LEXINGTON, Ky. — When the Trinity Shamrocks and Covington Catholic Colonels met on the boys’ soccer pitch in August, their 1-1 draw left a lot to be resolved.
So a pair of seniors from Northern Kentucky took matters into their own hands Saturday night when they saw the Shamrocks for the second and final time this year.
Covington Catholic’s upperclassmen duo of Jacob Litzler (first half) and Adam Flynn (second half) found the net as the Ninth Region champion Colonels “upset” the Seventh Region champion Shamrocks, 2-1 on John G. Heber Field in the quarterfinals of the 41st KHSAA State Tournament at Henry Clay High School’s Dr. Robert J. Bell Stadium.
Trinity (21-2-2) entered ranked No. 1 in the state by the MaxPreps.com computer rankings and second by the Maher computer ratings. Covington Catholic (22-2-2) was fourth by MaxPreps and fifth by Maher.
Not only was it the only game of the state tournament to pit two top-five teams against one another, but it featured squads which both entered unbeaten against in-state foes in regulation. Entering Saturday, Trinity was 16-0-5 in regulation entering against Kentucky teams, while the Colonels were 15-0-4.
The Colonels entered having allowed just 17 goals and positing 14 shutouts, tying them for 15th in state history. Had they recorded another clean sheet, even after allowing five shots overall and two attempts on frame, they would have tied their 1987 school record of 15 shutouts.
Trinity junior midfielder Luke Williams’ eighth goal of the season, coming in the 77th minute, pulled the Shamrocks within 2-1 and gave them some late life. The Shamrocks had a shot in the final minute, but it was deflected away.
In the opening 20 minutes, there were no shots on frame and just one total — a long attempt by Trinity senior midfielder Greg Fischer.
Litzer, who tallied his team-leading 23rd goal of the year, finally forced the scoreboard to change with a point-blank attempt in the final two minutes of the first half.
Flynn, who had scored just twice this year before Saturday, knocked in the insurance goal 15 minutes into the second half when he followed a header by junior Griffin Lamb.
Junior defender Cameron Smith made the All-Tournament team for Trinity, which was looking for its third state title overall and first since 1998.
Covington Catholic, which has never won a state title, moves on to play 6th Region champion Fern Creek (20-4-1) in Wednesday’s 6 p.m. semifinal at Paul Dunbar. Fern Creek earned a 1-0 win over 2nd Region winner Henderson County in Saturday’s other quarterfinal at Henry Clay.
Wednesday’s 8 p.m. semifinal pits the 4th Region champion Bowling Green Purples (19-2-3) against the 11th Region champion Henry Clay Blue Devils (22-2-1). Bowling Green advanced by beating Perry County Central in Saturday’s late quarterfinal at Lafayette.