LEXINGTON, Ky. – As the final seconds of his high school career ticked off the scoreboard behind him, Jamison Edwards left the field amid applause from his teammates and acknowledgements of “Good game” from his opponents.
Edwards’ Fern Creek boys soccer team had just been dominated in its first-ever trip to the semifinals of the state tournament, but this loss would not define the Tigers’ season.
“I’d say the one peace we’re going to find in this is that they were better than us,” said Edwards, the Tigers’ senior goalkeeper. “There’s really nothing you can be upset about.”
Covington Catholic dominated from the start, finally busted loose with three goals during a six-minute span late in the first half and went on to a 5-0 victory over Fern Creek on Wednesday at Paul Dunbar High School.
Ranked No. 5 in the state, the Colonels (23-2-2) advanced to face Henry Clay in Saturday’s 5 p.m. state final.
Unranked Fern Creek (20-5-1) won its fourth straight Sixth Region title last month but hadn’t been able to advance past the semistate round until this year, beating North Hardin and Henderson County to reach the final four.
“I couldn’t be more proud of them,” Fern Creek coach John Pedro said. “I felt like this was going to be the team that did it, and they did. It’s quite a feat what they accomplished because we don’t have 22 club players or 11 starters going to play in college.
“Somehow, someway we found a way to get it here.”
But Covington Catholic was too much for the Tigers on Wednesday, finishing with a 34-8 advantage in shots.
Behind several nice saves from Edwards, Fern Creek was able to endure the onslaught until the 26th minute. That’s when Griffin Lamb scored from about 8 yards out after a cross from Austin Flynn.
Lamb scored five minutes later for a 2-0 lead after an assist from Nick Jacobs.
Colonels coach Jeremy Robertson said his team panicked a bit in the first 20 minutes before Lamb broke through.
“He has some quick feet and is able to turn on the (defender) pretty quick and has some good vision, too,” Robertson said. “Our next game isn’t going to be an easy one for anybody, but we’re definitely going to have to have him on fire.”
Michael Wessel scored from 20 yards out to make it 3-0 in the 32nd minute and complete a dominant first half for the Colonels, who outshot the Tigers 17-3.
Fern Creek’s first shot of the contest didn’t come until the 33rd minute, when Mangil Pradhan sent a blast over the goal.
“That’s a pretty incredible team, and we knew that coming into it,” Pedro said of Covington Catholic. “They get numbers forward, they press and we didn’t handle the pressure so well at the beginning of the game. …
“They knew what they were doing all across the field. They were really good at making us ineffective going forward.”
Jacob Litzler and Cameron Berling added second-half goals for the Colonels, who advanced to the state final for the third time. They finished as runners-up in both 1983 and 1998.
Edwards, who has committed to Campbell College in North Carolina, was the top performer for Fern Creek, finishing with 13 saves.
“I knew he was good, but tonight he really showed his character and his true colors,” Pedro said. “If it wasn’t for him, the score may have been a lot more.”
* Henry Clay 1, Bowling Green 0: Collin Rose’s goal in the 38th minute lifted the No. 3 Blue Devils (23-2-1) over the No. 1 Purples (19-3-3).
Both teams managed 10 shots as Bowling Green’s quest to defend its 2014 state championship game to an end.
Henry Clay advanced to the state final for the fifth time, having won titles in 1991 and 2010.
Jason Frakes can be reached at (502) 582-4046 and jfrakes@courier-journal.com.