On an unusually warm October night, the number one seed Highlands Bluebirds came into this one flying high. As soon as the whistle blew, it seemed like a track meet with both team racing up and down the field with each team getting off some serious shots. About ten minutes into the half, Highlands pushed the ball up the field hard and managed a corner kick. They brought just about everyone up field to pack the offensive end and when the corner was turned away back up field, the Bluebirds realized they made a mistake as the Mustangs charged up field with three on one with Ryan Neltner in control of the ball. Ryan drove hard to the right corner where he waited for just the right moment to fire a perfect cross pass in front of the goal where A.J. Wilson one touched it into the net giving Brossart an early 1-0 lead. The remainder of the half was pretty even with both teams threatening at times but with no additional scoring.
The second half heated up and bodies started to fly along with the soon to follow yellow cards. The Mustangs seemed to take on some emotion that we haven’t seen so far this season and took it to the Bluebirds winning most balls and it was obvious we were gaining control. At the twenty two minute mark of the half, Adam Manning cut off a Highlands pass with a hard shoulder pass to Casey McGrath who dropped it back off to Adam cutting to the goal. Adam’s shot hit the crossbar but Casey following the play was there to head it into the goal, giving Brossart and important 2-0 lead. More tough play continued and with three and a half minutes left in the game, late sub Dylan Dierig made a nice first impression by threading the needle with a perfect cross pass to Ryan Neltner cutting hard across midfield who out-ran all defenders and blasted one to the left corner of the goal driving the nail in the coffin; 3-0 Mustangs.
You cannot say enough about the defense in this one. Another shutout for Jeremy Beckerich who made several outstanding saves but he had plenty of help from his friends in green, most notably Matt Moore who seemed to be everywhere just when we needed him. There were many other super plays by the supporting cast of Ryan Stadtmiller, Joe Cropenbaker and Kevin Rust, shutting down everything Highlands threw at them. Great team defense! Great team win! Keep it rolling!
The win puts Brossart in the finals of the 19th District against Newport Central Catholic, this Wednesday at 7:00 pm on the same Campbell County High School field.
In the final tune-up before the Districts, Bishop Brossart got back on the winning track with a solid performance against a very physical Berea team, pounding out a 3-1 win.
Brossart got things started out early in this one when after just one minute into the game Ryan Neltner slid behind the defense and caught a perfect pass, leaving him one on one with the Berea keeper. As we have seen many times this season, Ryan made the opponent pay once more with an efficient slap shot into the corner of the goal giving the Mustangs an early 1-0 lead. The remainder of the half was pretty tough defense on both sides. Matt Moore made sure that anything that looked like a threat from Berea was quickly shut down with some aggressive tackling as he made several key stops. With one minute left in the half, Mitch Patterson launched a corner kick perfectly in front of the goal where Michael Bartlett came charging in to pop a head shot into the net, making it 2-0 at halftime.
The second half was as rough a game as we have seen all year and the refs didn’t seem to want to blow any whistles. Meanwhile, 10 minutes into the half, Berea managed to get someone behind our defense on a run-out and finished it by slapping one past our keeper, cutting the lead to 2-1. Not to be out done, Brossart came back with 19 minutes left in the half when Ryan Neltner made a nice cross pass from the left side in front of the goal where A.J. Wilson made a nifty one touch deflection shot past a stunned keeper, pushing the Mustangs in front 3-1. Although it seemed that every other play one of our players was being knocked to the ground, we managed to finish the game and get out of town without any major injuries. Overall, a well played game on offense and defense!
Brossart will open the District Tournament on Monday the 8th against Highlands on the Campbell County Camels field at 7:00pm. Good luck Mustangs!
In past years, this game normally turns out to be a cross-town war rather than a shootout. It appears that this year the pre-game downpour dampened the mood somewhat for the men in green. Although there were several opportunities to score, Brossart never did seem to get any kind of consistency going.
The Camels came out strong right from the start before a large home field crowd and just four minutes into the game, made a nice cross pass from the right side where one of their players one touched it into the net. 1-0 Camels. The Mustangs came back with several strong runs at the opponent’s goal with Nick Henneken and Ryan Neltner threatening several times but to no avail. With seven and a half minutes left in the half, another hard cross pass by Campbell County found a wide open teammate on the opposite side of the field who popped it into the net. 2-0 Camels.
