announced at the finals of each. NK coaches association all area team here is the article written on the announcements. Northern Kentucky boys’ soccer coaches select top players for all-star teams Covington Catholic senior midfielder Bryce Day was voted Offensive Player of the Year on the 2015 Northern Kentucky boys’ high school soccer all-star teams selected by local coaches. Day has 17 goals and 14 assists for the CovCath team that won the 9th Region championship to qualify for the state tournament and defeated Montgomery County in the sectional round of the playoffs on Monday. Nathan Roe of Ryle was voted Defensive Player of the Year and Justin Rolf of Brossart will receive the Scott Christian Award for his dedication to the sport of soccer. Jeremy Robertson of CovCath is Coach of the Year and Joe Barker is Official of the Year. The Beechwood team was selected to receive the Ed Lett Award for sportsmanship. The awards banquet will begin at 7 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 23 at Receptions in Erlanger. 2015 N. KY. BOYS HIGH SCHOOL SOCCER COACHES ALL-STAR TEAMS FIRST TEAM Strikers — Adam Snow (Cooper), Charlie Wend (Conner). Midfielders — Bryce Day (CovCath), Michael Wessells (CovCath), Gavin Siekman (Conner), Matt Roe (Ryle), Noah Sellers (Highlands). Defenders — Nathan Roe (Ryle), Ben Darpel (CovCath), Brady Gesenhues (Highlands), Lance Adams (Cooper). Goalkeeper — Sam Romes (CovCath) SECOND TEAM Strikers — Devin Morgan (Scott), Jacob Litzler (CovCath). Midfielders — Ian Manahan (St. Henry), Nate Doggett (Holy Cross), Kareem El Gussain (Ryle). Defenders — Noah Linstead (Holy Cross), Chris Davis (Simon Kenton), David Stambaugh (St. Henry), Austin Flynn (CovCath). Goalkeeper — Will Bedel (Ryle) THIRD TEAM Strikers — Rob Ausperger (Campbell County) DJ Sanders (St. Henry). Midfielders — Michael Martin (Walton-Verona), Sam Parnell (Brossart), Jonathan Frohmeyer (Conner), Erik Hegerty (Scott). Defenders — Chad Brewer (NewCath), Jake Ryan (Conner), Camden Rusch (Calvary), Nicholas Weaver (Villa Madonna). Goalkeeper —CJ Seay (Scott). AWARD-WINNERS Offensive Player of the Year – Bryce Day (CovCath) Defensive Player of the Year – Nathan Roe (Ryle) Coach of the Year – Jeremy Robertson (CovCath) Scott Christian Award – Justin Rolf (Brossart) Referee of the Year – Joe Barker Ed Lett Award – Beechwood

Yes, though it's been about 2 years or so. When he played u15 for LFC White. I've reffed him a few times back then. Very nice kid.

Not that it means he can attend the full NDA game or he hand anything to do with it, the CCH coach's daughter plays for NDA.

From all I've heard and read it sounds like it was a great game to watch. The text I got from a Lexington friend who was in attendance and who had not seen CCH play before was telling of the ending. "Read a little on the Day kid and although he played very well throughout the game I wasn't seeing the offensive power I expected and then in a matter of 13 seconds off a kickoff that kid put the team on his back and showed the entire stadium he was going to will his team to next the next round." Good luck CCH on Saturday. Looks to be a great matchup.

Couldn't agree more. It all boils down to what criteria is used. I think most people base it on the theme of this thread (excluding me as noted a few weeks back) based on pure individual stats. I stand by the statement I made weeks ago which is that Snow is the pure OPOY. However; since they do not have an OOPOY (overall) award which I would still give to Day and his play on Saturday demonstrated why, they couldn't go wrong naming him. In that game, he was back in the box on every corner or offensive Ryle play on goal marking and barking out marks, he seemed to win every midfield 50/50 ball played he was in on with well placed and directed headers, changed direction of attack when his team tends to go vertical with either cross field passes or diagonal speedy dribbling and then there were the countless extremely well placed through balls and crosses, 3 of which I saw from looking right down the goal line should have been tap ins. A well deserved award without a doubt. That said, Snow is a junior while Day is a senior which if it was close in voting could have been a factor.

