Katherine Monohan is closing in on state soccer history.
Unfortunately for University Heights Academy, they got to witness some of that history firsthand on Saturday morning.
The Sayre High School senior scored all five of her team’s goals in a 5-4 win over the Lady Blazers in the quarterfinals of the All A Classic State quarterfinals in Louisville.
Monohan has 195 career goals and is closing in on becoming the fourth girls player in Kentucky history to score 200.
Ironically, UHA will have faced three of them if Monohan reaches the mark as expected.
Prestonsburg’s Anna Burchett scored 275 goals in her high school career. The Lady Blazers held her scoreless in a 3-1 loss to Prestonsburg in the 2019 All A Classic State Tournament.
Henderson County’s Maddie Griggs scored 217 goals in her career – 24 coming against UHA in eight career matches.
“We knew how good she was. We thought we could do a better job of closing her down,” UHA coach Michael Parker said. “If we could have won the ball in the air today for all the chances we missed, Monohan only scores twice.”
Monohan scored twice in the first 20 minutes of Saturday’s match to stake Sayre to a 2-0 lead.
From that point forward, UHA would counter with a goal to get to within one. And each time that happened, Monohan had an answer.
Alyssa Grice fed Kendall Hancock with a long through ball inside the final two minutes of the first half with Hancock finding the net to give UHA its first goal of the match and seemingly the momentum heading into intermission.
But Monohan had a quick answer to begin the second half, getting free in front for the hat trick in the 42nd minute.
Hancock would get her second goal on a breakaway off the foot of Audrey Perry to get the Lady Blazers back to within 3-2 with 30 minutes left.
Less than three minutes later, UHA was called for a handball in the box while they were trying to clear a missed shot in front. Monohan banged home the penalty kick to push the Sayre lead to 4-2.
Hancock fed Skylar Cantrell with a perfectly placed cross in the 62nd minute that she knocked home to again get the Lady Blazers to within a goal.
However, Monohan again had an answer, taking a cross from 2 for her fifth goal of the match.
UHA got several good looks in the final 14 minutes of the match. Perry was tackled from behind in the box and awarded a penalty kick, which she successfully made with 6:30 left.
However, Sayre was able to run out the clock and end UHA’s run at the tourney.
The Lady Blazers had their chances in the first half, outshooting Sayre 13-4 in the first half and 20-9 for the match.
“We played like we were kind of nervous, a little scared. I mean, we had so many opportunities to score,” Parker said. “I can’t remember a game this season where we created so many good opportunities and to only score four when we had seven or eight one-on-ones with a goalkeeper that we didn’t take. At the end of the day, you can’t concede five goals and think you’re gonna win.”
The five goals were the most allowed by the Lady Blazers this season and the most since last year’s All A state semifinal loss to Bethlehem.
UHA (10-3) will return home Monday to play Hopkins County Central. With just three regular-season games left on the schedule, Parker knows the Lady Blazers have to put Saturday’s loss in the rearview mirror and get ready for the postseason.
“If we show up and take care of business in the region in four weeks, I don’t think anybody will remember this,” Parker said. “We’ve got some days coming up where we’re and where we can practice and work on some things.”
Coverage of the UHA Lady Blazers at the All A Classic State Soccer Tournament is courtesy of Planter Bank.
