By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Notre Dame scored five goals in the first 40 minutes and went on to defeat Campbell County, 7-0, in the first round of the girls state soccer tournament on Tuesday at Notre Dame.
The Pandas pushed their record to 25-0-1, just two shy of the girls state record for most wins in a season posted on the khsaa.org website. They’ve already set a new state record for most shutouts with 22 going into their state quarterfinal game against Lexington Catholic at 5 p.m. Saturday at Notre Dame.
Soccer players Jillian MacKnight of Notre Dame and Jozie Holmes of Campbell County get tangled up battling for the ball. (Photo by Bob Jackson)
In the latest Maher computer rankings, Notre Dame was No. 1 and LexCath was No. 2 in the state. The Lady Knights have a 24-3 record, but they did not play Notre Dame during the regular season. They have won 13 straight matches since losing to Highlands, 2-1, on Sept. 13.
Senior forward Marina Ruthsatz scored the first two goals for Notre Dame in the big win over Campbell County. The Pandas extended their lead to 5-0 on goals by Macie Feldman, Hannah Knapke and Erin Stegman before the first half ended.
A goal by Kennedy Clark early in the second half sparked Notre Dame’s attack once again. Knapke got her second goal a few minutes later to finish off her team’s scoring binge.
The Pandas have now outscored their opponents, 112-3, and need one goal to match the team’s single-season record set in 2011. The local record is 115 goals by Holy Cross in 1996. The state record is 169 goals by Prestonsburg in 2019.
Campbell County ends the season with a 19-5-2 record. The Camels made their first appearance in the state tournament since 2014 as the 10th Region champions.
Covington Catholic will play Somerset in the quarterfinal round of the boys state soccer tournament at 5 p.m. Saturday at Somerset. The Colonels have a 12-8-5 record after winning their last six matches, including a 3-2 win over Montgomery County in the opening round of the boys state playoffs on Monday.
Volleyball teams in district finals earn berths in region playoffs
Defending state champion Notre Dame is among the local volleyball teams that earned berths in next week’s region playoffs by making it to district finals.
The Pandas will face Holy Cross in the 35th District final on Thursday with both teams advancing to next week’s 9th Region tournament at Conner High School. The other 9th Region qualifiers are Cooper and Ryle in the 33rd District, St. Henry and Dixie Heights in the 34th District and Newport Central Catholic and Highlands in the 36th District. They will play in district finals on Wednesday.
Simon Kenton will play Williamstown in the 32nd District final with both team advancing to the 8th Region tournament at Eminence. Campbell County and Scott are the 37th District finalists that earned berths in the 10th Region tournament to be played at the winner of the 40th District final between Montgomery County and Bourbon County.
VOLLEYBALL DISTRICT FINALS
Wednesday
32nd — Williamstown vs. Simon Kenton, 7 p.m. at Simon Kenton
33rd — Cooper vs. Ryle, 7 p.m. at Cooper
34th — St. Henry vs. Dixie Heights, 6 p.m. at St. Henry
36th — Newport Central Catholic vs. Highlands, 7 p.m. at Highlands
37th — Campbell County vs. Scott, 6 p.m. at Campbell County
Thursday
Notre Dame vs. Holy Cross, 7 p.m. at Beechwood
Cooper golfer named first-team all-state for third straight year
Cooper senior Rylan Wotherspoon was named first-team all-state in Kentucky boys high school golf for the third consecutive year after finishing third in the point standings for the 2021 season.
Wotherspoon, who topped the all-state standings in 2020, placed third this year with 1080 points. Luke Coyle of Taylor County was first with 1155 points and named Mr. Kentucky Golf. The second-team all-state list included Ryle senior Chris Harpum with 755 points.
Trinity Beth of Marshall County was named Miss Kentucky Golf for leading the girls points standings with 1170 points. Cooper freshman Reagan Ramage made second-team all-state with 765 points.
Wotherspoon and Harpum were the winner and runner-up in the Region 7 boys tournament and Ramage was medalist in the Region 7 girls tournament. At the boys state tournament, Wotherspoon tied for 13th place and Harpum tied for 26th. Ramage tied for 20th in the girls state tournament.
