High school spotlight

The high school soccer season is in full swing and already teams are giving a good indication as to who will be playing for honors come October.

One of the teams we advised you to watch out for this fall as far as southern Indiana is concerned is New Albany's Lady Bulldogs.

Yesterday (Saturday), we watched Julie Deuser's charges beat Bedford North Lawrence 11-2 in its Hoosier Hills Conference opener to go 4-0 on the season. Having beaten Forest Park 3-0, North Harrison a whopping 20-1, and Silver Creek 8-1, they have now averaged over 10 goals a game.

Standout Kaitlin Robinett scored three (to bring her season tally to eight), while Mackenzie Nash and Kameron Cole each scored two. Kayton Cole, Chelsea Cotner, Kelsey Graeter and Whitney Smith also found the net.

However, it would be fair to say that New Albany could easily have doubled its tally if its shooting had have been a little more accurate.

The sectional will come down to the Bulldogs, Providence and reigning champion Floyd Central. The Highlanders started off the season well at the Eastern College Extravaganza in Louisville last week with a 4-0 win against Meade County, and followed it up with a 3-2 victory over Mercy Academy a couple of days later.

However, FC was up against it at the weekend at the Hoosier Cup in Bloomington, losing 4-1 to both Indianapolis Roncalli and Evansville Mater Dei. It did finish the tourney on a winning note, beating Lafayette Central Catholic 4-0.

Also taking part in the Hoosier Cup was Providence boys' team and Christian Academy of Louisville, with the latter running out 2-1 victors in the game between both. Scorers for CAL were Jacob Scearce and Tanner Wilcox, while Ben Hughes netted for the Pioneers.

Providence also lost to Ryle by a 1-0 scoreline, but finished on a high note with a 5-0 victory against Edgewood with goals from Steven Meyer, Omar Salguero (2) Keenan Sparks, and Patrick Leistner. Meanwhile, CAL lost 6-1 to Indiana's No #7 ranked Zionsville.

Elsewhere, reigning KHSAA girls' champion Sacred Heart has signalled its intent to repeat its fine 2007 season with an unbeaten start (6-0-1) which included a 2-0 victory over rivals Assumption. Its tie (1-1) was against Notre Dame of Park Hills yesterday, state winners in 2004 and a team expected to go far this year.

DuPont Manual is another team with high hopes. It has started the campaign 6-0, and has already proven too strong for North Oldham, South Oldham and Lexington Catholic.

On the boys' side, 2007 KHSAA champion St Xavier is 3-0 after a 2-0 win against Erie Cathedral of Pennsylvania, while Trinity won its fourth game on the trot when beating Louisville Collegiate 1-0.