By: Marc Hardin, prepsports@enquirer.com
The Covington Catholic boys are the last remaining Northern Kentucky soccer team at the Kentucky High School Athletic Association state tournaments.
The Colonels are two victories away from their first state title following Saturday's 2-1 quarterfinal win over Louisville Trinity, the second-ranked team in the state.
"It feels great to get this far," coach Jeremy Robertson said. "But, we still have work to do."
CovCath (22-2-2) plays Fern Creek (20-4-1) at 6 p.m. today in a state semifinal at Lexington Dunbar. The Colonels are rated fifth in Kentucky at Maherrankings.com. Fern Creek is ranked 26th. The winner plays either top-ranked defending champion Bowling Green or third-ranked Henry Clay in Saturday's 5 p.m. final at Dunbar.
The area has yet to produce a KHSAA boys' state soccer champion. There have been eight finalists from Northern Kentucky, four in the past nine years. Scott fell to Bowling Green in last year's final.
This, however, is not uncharted territory for the Ninth Region champion Colonels or their coach. CovCath twice has been a state finalist, in 1983 and 1998. Robertson guided Highlands to the 2008 state championship match. This is new ground for the Colonels' players, including 18 seniors. Robertson said there are few substitutes for experience.
"We've been composed, and we've been patient. Defense and balance has been our upper hand," the coach said. "Fern Creek is very organized on the defensive side of things. Their goalkeeper is pretty athletic, and they have a guy who scored 50 goals, so we'll have to stay balanced."
Senior forward Kornell Hilliard is third in the state in scoring with 51 goals for Fern Creek, winner of four straight Sixth Region titles. He is a Division I college recruit, with Northern Kentucky University on his short list. He's not the only threat. Teammate Jacob Teasley has 20 goals and leads the state with 41 assists. Jelcin Zuniga has 17 goals.
Fern Creek has outscored opponents, 115-29, while ranking 11th in the state in scoring. Keeper Jamison Edwards has allowed one goal in the postseason.
CovCath is similarly balanced, with a stauncher defense, ranked second in the state with an average yield of 0.7 goals per game. The Colonels have outscored opponents, 101-18, and have not lost to a Kentucky team this season. Jacob Litzler leads with 23 goals, two in the state tournament. Bryce Day has scored 17 goals. Griffin Lamb has 14.
The defense, allowing fewer than five shots per game in the state tournament, is led by goalie Sam Romes and defenders Ben Darpel, Austin Flynn, Ryan Massie, Jacob Nurre and Ben Thieman. Statistically, it's one of the best groups ever at CovCath.
The Colonels have posted 14 shutouts, second most in program annals and tied for 15th in state history. The school record, set in 1987, is 15, tied for 12th on the state's all-time single-season list.