The second half was much of the same and at the twenty five minute mark, a loose ball at the thirty yard line was shot towards the goal by a defenseman. The ball slipped through our keeper’s hands giving the Camels a commanding 3-0 lead. With five and a half minutes left, the Camels fouled a Brossart player in the box giving A.J. Wilson the Penalty Kick and he promptly fired it past the Camel Keeper to narrow the lead to 3-1. Too little, too late as time ran out for the Mustangs in this one.
One performance worth noting was the play of Matt Moore who seemed to make play after play from his sweeper position, sacrificing his body on several occasions to make spectacular stops. Good job Matt!
Next up for the Mustangs will be Holy Cross on their home field at 4:30pm this Thursday.
Now ranked 24th in the State, Bishop Brossart gave the 4th ranked Trinity team all they could handle but the highly skilled Louisville team was not going to be denied. Midway through the first half, Trinity was awarded a free kick from the 25 yard line in front of the goal and fired one past the Brossart keeper to make it 1-0. Five minutes later, a Trinity player drove hard on the left side before making a nice cross pass which his teammate put into the net making it 2-0.
In the second half, the Mustangs played the opponents even most of the way but with five minutes left, Trinity was given a Penalty Kick which they put into the net, making it a final of 3-0.
At half time, seven Mustang seniors were honored with their parents as they played their final home game. They were Jeremy Beckerich, Matt Moore, Ryan Neltner, Kevin Rust, Jon Muench, A.J. Wilson and Brad Ostendorf. Congratulations to them all!
Next for the Mustangs will be archrival Campbell County Camels on Tuesday the 25th at 7:30pm on the Camels home field.
The Bishop Brossart Mustangs got back on the winning track Saturday by pounding Louisville Seneca 6-1 in the consolation game of the South Oldham Invitational Tournament.
After a slightly slow start, the Mustangs finally got it going with 18 minutes left in the half when Adam Manning crossed a pass in front of the opponents goal where Alex Sanker took control, spun on the defender and fired a shot into the right side of the net giving Brossart a 1-0 lead. Just 1 minute later another shot pulled the keeper out of the box and Ryan Neltner was there to knock the ball into the net with a nifty shot with the back of his foot. 2-0 Mustangs.
With just 4 minutes gone in the second half, Mitch Patterson launched a cross pass in front of the Seneca goal where Kevin Rust took control. He juked two defenders before popping one past the keeper making it 3-0. Ten minutes later, Kevin got fouled in the box giving Brossart a penalty kick. A. J. Wilson made easy work of it, firing a strike into the upper right; 4-0. Seneca answered when one of their players launched a 30 yard bomb from the right side that sailed over our keeper into the far side of the net; 4-1. Not to be outdone, Brossart came right back when Tyler Batsche slipped a nice pass in front of the defense to a hard charging Joe Webb who blasted one past the keeper giving us a 5-1 lead. Not finished yet; with two and a half minutes left, Casey McGrath made a spectacular sliding cross pass getting around the Seneca keeper leaving the goal open and Joe Webb was right there to slam in his second goal of the day, making it a final score of 6-1.
The Mustangs will be back on the field this Tuesday the 18th, against Boone County at Pendery Park with the game starting at 5:30pm.
For the most part, this was a defensive struggle the whole game but 15 minutes into the game, an errant Highlands shot went high into the air and fell to the ground in front of the goal with a wicked backspin causing the ball to bounce over the Brossart keeper into the goal. There were only a hand full of threatening shots the rest of the game on both sides and the score ended 1-0, Highlands. Best to put this one behind us.
The next opportunity for the Mustangs to get back on track will be Tuesday the 11th at 6:00pm in the South Oldham Invitational against Paul Dunbar.
This was another typical Brossart/NCC battle, with both teams playing rough, tough soccer, questionable calls and several unusual plays resulting in goals. In the first minute, NCC scored on an “own goal” off a free kick when a Brossart defender deflected the ball into our own net while trying to clear the shot. Although the Breds seemed to have their way early, the Mustangs came back midway through the half and the momentum shifted. At the 25 minute mark, Mitch Patterson drove a hard corner kick in front of the NCC goal where Michael Bartlett came rushing through the defenders to snap a sharp header into the net, tying the score at 1-1. A few minutes later, Joe Webb took a pass on the right side and drove hard to the corner where he launched a perfect cross pass in front of the NCC goal where the supercharged Michael Bartlett cracked another header past the keeper, giving Brossart a 2-1 lead and things seemed to be under control.
