Friday, October 29, 1999
Holy Cross, Notre Dame advance to soccer showdown
BY MARK SCHMETZER
Enquirer contributor
TAYLOR MILL — Northern Kentucky's top girls soccer team will be decided Saturday when 19th District champion Holy Cross and district runner-up Notre Dame meet at 7p.m. at Scott High School in the Fifth Region championship game.
“That's a game you always look forward to,” Holy Cross coach Dave Reynolds said. “It could go one way or the other. I love to play them. It will be a battle.”
Notre Dame, which is ranked No.2 in the state, advanced with a 3-1 victory over tournament surprise St.Henry in the first of two semifinal games at Scott Thursday night. Holy Cross (18-4), the state's No.4 team, earned its berth with a 5-0 win over Ryle in the nightcap.
Holy Cross finished second to Notre Dame in the Enquirer's coaches poll. Saturday's winner earns the right to play host to a Section 3 semifinal match Monday.
The Indians got two goals from Krista Mitts and shutout goalkeeping from Natalie Gardner, who posted her 16th whitewash of the season to extend her school record and seventh in a row to extend a state record.
Ryle finished at 13-7, but Reynolds wasn't worried about his team looking past the Raiders.
“We were very worried about Ryle,” Reynolds said. “We knew they were dangerous.”
“Coach Reynolds always says that, once you get to this point, any team can knock you out,” Mitts said. “You've got to focus game by game. We weren't even thinking about Notre Dame.”
Notre Dame (19-2) earned its shot at a third consecutive regional championship and fourth in five years with an offense that was long on pressure but short on production.
The Pandas were credited with two goals within the first eight minutes of the game. Emily Farrell scored the first just 65 seconds into the game with a breakaway on which she was close to being offsides. She juked goalkeeper Lyndsay Seibert out of position and nudged the ball into the net.
“A lot of people try to hammer that in, but I always tell them that it's one point whether you rip the net off or not,” Notre Dame coach Tim Priesshoff said.
Notre Dame took a 2-0 lead with 32:52 left in the half when a St.Henry defender accidentally diverted the ball past Seibert into the Lady Crusaders net. Many onlookers mistakenly believed the Pandas' Tara Arlinghaus had taken the shot.
“I asked her when she came off the field, and she said it went off the defender,” Priesshoff said. “When you put pressure on the defense and get the ball down near the goal, anything can happen.
“We hadn't been doing that this season. We were trying for the perfect pass or the perfect shot. We just said, "Unload it.'”
“I thought our whole team didn't get off to the start we were looking for,” Crusaders coach Mike Apgar said. “We were a little tense and nervous. I was very proud of the fact that we got down two and still showed a lot of heart.”
Notre Dame 3, St. Henry 1
Shutout: Goals: ND—Farrell 2, own goal; SH—
Tabeling. Records: ND 19-2, SH 10-10.
Holy Cross 5, Ryle 0
Goals: HC—Mitts 2, Kennedy, Reynolds, Warken. Shutout: Gardner (0 saves). Records: R 13-7, HC 18-4.
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