Thursday, October 28, 1999
St. Henry wins region soccer title
BY RAY SCHAEFER
Enquirer contributor
FLORENCE — St. Henry boys soccer coach Tim Dressman and his wife, Sue, celebrated their 26th wedding anniversary at Wednesday's 13th Region championship game against Boone County.
Dressman's Crusaders gave them the best possible gift — a 2-0 victory on the Rebels' home field, behind goals from senior striker Andy Powers and senior midfielder Marc Waymeyer.
St. Henry, ranked 15th in the state, plays host to 1998 runner-up and 14th Region champion Covington Catholic in the subsectionals Saturday (starting time to be announced).
“I'm glad I could give (the Dressmans) a present,” Powers said.
St. Henry senior goalkeeper Chris Billiter contributed, too — 10 saves for his 10th shootout of the year.
The win puts St. Henry (17-4) in the subsectionals for the second straight year; the Crusaders lost to CovCath in a shootout last year. Except for a scrimmage in August, St. Henry and CovCath have not met since then.
“They know how emotional it was,” he said. “CovCath has been the power in soccer in Northern Kentucky the past 15 years.”
Powers was not a factor in last Thursday's 3-1 loss to Boone County in the 25th District final, thanks to the Rebels' tight defense. In Wednesday's third minute, Powers finally escaped.
St. Henry junior striker Eric Kleiman's corner kick found Powers in front of Boone County keeper Mike Fayson, and Powers' header beat Fayson just inside the the lower left corner.
“We ran our usual play — everybody attacked the goal and didn't stand and watch,” Powers said of his 19th score of the season.
If Boone County (13-8) looks at Wednesday's first-half videotape, three sequences might make the Rebels cringe.
Seconds after Powers' goal, St. Henry fullback Derek Schmitz was called for a handball inside the 18-yard box. Boone County fullback Daniel Nobel took the resulting penalty kick, but Billiter dived to his right and gathered in the save.
Striker Brent Sullivan's shot in the 17th minute beat Billiter but hit the crossbar. In the 25th minute, a header deflected off Billiter's chest and onto Sullivan's foot in front of the net, but Sullivan missed over the crossbar.
“I got a piece of the first one,” Billiter said. “I wasn't expecting the header.”
A similar scramble led to Waymeyer's eight-yarder in the 59th minute that fooled Rebel junior keeper David Jones. It was Waymeyer's second goal of the tournament.
Said Boone County coach Shawn Neace: “They got the breaks, we didn't. They were able to pack it in and play hard soccer.”
• Shutout: Billiter (10 saves). Goals: SH-Powers, Waymeyer. Records: SH 17-4, BC 13-8.
• All-tournament team: Simon Kenton — Keith Carroll, Mark Peterson; Scott — Kevin Borg, Justin Walters; Boone County — Brent Sullivan, Joey Northcutt, Mike Fayson; St. Henry — Andy Powers, Marc Waymeyer, Jeffrey Topmiller, Chris Hegge.
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