In the second half, play stayed pretty even until the 30 minute mark when an NCC player fired a rocket from 25 yards out, getting past our keeper, tying the score at 2-2. With about 5 minutes remaining, NCC scored a go ahead goal when an inbounds pass was headed into the net giving them a 3-2 lead. Just when all seemed lost, Brossart made a run with about a minute left and when Kevin Rust managed to get off a cross pass in front of the NCC goal and when the NCC sweeper tried to clear the ball, he deflected it into their goal for an “own goal” tying the score at 3-3. Game over.
Next game is on Thursday at 5:30pm against Highlands at Pendery Park.
Bishop
Brossart Mustangs are “Boots & Butts” Champions Again
For the second year in a row, the Bishop Brossart soccer team has come home with the Boots & Butts Tournament Trophy; this time winning all three games in impressive fashion with wins over Scott High School, Meade County and winning the championship game over an undefeated Graves County team.
In the first game, it didn’t take the Mustangs long to get things started when with on 1:30 gone in the game, A. J. Wilson slid a pass through the defense finding Ryan Neltner who quickly slapped it past the keeper making it 1-0. Only ten minutes later, A.J. got another assist, this time sending a rocket crossing pass to the right side of the field finding Kevin Rust ready and waiting to blast one through the keepers arms to give them a 2-0 lead. With 28 minutes left in the half, A.J. got his third assist of the game with a long lead pass up the sideline to the speedy Mitch Patterson streaking down the sideline who took it to the goal with a nice slam into the net. 3-0 Brossart. In the second half, Ryan Neltner charged the goal from the right side and when he could not get through, he fired a nice cross pass in front of the goal where Joe Webb finished it off with a punch shot into the net making it a 4-0 final score. The defense made it easy on Jeremy Beckerich all day allowing him to record another shutout.
In the Saturday morning contest, the Mustangs faced a good Meade County squad. Meade gave Brossart all they could handle but with 17 minutes left in the half, a midfield pass from Alex Sanker found Casey McGrath open in the corner where he launched a perfect cross pass in front of the goal where Joe Webb hammered a header into the net for the only score of the game. Both teams moved the ball up and down the field the rest of the game but no more scoring occurred. Jeremy and Company recorded another shutout putting them in great shape for the evening showdown with Graves County.
In the nightcap, the Mustangs faced the previously undefeated Graves County. In the first few minutes, it was obvious that this was going to be a close one. At the 8 minute mark, the Graves forward took a pass, spun on the Mustang defender and slammed a rocket into the net giving them a 1-0 lead. But not to be outdone, A.J. Wilson delivered an “air strike” from 30 yards out, off a free kick, over the outstretched arms of the Graves keeper, tying the score at 1-1. The second half was also tight but with 7 minutes gone, a loose ball in front of the goal made its way to Casey McGrath who wasted no time and slapped it into the net for the game winner giving Brossart a 2-1 lead and eventually the championship.
All Tournament selections were A.J. Wilson, Ryan Neltner, Matt Moore, Michael Bartlett and Jeremy Beckerich.
Next up for the Mustangs will be Newport Catholic at Pendery on Tuesday the 4th at 6:00pm.
Coming off their best game of the year Sunday against St. Henry, Bishop Brossart came out a little flat against Pendleton County. The first 35 minutes was pretty even play with both teams getting off some shots with very physical play. About a minute later, Ryan Neltner took a pass off an inbounds play on the left side and just out-muscled the defender to gain advantage and one on one with the keeper popped it into the net, making it 1-0 Brossart. That was it for the half but it seemed to break the ice for the Mustangs.
The second half, the came out more aggressive and quickly moved the ball into the Pendleton County side of the field. After several runs at the goal, Michael Bartlett intercepted a pass and as the ball hit the ground, Michael ripped a laser shot to the upper right of the goal giving the Mustangs a 2-0 lead. Meanwhile, the defense was starting to wear down the opponents as Matt Moore, Joe Cropenbaker and Adam Manning made several nice stops. A few minutes later, Mitch Patterson launched a corner kick in front of Pendleton’s goal but the ball kicked out to Michael Bartlett who smartly poked it back to Mitch, still standing in the corner, where he launched it again, this time finding Kevin Rust making a run on the left side who he headed it in for a comfortable 3-0 lead. Not done yet and at the 20 minute mark, Brad Ostendorf, seeing some offensive action, hit Casey McGrath in front of the opponents goal where Casey threaded the needle with a sweet touch pass to a charging Ryan Neltner who neatly one-touched it into the net for his second goal of the night and the 4th and final goal of the game. Jeremy Beckerich recorded another shutout with the save going to Jon Muench. Final, Brossart 4, Pendleton 0.
