By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Beechwood won its first 9th Region All “A” Classic championship in boys soccer Monday night when the Tigers defeated Holy Cross, 3-2, in the title game played on their home field.
It was a monumental accomplishment for the Beechwood program that started playing varsity soccer in 2015 and had never won a game in the annual small-school region tournament before this year.
Prior to the tournament, the Tigers lost the first five games on their schedule and were shutout in four of them. The fact that they were in a bracket with two teams – St. Henry and Newport Central Catholic – that they had never beaten before was also a bit daunting.
Posing with a region championship trophy was a new experience for the Beechwood boys soccer team
But Beechwood knocked off St. Henry in a penalty kick shootout and edged NewCath, 3-2, to reach the championship game against Holy Cross, a team that had ended the Tigers’ last two seasons in the post-season playoffs.
Beechwood coach Zach Rechtin said his team scored the first two goals in the title game, but Holy Cross cut it to 2-1 by halftime.
“We put one in to make it 3-1 and then they got their second (goal),” Rechtin said. “And then it was just nail-biting, gut-check for the last 10-15 minutes trying to grind it out.”
Beechwood coach Zach Rechtin
Walking off the field with the championship trophy was a proud moment for Rechtin, who has been head coach of the boys varsity program since its inception.
“With all due respect to all five teams in our region, we had to play the three best teams, historically speaking,” Rechtin said. “There’s no asterisk next to this region title. We won it outright.”
Despite his team’s 0-5 start, the coach was not surprised that the Tigers took the region title. He said those tough early games prepared them for a successful tournament run.
“I knew in my heart that we were good,” Rechtin said. “We’ve got talent and it was just a matter of putting the right pieces in the right places and getting that cohesion going.”
Beechwood senior goalkeeper Sam Keith was named the region tournament’s most valuable player. He was credited with 35 saves in three games. The other Tigers on the all-tournament team were seniors Brian Trejo and Nolan Schlinger, who had two goals in the championship game.
Beechwood will play the 10th Region All “A” Classic champion in the sectional round of the small-school playoffs. The winner will advance to the All “A” Classic state tournament Sept. 25-26 at Capitol View Park in Frankfort.
Brossart wins 10th Region All “A” Classic volleyball tournament
Brossart won the 10th Region All “A” Classic volleyball tournament on Saturday with back-to-back victories in two sets over Nicholas County in the semifinals and Calvary Christian in the championship final.
The Mustangs (5-3) earned a berth in the All “A” Classic small-school state tournament to be played Sept. 17-18 at Eastern Kentucky University.
In Brossart’s two region tournament matches on Saturday, freshman middle blocker Corrine Blackburn had 20 kills and junior setter Savannah Seiter had 32 assists. Sophomore back row player Madelyn Kramer had a season-high 14 digs in the championship match.
The 9th Region All “A” Classic volleyball tournament resumed this week with matches on Tuesday and Wednesday at Ludlow High School.
Coaches in two fall sports reach milestones in career victories
Two local head coaches in different sports recorded milestone victories last week, according to posts on Twitter.
Scott volleyball coach Andrea Sullivan picked up her 400th win in 19 seasons with the program. Over the last nine years, the Eagles have reached the 10th Region finals eight times and won five titles.
Ryle boys soccer coach Stephen Collins notched his 300th career win in 21 seasons with two teams. Since he took charge of the Ryle program in 2004, the Raiders have won six region championships and two state runner-up trophies.
Last season, Ryle posted a 17-1 record with its only loss coming in the state semifinals on a penalty kick shootout. The Raiders are off to a 6-0 start this season and ranked among the state’s top 10 teams.
St. Henry grad loses first match in Paralympics wheelchair tennis
St. Henry graduate Emmy Kaiser lost her first-round match in women’s wheelchair tennis at the Paralympics in Tokyo.
Jinlian Huang of China defeated Kaiser, 6-1, 6-1, on Saturday to end the local woman’s third appearance in the worldwide games for impaired athletes.
Kaiser, 31, made it to the round of 16 in both singles and doubles at the 2012 Paralympics in London. At the 2016 games in Rio de Janeiro, she made it to the round of 16 in singles and lost her first match in doubles.
