By: James Weber , jweber@communitypress.com
They say defense wins championships, and when Ryle and Covington Catholic reconvened Saturday to face off for the Ninth Region boys soccer championship for the second straight year, they brought Northern Kentucky's two hottest defenses with them.
Daniel Heimerdinger of Ryle, left, defends Adam Stegman of CovCath. Covington Catholic 1, Ryle 0, 9th Region boys soccer final. Oct. 22, 2016. Ryle HS. Union Ky.(Photo: James Weber/Community Recorder, James Weber/The Community Recorder)
The two teams had combined to allow only one goal in eight postseason games and had played to a scoreless draw in last year's Ninth Region final.
Saturday afternoon at Ryle, it was Covington Catholic, the 2015 state champion, keeping its repeat hopes alive with a 1-0 win over the Raiders. The Colonels (19-5-2) play 12th Region champion Mercer County in the state round of 16 Tuesday night at Dixie Heights. Ryle finishes 19-5-2
"We lost 18 seniors last year, and that was a big loss, but we really came together at the end of the season," said senior Cole Stava. "Hopefully we can represent like we did last year."
CovCath took a 1-0 lead with 12 minutes left in the half when senior Stephen Schutt chipped a pass into the penalty box and Stava headed it in from close range. It was the 11th goal Ryle allowed all season and the first the Colonels had scored in regular play in five meetings against the Raiders.
Ryle had four straight shutouts against CovCath since the 2013 season, including last year's regional final, which the Colonels won in penalty kicks.
"Stephen got the ball. It was on his left foot and I saw no one was marking me, so I was screaming for it," Stava said. "He put a great ball right there."
Ryle had shut out CovCath 2-0 on Sept. 17. The Raiders had only allowed two goals all season against Ninth Region competition, one to Highlands, who the Raiders knocked off in the semifinals, 1-0.
CovCath was coming in on a run of winning 10 of 11 since that loss to Ryle, eight of those wins by shutout. The loss was 3-2 to Cincinnati power Summit Country Day.
They continued that run with their 14th shutout of the season. The Raiders never got a point-blank shot on goal, and the Colonels did a great job clearing corner kicks. Junior Thomas Cody, in his first season starting in goal, was quick to snare corner kicks and crossing passes to keep the Raiders from getting a shot off.
Senior Michael Vogt, who leads the back line, was named tournament MVP for CovCath.
"Our defense has really stepped up big," said CCH head coach Jeremy Robertson. "Michael Vogt is our staple in the back. John Dietz has done great. All four of those guys and Cody have done a great job. As we showed last year, defense can get you to the next level and that's what we hope to do."
The Colonels graduated 18 seniors and hope to keep rolling this year.
"Winning back to back (regionals) has to show you how much work they put in," Robertson said. "Nobody thought we could do it twice like we did here. There were definitely some good teams in Northern Kentucky this year."
All-tourney
CovCath: Michael Vogt MVP, Griffin Lamb, Cole Stava, Stephen Schutt; Ryle: Will Bedel, Justin Crupper, David Renouill; Highlands: Drew Rom, Colton Dolezal; St. Henry: Ian Manahan, DJ Sanders; Dixie: Esteban Guzman; NCC: Joel Grosser; Grant Snyder; Beechwood: unavailable.