BC definitely can win this especially if they can get the first goal and instead of trying continue to run long balls do more conservative approach and pack it in a bit more than they did against NCC. Their bench is just not deep enough to run at that rate and if NDA gets up first and then keep the ball moving and get BC chasing I can see it going 3 or 4 to nil. BC has great speed up top and with Payton given them good through balls BC will cause NDA's back-line problems all game. NDA's back line is just not that fast but. Looking forward to seeing this one play and wish the best for both teams.

Correct. In fact there are often examples of similar or even more dramatic game ending situations discussed/reviewed in officiating classes. I faintly recall discussing with an official about a State semi-final game where the game ended (via horn) with the ball in flight from a long shot which eventually went into the back of the net yet was disallowed. It's a common misunderstanding for fans that grew up with American football to think play can continue. When the games get to state level the official clock is the scoreboard run by a certified time official which is why in part state game field requirements also include specifics in terms of the scoreboard viewing and having a horn.

There are two aspects of soccer requirement that are distinct. First, of course is talent identification. If not all then most of the statement made about club based recruitment is correct in that it is almost exclusively through club competition (e.g. College Showcases, State/Regional) and school managed ID camps where prospects are identified. Secondly, there is the actual recruitment process where mutual interest is shared. On the part of players, it's emails to coaches giving updates on schedules (club OR HS) as well as attendance to ID camps of specific schools and both unofficial and official recruitment visits. On the part of the coaches they will be actively showing interest via, text, calls, well run on-campus visits as well as other such as short chats after games attended. It's this last point of which from my experience dealing on both sides of the recruitment process where HS ball almost (though there are exceptions) exclusively comes into play. As mentioned above college coaches who are already actively recruiting a player or players on a HS team have been in attendance. Case in point, I caught the second half of CCH/HHS game and after speaking with a couple of the HHS coaches I know and heading out I notice 2 schools speaking with Day. Where they there to identify any unknown talent and noticed him? Highly unlikely. I'm sure they were schools who have already been in contact with him and came to show their level of interest. Just using that for example purposes. Could another player be seen and "identified" sure although very rarely would a recruitment process start by a college coach attending a HS game IMHO.

BTW, as I understand it the players involved were already informed.

I caught the second half of this one. I was a bit surprised by the results but a fun one to watch. First time seeing the Rivera kid play this season although I've read through the Dixie game recaps one thing that struct me as an understatement is the size of him. The moment someone pointed him out to me my first thought was the kid was a middle linebacker for the other futbol team who just stayed after practice. The kid is a rock and has good foot skill although not as fast as I thought he would be from earlier descriptions. NCC had issues handling him. Third time seeing NCC this year and some descriptions seemed pretty accurate. They do put forth a great effort physically. Outside of a few players the whole team runs at 100% for which I applaud them and their spirit. That said, much of that effort seems to be wasteful. They rely offensively on tried and true HS soccer strategy of long through balls where my guy is going to outrun your guy. On the upside (and I don't know their actual roster) I think they are fairly young (or at least they looked young) and some of the best skilled high soccer IQ players seemed to be the younger ones which means a bright future for the team. The issue I saw was those skilled players we rather small which will come in time.

Scoop I got from a coach was that results were based on three aspects. CCH playing tight most of the game. Defer to CCH faithful to explain that one. Poor finishing on a couple open net opportunities although some being discussed weren't as much about lack of quality finishing than quality defending such as staying on post during corner kicks. On a side note I heard CCH had substantial number of corners in the game. Lastly, what has not been discussed is the HHS formation. I was told they played basically with 6 backs. They had a flat 4 but kept 2 holding mids right in front of them allowing 1 to move forward but rarely ever had less than 5 if not 6 behind the ball at all times. Some of the best chances and CCH's lone regulation goal was off a counter and long through ball and quick cross. This was the same issue HHS had with NCC in district finals which I did see.