Next up for Brossart will be Scott High School in the opener of the Boots & Butts Tournament in Hopkinsville at 8:00pm.
It was the first match-up this season of the two top All ‘A’ powerhouses and the game did not disappoint. The Bishop Brossart Mustangs gave the highly ranked St. Henry team all they could handle ending the regulation period tied at 1-1, and then finally falling during the tie-breaking shoot-out.
The game got started with a bang as spectators were still finding their seats, St. Henry took the ball on their first possession and marched down the field and headed the ball into the net making it 1-0 Crusaders. The Mustangs did not seem shaken though and came back strong and made several runs up field of their own and with only five minutes past, Ryan Neltner broke free ahead of the defense causing the St Henry keeper to charge out of the box and as Ryan and the keeper collided, the ball popped free where the heads-up Nick Henneken fired it cleanly into the net making it 1-1. Game on!
From there on out, it was just rough and tough soccer with both defenses playing their best. Each team made some nice runs but the defense would stiffen and did not allow anything to reach the goal. Jeremy Beckerich was in full command of the defense for the “Men in Green” and made several spectacular saves to keep us in the game.
In the shoot-out, Jeremy made the correct guess on four out of five shooters and got a hand on one but could not hang on while the St. Henry keeper only guessed right once but was lucky enough to grab it to pull out the win. Scorers for Brossart in the Shoot-out were A. J. Wilson, Michael Bartlett, Ryan Stadtmiller and Alex Sanker. Everyone who saw action today played with heart and gave it up on the field. They should all be very proud of a total team effort in a very well played game against a good opponent.
Next up for Brossart will be Grant County, this Wednesday at 5:00pm at Pendery.
Saturday 8/18
Brossart Pounds Walton Verona 7-0, Patterson gets “Hat Trick”.
The first ten minutes was all Mitch Patterson as he scored from all angles, hitting the nets for three goals. The first came just after five minutes when Ryan Neltner fired a shot that the keeper could not handle and when the ball popped free in front of the goal, Mitch was there to smack it to the back of the net. Just thirty seconds later, Mitch came free on a run out, pulled away from the defender and slammed another one in making it 2-0. After several missed shots by his teammates, Mitch took matters into his own hands again, stealing an opponent’s pass and then while racing across the thirty yard line fired a hooking shot over the keeper’s head for his third goal of the night. “Hat Trick”.
As the half was winding down, Casey McGrath lofted a perfect corner kick in front of the Walton goal where Ryan Neltner pounded a header into the net making it 4-0 at halftime.
Playing all subs in the second half, the scoring did not stop. At the 15 minute mark, Justin Britton broke free with the ball down the right side of the field heading toward the goal and delivered a nice touch pass cross to find Brian Wolfer ready and waiting to finish it with a soft tap into the goal giving the Mustangs a 5-0 lead. Five minutes later, the Mustangs were still running as Daniel McIntyre made a nice slide touch pass on a run out to Justin Britton on the right side where he slammed it in. 6-0 Brossart. Just thirty seconds after that, another crossing pass in front of the Walton goal popped free and Brian Wolfer popped it in for his second goal of the night. Final Brossart 7, Walton Verona 0.
Although the opponents were not very strong, the defense put up another shutout not allowing anything threatening to reach the Mustang keepers. Next up, St. Henry for the big “All A” match-up on Thursday the 23rd at 5:00pm on our home field, Pendery Park.
From the opening whistle, it was obvious that the Brossart Mustangs were going to control this one. The defense was not allowing much past midfield and the offense was applying constant pressure. You knew it was just a matter of time before the shots would begin to find the mark.
