OutOfNeccessity

I've seen posts on SM with several NKY soccer players committing at various programs. Its interesting to talk to HS coaches from around NKY. The schools where coaches and ADs (and the administrations) are committed to player & team development tend to have kids signing. Ryle & Highlands are examples of that. Sadly, many HS programs are only interested in how their current varsity program will perform this year. CovCath & Cooper come to mind. I've talked to parents who are spending money to get their kid on a KH academy, RL or NL team because they know that is the only way their child will have any chance to play post HS soccer. These same parents are also looking at the available schools and are basing the decision as to where their son goes based on what they're told about a particular schools program by families at showcases. I've even talked to one family who refuses to let their son (RL) play in HS because its actually counter productive. Sadly, there will be very little change in these programs until soccer fills the bleachers at these HS.

Final Ryle 2 - Highlands 0

I have to say that Highlands did not give up. Going out of the first half, you could see the desperation in their final few minutes. Absolute credit to their Coach for making the adjustments needed. As for CCH, they looked to be the better team on the field for about 60 minutes. I am baffled by the fact that their coaching staff did not adjust at all. Other than two late substitutions their formation remained rigid, leaving their midfield completely open to an attacking Highlands assault. As Highlands was mounting a counter offensive steadily closing the gap, CCH maintained 5 men up front where their wingers had to cover areas the midfield was absent from. At the end of the day, what matters is how many balls end up in the back of the net. While none of them were pretty, (and I question the second goal after seeing the video on Twitter) they counted and the Birds move ahead. Cudos to both teams on an exciting match. And credit due to the Highlands coaching staff for reading the game, making adjustments and inspiring his team. More of that is needed in this region.

I completely concur with your first prediction. Having seen both teams play several times throughout the season, NCC is without a doubt the favorite. NCC 2 Dixie Heights 0 Ryle -vs- Highlands I believe the margin of victory will be greater. Again, having seen both teams play Ryle has every advantage. Having balls bounce off of everything and everyone in front of goal and finding their way into goal is definitely not a winning formula. Ryle 4 Highlands 1. I have Ryle winning Region 9, probably winning the 1st round of the semi final against region 10 winner but losing shortly there after to either St.X or Daviess.

Absolutely correct. I totally missed it.

Question. For the quarterfinal site selection says quarter final site # 1 2 3 4. Not exactly sure what that means. Any suggestion

Thank you sir. I just finished looking at the specific procedure as outlined on the KHSSA site under regional instructions. It took following a few different links, but it's there.

Does anyone have insight as to the process? By RPI they have # 1 -v- 8 | 2 -v- 3. | 4 - v- 5 | 6 - v- 7 There is little point to a regular season when standings only determine what jersey you’re wearing. Someone please enlighten me.

According to scorecard, https://scoreboard.12dt.com/scoreboard/khsaa/kybsc23/?I'd=89985 CCH hasn't played Holmes in a regular season match since 2015. In all competitions since 2000, they are undefeated and the goal differential between them is 206. They have only played Holy Cross once in the regular season since 2000. In all competitions starting in 2000, they are undefeated and the goal differential between them is 75. The record for Beechwood only goes back to 2016 with 3 regular season matches. Across all competitions, they are undefeated and the goal differential is 45. I'm not sure but there may be something in the KHSSA rules that allow for a team that has gone undefeated with a goal differential of 326 in their district from 2000 to play more games outside of their district. To be honest, CCHs district record is shocking to me.

Final from Park Hills.

That was very surprising. Does anyone know how many games Ryle has been awarded a PK? It seems abnormally high?

Well, the CCH varsity has seemed to have found it's mojo. This game was sloppy for the first 10 minutes as each side was getting a feel for each other. But after that 10 minutes, CovCath had NCC's number. They played a very fundamental game. Their ability to win the ball off of the goal kick started it. Directed headers to awaiting players. Then crisp passes in all directions. They were patient with the ball but when it left the midfield, there were 3-4 players in blue crashing the box. Overall, this is the team that their fans have been waiting to see. NCC... I haven't seen them play this year. I know they started off strong, and are a good team. Maybe tonight just wasn't their night. I think they had 4 shots on goal, with one of them having a chance. I heard one CCH dad say "This is the signature win that they needed at home." seasons about done. Districts shouldn't be too surprising, but regionals is going to be very interesting.

Didn't CCH hold them to 1-0? And if memory serves me, they held Trinity (#10) and St. X (#7) to the same. I've always said that HS Soccer is 75 minutes of play and 5 minutes of 10 second moments that decide the match. They both play tomorrow, but against much different competition. (CCH -vs- NCC) and (Ryle -vs- Campbell Co) That will finish Ryles regular season, while CCH plays Beechwood on the 30th. Time will tell, but this season hasn't disappointed thus far.

All wonderful solutions to an interesting problem. That is until your team comes out on the losing end. Draws are a part of the game during the regular season. Leave them Extra time should be the standard in all non regular season matches. (no matter the reason) Two equal periods. PKs should only be used as a last resort. .02

We all know that soccer is 80 minutes of 3 second moments. Prognosticating is pointless when you realize that. Last night CCH just had many more moments. This has been a crazy regular season thus far. A lot of assumptions and expectations have been proven either highly exaggerated or outright wrong. That's the fun of it to me now that I no longer have a player in HS. The story lines are sometimes more impressive than the games. Goliath expects David, and gets a stone to the dome. Post season is going to be a blast.

Thank you gentlemen. May have to make that trip.

