By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Brossart won its first state title in girls soccer on Sunday when the Mustangs upset Bardstown Bethlehem, 3-0, in the All “A” Classic championship match at Louisville Collegiate High School.
Bethlehem (13-3) was ranked No. 13 in the latest statewide coaches poll. Last season, the Banshees won the All “A” Classic state tournament for the fourth consecutive year and took the state title in the post-season playoffs.
But the Banshees weren’t able to put the ball in the net against a now 10-4-2 Brossart team that posted its fifth shutout of the season with junior Maddie Broering at goalkeeper. She made several saves in the victory and was named to the state all-tournament team.
“She was solid today,” coach Andy Smith said of Broering’s performance. “I mean a shutout in the All ‘A’ final against Bethlehem is pretty remarkable. She was in the tight places at the right times and made some really key saves to keep us motivated. I can’t say enough about her.”
The Mustangs’ other all-tournament nominees were freshman Kylie Smith, seniors Zoey Woosley, and Kaitlyn Kramer and junior Rachel Shewmaker, who received the most valuable player award after scoring all three goals in the championship game.
Brossart’s first two state tournament victories were against Hazard, 9-0, and Lexington Sayre, 7-1. That put the Mustangs in the final against defending state champion Bethlehem that had won seven straight matches and posted shutouts in the last five.
Stepping up to the challenge, Smith said his players showed their tenacity, especially on defense, to pull off the upset. Kramer played the back line on defense and Woosley marked the best player in Bethlehem’s lineup.
“They were ready to go today,” Smith said. “They knew the importance of it and just said, ‘Hey, we’re going to get this done, coach.’”
In the opening round of the All “A” Classic boys state soccer tournament on Saturday, Louisville Collegiate knocked off Brossart, 2-0, and went on to take the title with 8-0 victories over its next two opponents.
High school basketball players will continue their careers at same college
Two highly regarded 9th Region high school basketball players have made commitments with University of Illinois at Chicago men’s and women’s teams.
Ryle senior guard Andy Johnson and Highlands senior post player Marissa Green will be joining UIC basketball programs that compete on the NCAA Division I level as members of the Missouri Valley Conference.
Last season, the women’s team posted an 18-16 record and received a berth in the Women’s National Invitational Tournament. The men’s team finished 12-21 and a new head coach was hired.
Green averaged 15.6 points and nine rebounds per game for Highlands last season. The 6-foot-4 center, who shot 61.3 percent from the field, also received scholarship offers from Marshall, Appalachian State, Purdue-Fort Wayne and West Georgia.
Johnson sat out most of his junior season with an injury before averaging 15.3 points and shooting 46 percent from the field in Cooper’s last 15 games. The 6-foot-5 guard played so well in AAU events during the summer that he also got scholarship offers from Youngstown State, Morehead State, Eastern Kentucky, North Florida, Marshall, Indiana State and Boston.
Conner girls soccer team remains unbeaten with five matches left on schedule
With five matches remaining on its regular season schedule, Conner is one of four unbeaten girls high school soccer teams in Kentucky with a 15-0-1 record and leads the state in shutouts with 14.
In last week’s statewide coaches poll, Conner and Notre Dame (8-3-3) tied for second place in the voting behind Louisville Sacred Heart (11-0-2). The other girls teams that have not lost a match are Bullitt East (14-0-2) and Daviess County (9-0-5), according to records posted on the khsaa.org website.
Conner has a home match against Simon Kenton at 8 p.m. Monday. The Pioneers (11-2-1) have won seven straight matches since a 5-0 loss to Notre Dame on Aug. 28. In those five victories, junior Alexis Johnson had seven goals and five assists to raise her point total to 31. (12 goals, 7 assists)
Conner has seven players with 11 points or more. The team leader is junior Cayley Eilers with 15 points (6 goals, 3 assists). Senior goalkeeper Aly Welch has allowed only two goals in 16 matches and has 47 saves.
