NKYSPORTS GUY

I will be making the trip to Boone County this afternoon for both semi finals this evening. Semi #1: NCC vs. Dixie NCC comes in with 16-5-0 record and on quite a run at the moment with two huge wins against district foes Highlands and Cooper. Ryan Desmond comes in as leading scorer with 16 goals and 12 assists. 2 of those goals being against Dixie Heights just a few weeks ago in NCC's 2-1 win over the colonels. Dixie enters the semi finals with an 8-9-2 record and Trevor Bolte leads Colonels in scoring with 7 goals and 3 assists. Dixie has struggled to find the back of the net this season but have scored 7 goals in their last 2 games. Can the Colonels continue this offensive momentum tonight against the Breds? PREDICTION: I think the Bred's Defense and Big GK McCloskey stand tough and make it difficult for Dixie to find the net. I will say a 2-0 or 2-1 win for NCC and a trip to the 9th region final! Semi #2: Highlands vs. Ryle The match up everyone wanted to see coming into the tournament, although many wanted to see this on Saturday and not tonight. OH WELL! It is here!! The bluebirds coming in with a 12-5-2 record and fresh off one of the better come back victories I have seen in quite some time! Gamble is back and looking healthy as he enters the semi final with 14 goals to lead Highlands attack. Highlands will be looking to bounce back from a 3-0 loss to the Raiders in early September! Ryle comes in unbeaten in their last 19 games and loaded with talent all over the field. Diego Hoenderkamp leads the Raiders with 23 goals and 22 assists and Brice Denigan is right behind him with 21 goals. I think this game is going to come down to Highlands ability to slow down this Ryle attack. I am excited to see this match-up, we could be set up to see an NKY classic tonight! PREDICTION: In the end I think Ryle's attack is too much for the birds defense and Ryle comes away with a 2-1 win LATE in the game! The Raiders can be 1 win away from returning to the state tournament for the 2nd consecutive year! I think both games have the potential to be great ones! Looking forward to watching all 4 teams play!

I believe bballfan is correct, I had heard that RPI is not being used this year to determine host for second round. Whichever team is on the top of the bracket will be the host.

Can't wait to watch this rematch in October! This is always one of the most intense games in NKY all year. Would not be surprised if we see another Red card or 2 in the district match up in a couple weeks!

I was torn on whether to head to Union or Ft. Thomas last night. I decided to make the trip to Tower Park and watch this game. Highlands looked like a much better team for the majority of the game last night. #31 (Gesenheus) is the best player I have seen in NKY this year. He covered a ton of ground and caused Dixie's midfield all kinds of problems. The birds had quite a few chances to put a couple more goals in but Dixie's goalkeeper had a heck of a game with multiple big saves. Highlands lone goal came off a strong run from Gesenheus down the left side, and a bluebirds player finished the cross at the near post. Dixie seems to be struggling at the moment, this was a 3rd straight loss for the Colonels and they have seemed to be struggling to find the back of the net all season. I think they will take care of business in the 34th district tournament but unless this was just an off night for the Colonels I don't see this Dixie team causing too much of a problem for the top teams in the 9th region tournament this year. After last nights game, I have now had the opportunity to watch all the "Top" teams in NKY. This would be my Top 5: 1. Ryle 2. Cov Cath 3. Highlands 4. Conner 5. NCC

Cooper loses another close one. I think Cooper is trending in the right direction. They moved last years defensive player of the year, Hughes, back into the back line after starting the season in the midfield and they seem to be more comfortable. Pemberton seems to be finding the scoring touch as well. These two are going to be big players for them to survive their tough district. I think this next month with Cooper, Conner and Ryle is going to be fun to watch!!

Anyone able to make it to this game for some insights? I thought this game may have been a closer one, but the raiders pulled away. Ryle seem to be finding their footing after the tough start in Lexington, while the Colonels are still searching for answers. This game may have solidified that there may be a gap between the top 3 (Ryle, Highlands, and CCH) and the rest of the 9th region chasing them.

Fayette County Showcase bringing some of the states best together this weekend. Based on Friday evenings results, Region 11 is going to be a battle this season as it always is! Frederick Douglass defeats Ryle 3-0 Lafayette defeats Dixie 4-0 Tates Creek defeats Boyle Co. 5-1 North Oldham and Henry Clay Draw 0-0 Frederick Douglass has now tied #2 Dunbar and beaten #1 Ryle. Making a strong case for them to be at the top of the rankings. I was a little surprised that 2 of the 9th regions best had such lopsided score lines last night. The good news for coach Collins and Crone is that it’s only August! Both NKY teams return to Lexington this morning. Ryle takes on Henry Clay at 1pm and Dixie plays Frederick Douglass at 11am.

Per their Twitter page, NKY coaches association just released Week 1 coaches poll. Ryle a lock with 9 first place votes but interesting to see 3 others also receive votes for top spot! Thoughts?

It seems like CCH always finds a way to be ready for October. So I’m sure they will be right in the mix come that time. They have a strong core of players that have been to the regional final 2 years in a row, so they know what it takes to get there. Does NCC have a lot of returning players? They had decent results last season 1-1 draws, against good Cooper and Conner teams and only lost to Dixie 2-1. If they have experience coming back I wouldn’t be surprised at all if they make some noise.

My apologies, I over looked the Dixie/Cooper result. I only saw Monday make up games, and didn’t realize Dixie ended up playing twice in the event. I only got to see Dixie play Boone.

Now that Soccerama is completed, any surprises moving into the regular season? Good or Bad? I thought the Brossart and SK match up was a good one. Both teams seem to have quite a bit of talent this season. Are we sure that it was Dixie's JV team playing Boone? With what Dixie lost last season, I figured they might have quite a big drop off this fall. I did not get to see the Highlands/Ryle or CCH/Campbell game. Are these 3 9th region teams the heavy favorites going into August?

Ryle and Highlands could be an early preview of this years regional final. Ryle should have a great shot at repeating as 9th region champs. They are bringing back a lot of talent along with the best keeper in the region. Does anyone have any insight on Cooper and Dixie? I believe both teams lost a bunch, but being two of the stronger programs in the region the last few years this could be a great match to start off the NKY season! Looking forward to a number of good games on this schedule!