nkysoccerparent

Those other schools simply need 30 9th graders every year like NDA. Problem solved. Every other school is lucky to have 10, which drops to about 6 or 7 by Sr. year. It makes a difference when H.S. soccer is a battle of attrition. 25 games in 10 weeks is a ton. Club teams play 30-35 games from November to the end of May.

Impressive tournament for NDA. Dominant in 2 of 3 regional games and have been playing well since the Lexington tournament. Will be shocked if the winner of Lex Cath/NDA is not playing SHA in the state final. The sweet 16 match should be a semifinal game. Congrats to St. H on the nice post season run.

Probably the most wide open the region has been in years. NDA, Dixie, Ryle, and St. Henry have all been fairly consistent. Looking at their results its easy to get a sense of what they are, any can win a couple games and whenever they get knocked out it will likely be by one goal or in Pks. I think the first 3 could win it all. NCC and Highlands are harder to figure out. Highlands, has 3 of the 4 most impressive results (4-0 NCC, 4-1 Ryle and 1-0 loss to Sacred Heart who should be favored to win state). The most impressive result is probably NDA's 4-1 win over Highlands. A lot of words to say I have no idea. My guess is there is a record number of games decided in OT or by PKs.

Yellow Card you just gave me painful flashbacks to a district tournament a couple years ago.

Moving on from who dominated a regular season game, a topic which actually matters: Who will emerge as the winner of the most difficult region in NKY? If district seeds were to hold (and that is a dangerous assumption) the participants with recent Maher rankings would be: NDA (8), Holy Cross (66) Dixie (19), St Henry (36) Highlands (9), NCC (32) Ryle (28), Conner (54) (based on regular season results, this district seems to be the most unpredictable with the 4 seed Boone (50) taking Conner and Ryle to PKs) Who makes up the final 4 and then heads to state?

Margin of victory surprised me, that is a very nice result for NDA. Sounds like they are putting it together at the right time.

Brooke deserves a ton of credit. The numbers are hard to believe, Dixie's stat guy had the shots at 55-1 and Brooke with 30 saves. I think DH learned they need to improve execution in the final third. Villa deserves credit for fighting through the onslaught. I've seen most of the region 9 teams, and I don't think its a stretch to say the 34th district could have the 3 best GKs. Would put Paganetto-DH & Riegler-St. H against anyone, they play high level club and most already know of them. Brooke is in the conversation for the next spot, yet is probably underrated as she doesn't get the opportunity to compete against as many of the top teams in the area.

Frank, your question is a good one. IMO coaches shouldn't worry too much about players or fans feeling about the games, most of them have no idea about the quality of the competition. The ties and lack of wins can eventually wear on the players and that is when over scheduling can become problematic. I'm not saying Ryle has done this, I think they will be very prepared when the games start to matter. Ties against Assumption, NDA, and NCC are a much better result than winning 5-0 against the 85th ranked team in the state. Believe me as a parent and fan I get it, 0-0 ties can be painful to watch. It's nice to see the ball go in the net and have your girls string together a few Ws. A tie always feels like a loss when you feel you have the superior team. My assumption is Ryle isn't simply packing it in, they are struggling to break down very good defenses. If they can shutout the list of teams they've already played, with marginal improvement offensively they can have a special season. I think they will be a factor in the 9th region. Then again what do I know, I'm not watching their games. My opinion is based on looking at scores/opponents and several years following soccer.

I know this was meant in jest (at least partially) but the schedule Ryle has played so far has been ridiculous. Check out the goals allowed of the opponents in all those 0-0 games. If Ryle doesn't roll through their district I will be surprised.

Understand wanting to see local teams compete against each other, that said in girls soccer the stands are 80% empty for most games. IMO creating a pre-season environment that will draw more fans, media and potentially college coaches is a net win for the players. Creating a buzz early in the year for the sport is a positive. My guess is you won't have to worry about Soccerama being filled with teams outside NKY. The locals will automatically play. Requires a lot more effort to get big name opponents from outside the immediate area to participate. The girls basketball event at DH worked because of the connections of a few within the program. Even with those contacts, it was a very big undertaking from what I understand. Crosstown Showdown in H.S. FB by Tom Gamble, while much bigger probably takes the full year to organize. Most H.S. staffs don't have the time, nor a marketing department to make that happen!

My understanding is Dixie wanted to raise the profile and interest in the event by expanding outside of NKY. They hosted a showcase for girls basketball last season where nationally ranked teams participated and the gym was filled with college coaches. Was told all traditional participants were invited, a few either elected not to play or did not respond. Feels like there is an extra game this year, I could be wrong.

Makes sense, those are nice numbers for BB and a solid showing for the JV to give a solid varsity team a quality game. I think most of the NKY schools either took two teams, or rotated in a large number of JV players.

Smokey, thought I saw Bishop had two teams. Was that the young team or are they a very young group across the board? Goals for teams in BG are all over the place. Some go down trying to win every game. Others use it for tryouts, to evaluate the end of the varsity roster, or get a look at young players. Hard to tell what the goal of the coach is unless you watch the game and know the roster.

Would be interested to hear which KY schools lost players to the DA, teams have been selected. As for the original topic IMO, will be more balanced than prior years. Highlands and NDA- a coin flip for the favorite Next tier likely a mix of Ryle, NCC, Dixie, Boone. Any of the prior could end up in the regional final if healthy.

The Red academy players have been strongly encouraged to try out for CDA. Believe 99 is mostly OH players, 00 and 01 have quite a few KY players. The 01 girls have quite a few with a shot to get an offer IMO, don't believe this is the case for 00. 02 group would be the youngest impacting the '17 varsity season, and most would only be Fr so the level of impact is questionable.

CDA teams will be chosen this week. Two months from Bluegrass. Does anyone knock off NDA? Final four was the same two years in a row, will a new school break through? Expect the same names in the tournament or does a dark horse make an appearance?

Yes most of the Blue teams play Ohio South State Cup. State Cup 2017 - Accepted Teams List

Kevin did a great job at NCC, best wishes to him in whatever his future holds.

IMO the DA model is good for the national teams. Fewer games and more training for the best of the best who are going to play the sport for a living makes sense. My question has always been whether its good for the 2700 kids who won't get a chance to play high school OR become a part of the national team OR earn a living playing the sport. From what I am hearing, the DA is selling the program as a necessary path to D1 colleges. Athletes don't have to give up high school to play D1 football, basketball, or baseball. I personally don't like the fact soccer is moving in that direction. Apparently interest in the DA is high, which means many disagree with me.

Completely agree on the point about NKY struggling to win a state championship going forward. So many of the games between top teams are decided by a single goal, and it is the elite players who typically make that happen. Lexington and Louisville area schools are going to have a big advantage unless another DA pops up down state. Losing 5-8 players from KY to the DA sounds about right based on the current structure.

Good insight. Pleased to hear about the pre-CDA option.

Didn't they have the same issue with players quitting while the prior coach was at the school?

Was the topic of high school soccer brought up? Most on the board know the answer regarding participation. Curious if anyone asked and how the subject was addressed if at all.

Game was almost 20 pts when DH pulled their starters and St. H hit a couple late threes. Dixie has the record they do because they are very good defensively, which doesn't necessarily lead to a lot of lopsided wins. Their opponents typically finish in the 40s or low 50s, I'm guessing they rank highly in the state defensively. Most would say Meyer is their best player, yet they have a nice balance with 4 players that can put up 15+ with regularity if needed. Allows them to take advantage of the right match up so they aren't relying on one player to get 20.

Good for Taylor, best finisher in the 9th Region. Fantastic year and great player.