By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Notre Dame lived up to its No. 1 ranking in Kentucky girls high school soccer with a 5-0 win over second-ranked Louisville Sacred Heart on Tuesday in the first round of the Lady Knights Challenge Cup at Lexington Catholic High School.
The Pandas extended their perfect record to 13-0 with the victory over last year’s state champions. It was the first loss of the season for Sacred Heart (13-1-1). The Valkyries had given up one goal in their 10 previous matches.
Senior midfielder Macie Feldman scored one of Notre Dame’s five goals in a win over Sacred Heart. (File photo by Bob Jackson)
Notre Dame took a 2-0 lead in the first half on goals by senior Ella Simkonis and sophomore Hannah Knapke. The Pandas pulled away in the second half when senior Macie Feldman and juniors Ellie Greenwell and Kennedy Clark put balls into the net.
Senior goalkeeper Abby Breeze picked up her 10th shutout of the season in the match. The Pandas have outscored their first 13 opponents by a 47-2 margin.
Notre Dame will play Louisville Manual (5-3) in a semifinal match at 8 p.m. Thursday at Lexington Catholic. The other semifinal match between Highlands (7-2) and Louisville Assumption (8-3) is set for 8 p.m. Wednesday. The winners will meet in the championship final at 7 p.m. Saturday.
Highlands defeated Lexington Catholic, 2-1, and Assumption defeated Simon Kenton, 1-0, in first-round matches played on Monday. Manual defeated Lexington Dunbar, 1-0, in the other first-round match on Tuesday.
Notre Dame and Sacred Heart were the state’s top two teams in both the MaxPreps and Maher power rankings this week. Highlands was ranked No. 4 in MaxPreps and No. 5 in Maher.
Ryle is among the top-ranked boys soccer teams in the state. The Raiders, who have an 8-0-2 record, are No. 5 in MaxPreps and No. 7 in Maher. Last year, Ryle won the 9th Region championship and made it to the semifinals of the state tournament before losing its first match on a penalty kick shootout.
Beechwood and Brossart boys soccer teams will face each other in the All “A” Classic sectional playoffs at noon Saturday at Brossart. The winner of that match will advance to the eight-team small-school state tournament Sept. 25-26 at Capital View Park in Frankfort.
The eight-team bracket for the All “A” Classic girls state tournament to be played that same weekend includes Walton-Verona and Brossart.