I saw this being discussed on the Cooper/St Henry thread. Yes, voting was done this past weekend. I heard from a good source what a couple were and was somewhat but not completely surprised. I believe they will be formally announced at or after Regional finals.

As part of FC Cincinnati's effort to support Breast Cancer awareness they are sponsoring a fund raiser on October 18th where players get to show off their juggling skills and raise money and awareness for Breast Cancer. The advert I saw on this looks to include 2 NKY HS players. Kudos to those boys for showing skill and helping support a worthy cause.

Been reading this thread with slightly varied point of few. I go back to this list for a reason I'll point out. I've observed the following teams and number of games. NOTE: Only listed teams with player being considered on this thread of late. (TOP 3-4). Other teams were observer at least once (e.g. NCC, BP, WV, Boone, SK, HC) Scott 2, HHS 2 BB 1, CCH 3, STH 3, Conner 1, Cooper 2, Ryle 2 I think multiple interesting points are brought up for opinion on OPOY almost all of which are based stats. Although the primary consideration, I personally don't rely solely on that to form my personal opinion. There are also stats/facts being left out. For example, subtract goal count per PK scored or apply a weight to those. You could also apply weights to unassisted versus assisted goal or you could apply more stats that you see the professionals applying when they are evaluating talent such as # of touches per game. # of pass attempts divided by # of passes made (goes to accuracy), the list goes on (refer to internet for past EPL game reports of retired players you will get a better sense of what EPL coaches measure performance on. Additionally, those that are fully aware of the game and see it beyond stats take into account how players play off the ball (e.g. runs they make to open space for others, mins on ball defending/attempting to gain possession, many others). The same holds true DPOY although less measurable stats are available but do exist not yet mentioned such as number of take aways, # of headers won, number of shots on goal blocked, etc) as well as with OPOY there are less measurable defensive points of evaluation such as # of times caught on wrong side of opposing player, communication with rest of back line (e.g calling out marks). Now, applying both the list and the more in-depth criteria (although admittedly very subjective), I think the list above is pretty close but I would put one key twist to the whole discussion. Along with OPOY and DPOY I would add a third recognition something like OAPOY (Overall Player Of the Year). Sort of like MVP in which you take the sum total of both offensive as well as defensive criteria and applying both stats discussed and additional criteria I raised. Players that are applying skill and effort on both sides of the ball and being an impact player throughout the game and not just in one aspect of it. IMHO I would have the following ranking. OPYO 1) SNOW 2) MORGAN 3) WEND 4) SANDERS/LITZLER DPYO 1) DARPEL 2) ROE 3) GESENHUES GK 1) SEAN 2) BIDEL 3) ROMES 4) ESPINOZA *Looked at stats but some additional criteria such as playing ball out of back with accuracy, coming offline at distance at the right time (e.g. long balls played over back line), quality of punts and goal kicks, etc. OAPOY 1) DAY 2) SNOW 3) Probably a 3-4 way tie with some names not mentioned such #12 from WV(sorry don't recall name but very quick and although undersized plays hard on both sides of ball with skill, ROE (the other one; hustles up and down, very heady, involves others), along with some mentioned such as WESSELS. Although Day has shown the skill to play offensively and has put up some numbers I just don't see him in the running for top 4-5 pure OPOY. That of course is not a slam on the kid but it's based on observing that he picks his times to take over offensively and looks to manage the game for his team. That said, seeing him play both sides of the ball from goal line to goal line, being able to take on opposing team's best defenders while also being able to equally defend the opposing teams best offensive attacker with equal quality and technique and the calmness he plays with providing his team with stability when most HS games I see (both sides of the river) are played at frenetic passes (think chickens with their heads cut off and running into walls) that are painful at times to watch, I think the level of his play across the board puts him ahead of some other very quality players. The thing about opinions is that they really only matter to the ones making them. All these young men mentioned as we well as the many other quality players in NKY should not mentioned should all be applauded for their efforts this year. Hope to see some of them play in a few regional matches. Best of luck to all the teams going into post season. I hope they finish out there last week safely and gear up for post season.