Great analysis. Judging by that score it sounds spot on. I imagine a similar result would have occurred by any of the NKY teams. Does anyone know if Centerville plays other NKY teams? I’d love to see them. (Good soccer is good soccer)

Had to miss this one for work. If anyone saw the game, what are your insights? Aside from a very lopsided score line. Was Centerville just that good? (I saw the stats Runcible Owl posted) Thanks

Definitely NOT what many people were expecting out of either team. Cheap seat observation: I'm going to say something that surprises me more that it will probably surprise you. This is one of the few HS matches I've watched in my lifetime where I can honestly say that the better overall team on the night, lost. I'm not saying that one team is a better overall team. But last night, one appeared to be. I'm not 100% sure whether it is because of all of the "hype" Ryle has deservedly received from preseason to now, or that CCH hadn't seemed to have completely gelled into a cohesive team prior to last night. Either way, if you watched the game, you were surprised with what you saw. This is what I saw and my reasons for my assessment. 1. The score line. 1-0 and the sole goal came from a PK. (with an 85% probable conversion rate). For a team with one of if not the highest rated players in the state, the score line was just underwhelming. 2. Fouls, freekicks and YC. Ryle was definitely the more physical of the two teams. But as the game progressed, that physicality morphed into what appeared to be abject frustration leading to several yellow cards, and many, many free kicks. 2 of which were only stopped by the woodwork. 3. CCH's defense effectively shut down everything that Ryle ran at them. Their back line worked exceptionally well together. 4. CCH's midfield and attacking third owned the touchlines and moved the ball seemingly at will. I'm still not sure whether it was Ryle's defending or CCH's strikers just not being in a good position led to their inability to connect to players in the box. Most likely a mix of the two with a heavy leaning to the latter. 5. And I say this with the utmost respect to everyone on the field. But there were two very obvious missed calls that in my opinion would have resulted in 2 separate PKs for CCH and potentially the win. A handball that was so evident that some of the Ryle parents actually said that they were surprised it wasn't called, and a tackle in the box that was arguably worse than the one called for Ryle. And while a handball can easily be missed, especially with heavy traffic in the box, a 1 on 1 tackle, from the rear where the defender didn't even touch the ball should be a fairly obvious one. Especially when they are awarded a goal kick. I wouldn't ordinarily even bring it up but in a match that is decided by a single PK either of these calls absolutely would have made the difference. These are just my observations, and are definitely subjective. The fact is that at the end of 80 minutes, Ryle walked away with the win. Overall it was one of the best matches I've seen in quite a while and definitely worth the price of admission. Hats off to the players of both teams and I am at least for now, quite sure that they will see each other again in the 9th Regional final.

If a team is only as good as its best player it's not a team. High Schools lose players every year. That's the nature of the beast. CCH didn't play a stellar match but it was simply much better than McNick's. It was also apparently better than their last, and the one before that. What that means for the remainder of their season is anyone's guess but saying that a team lost because they didn't have one player on the pitch does a disservice to both teams. IMHO

So the St. X - CCH match happened. The headline of this story is the score line. 1-0 The most remarkable player on the pitch was CCH's GK. He made 2 very good saves, out of about 8 on the night, keeping St. X to 1 goal out of many SOG. CCH's defense was put to work, and ultimately rose to the occasion. St. X's defense really didn't see as much action as the ball wasn't in their defensive third all that much. St. X relied heavily on the long ball to their left winger, who they connected with multiple times. CCH's left back just had the presence of mind and skill to be with him step for step and made some great tackles. CCH appeared to be trying the same tactic periodically but the pass was either very long, or was read by St. X's defense and intercepted.(frankly, many of their passes were intercepted in the midfield as well) They did have one solid opportunity with this but the shot went high. My simple observation from the cheap seats is that St. X is definitely in a re-build year after last years finals runner-up squad. I just didn't see that caliber of player on that side. (at least not last night) CCH has talent both on the field and the bench. Its going to boil down to them playing as a team consistently game in and game out to solidify it in their own minds. Went home and watched the Leagues Cup final which didn't disappoint. If you weren't standing up during that shootout, you're a bystander not a fan. (of soccer) 🙂

Gotta say, CovCath has a lot of talent going into the bench. But like all schools, they will have to find a moment where the team matters more than the individual. The back line looks pretty solid. Especially the starting left and right backs. Midfield was a wall. They won the overwhelming majority of 50-50 balls. The left and right wingers have great ball handling skills and plenty of speed. Plenty of crosses and slot balls into the box. Now the strikers just need to be there when they happen. 2 really solid goals, 2 poke ins from opportune locations from a rebound. And 3 PKs. The frustration began in the last second of a set play. Goalie shoved a CCH player in the back during a corner that he had already punched away. 2 others for pushing in the back. CCH emptied their bench in the 20-30 minute mark in both halves.

They’re going to be a big threat in the coming seasons for sure.

The ticket did not disappoint in the sense that it was a good opportunity to see what both teams have to offer. Not knowing much about either team, here were my impressions. Connor looks young. Not necessarily age, but team experience. They were solid on defense considering most of the shot attempts for CCH were from well outside the box. They had 2 or 3 scoring opportunities but an extra touch or distance to goal allowed CCH's defense to recover. They were by far the more physical team on the ball, but in a solid way. CCH looks like they have plenty of talent. They just look like they need time to gel and play less individually. Most of their shots were taken from 20-30 yards out and most of these rolled slowly to goal. Interestingly, they went deep into their bench early. CCH appeared to control possession in both halves but were unable to convert those into goals. For both teams, it seems time will tell as the season moves on.

Flipping a coin to decide which Colonels to watch tonight. There has been quite a bit said on behalf of the Red Colonels thus far on here, and other online pages. Personally looking forward to the Connor / CCH match. With all of the preseason prognosticating related to these two it might be well worth the price of a ticket to see what things look like when the dust settles.