At the 13-minute mark, the Mustangs were awarded a free kick from the twenty-five yard line. Michael Bartlett lined up for the shot and everyone in the stadium thought he was going to try to bend it past the defense when suddenly he tapped the ball gently to his right where A.J. Wilson rocketed the ball into the net past the stunned defense. 1-0 Mustangs, nice play! Five minutes later, A.J. fed the ball ahead to Adam Manning who lofted a pass over the defense to a streaking Ryan Neltner who finished it with a slam to the back of the net. 2-0 Brossart. At the 30-minute mark, A.J. controlling the middle of the field with ease, threaded a pass through the defense to Michael Bartlett making a run on the left side. Michael wasted no time and planted it in the net, making the score 3-0 and the route was on. With about a minute left, A.J. Wilson put the finishing touch on the half by catching the Villa Keeper wandering too far from the goal and lofted a sweet pooch shot over his head into the goal making the score at half Brossart 4, Villa 0.
Brian Gollar emptied the bench in the second half against the overmatched Villa team and with only ten minutes gone, Casey McGrath took a pass on a runout and as the Villa Keeper dove to the right to stop his shot, Casey shot low to the left and rolled it easily into the goal for the fifth and final goal of the night.
Teamwork looked good throughout and the defense turned in another strong performance with several key stops by Ryan Stadtmiller, John Cropenbaker, John Walerius with plenty of help from their friends, Matt Moore, Adam Manning and Brad Ostendorf. When the opponents did get off a shot, Jeremy Beckerich made easy work of it, snatching up anything that came close.
The Mustangs should get a tougher test tomorrow night as they take on Walton Verona at Pendery Park, kicking it off at 4:00pm for our home opener.
BLUEGRASS
Brossart vs. Bethlehem
This was a rough, hard fought game throughout. Brossart took a 1-0 lead in the second half with a goal by A.J. Wilson but Bethlehem tied it up ten minutes later to make the final 1-1.
Brossart vs. Danville
Brossart took an early lead on a cross pass that landed in front of the goal where Nick Henneken popped it into the net to make it 1-0. Late in the half, Danville put one in to make it 1-1 at half. In the second half, a header pass from Michael Bartlett to Ryan Neltner, who headed the ball past the keeper made it 2-1 Brossart. Later in the half, a shot by Adam Manning on a runout deflected off the keeper to a waiting Nick Henneken who drove it to the back of the net making it 3-1 Brossart and the final score.
Brossart vs. Lexington Catholic
Brossart had to play without A.J. Wilson and Ryan Neltner due to ankle injuries sustained on Saturday, leaving them with only two subs for the day. In the first half, Brossart played the opponents evenly with no score at half time. In the second half, Lexington Catholic scored quickly with a long hooking shot to the upper corner of the net and a header off a corner kick but Brossart responded with a goal off a corner kick where Kevin Rust made a spectacular backwards windmill kick into the net, making it 2-1. Lexington Catholic came back though and managed to slap another one in making the final 3-1 in favor of the opponents.
Brossart vs.North Oldham
Playing without the two seniors and without the additional subs, fatigue started to take its toll. Final score 4-1 in favor of North Oldham. Nick Henneken did manage to break free for the lone Brossart goal late in the game to prevent the shutout.
The Bishop Brossart Mustangs had their first chance to show off for the local fans against the Boone County Rebels this year at Soccerama held at Covington Catholic. The Mustangs did not disappoint as they handled the Rebels winning 3-0 in the sweltering heat of more than 100°F on the playing field.
The game opened with both teams playing tough defense and over the first twenty minutes, each team managed only one shot on goal. In the second twenty, Brossart began to apply more offensive pressure getting off several shots. At the thirty minute mark, Joe Webb launched a perfect corner kick and Michael Bartlett made a nice inside cut to the goal and headed it into the net making it 1-0 Brossart. Not more than two minutes later, A. J. Wilson pitched one over the pulled up Boone defense to Ryan Neltner who slipped behind the defense and as the opponents keeper came charging forward, Ryan made a nice tap pass over the keepers head where an alert Nick Henneken made a well place head shot into the goal, giving the Mustangs a 2-0 lead. Nice team work! Meanwhile the defense, led by the always solid Matt Moore and supported by Brad Ostendorf, Adam Manning and John Walerius, was not giving Boone County any good looks at our goal.
In the second half, Brian Gollar substituted freely, getting a look at a lot of the newcomers to the 2007 squad. They played well also as the defense continued to hold the Rebels scoreless and the offense put pressure on the Boone defense, getting off several shots on goal. Joe Webb had a couple of nice runs and about midway through the second half made a nice stuff of Boone’s keeper trying to clear the ball causing the ball to spring free near the front of the goal where Adam Manning calmly popped into the back of the net making it 3-0 for the final score. Not a bad start at all for the new look Mustangs!