Several Kings Knights players were awarded post-season honors as a result of their play in 2011. The following players received All-FAVC honors: Leo Mesones, senior midfielder and 1st Team FAVC; Garrett Householder, junior midfielder and 1st team FAVC; Max Burkert, senior midfielder and 2nd team FAVC; Brandon Coughlin, junior defender and honorable mention FAVC. Kings Sports MVP: senior Max Burkert and The Red, White & Blue award: senior Nathan Meyer. And Garrett Householder was voted to the first team Southwest Ohio.
Knights Players become Coach
Two Knights players take on the role of coach, shown here with their muddy team after a spring practice. Nick Kratz and Kris Hacker will hopefully lead this Kings SAY U8 Passers team to victory!
Kings Sunday Futsal
Ex-players, graduating seniors, and future Kings soccer players have come together on Sunday morning this winter to participate in the Kings Futsal league.
Futsal is a variation of indoor soccer which originated in Brazil. The five a side game has proved to be very popular with players. “I like futsal because it is fast paced and improves foot skills”. said current sophomore Juan Romo. Sophomore Zach Guerriero concurred, “I agree it’s great for footwork, but I like the speed of play and the chance to play more with your teammates”.
For the first time in many years, Kings adopted a “model” team. Ironically enough, the team chosen was a club located in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil called Botafogo. Botafogo is a traditional powerhouse team in Rio and named after the neighborhood in which the team is from. “Model teams are important because it gives our players an understanding and sense of the historical side of soccer. It’s also a great way to organize the league. When I played here at Kings, we use to have a model team every season” said current Head Coach Erik Poggi.
Kings Sunday Futsal
The league is structured for each of the five teams to play a minimum of 7 weeks including a tournament at the end. Teams play 23 minute halfs with free substitutions. As much as the players enjoy the experience of futsal, the ultimate goal of the program is to help improve skill and team building which will lead to success for the 2012 season.
The following players received All-FAVC honors:
Leo Mesones, senior midfielder and 1st Team FAVC
Garrett Householder, junior midfielder and 1st team FAVC
Max Burkert, senior midfielder and 2nd team FAVC
Brandon Coughlin, junior defender and honorable mention FAVC
Additional awards were given out at the Kings sports banquet on Tuesday, November 8. The MVP award was given to senior Max Burkert and The Red, White & Blue award was given to senior Nathan Meyer.
Also, Garrett Householder was one of the 25 division I players voted by coaches to the first team Southwest Ohio team. He was honored at the Senior All-Star game at Princeton High School on November 15.
Congratulations guys!
A complete listing of this year’s POG are listed in the under the “Features” section in the menu.
Congratulations boys!
The Knights finish the season with a record of 9-8-1.
In the end, it seemed like a battle between “Team Kings” and Kevin Walker, the all-city player for Colerain. Walker, the explosive Cardinal player, was held in check most of the evening by the Kings backline. Alex Kowal, playing from his outside defender position, drew Walker’s number and did a fabulous job of shutting the midfielder down.
In the first half Kings put pressure on the Cardinals defensive unit with numerous quality opportunities at the goal. Garrett Householder, Max Burkert and Landon Kirby each had shots that just went wide right of the far post. Kings was possessing the ball well and looking for opportunities to attack the goal. In the meantime, Cardinal runs were being shut down and the first half ended in a scoreless tie.
Into the second half and at the 44 minute mark into the match, Landon Kirby penetrated deeply into the Cardinals’ backline. A corner kick was awarded to the Knights and Leo Mesones delivered a perfect ball to center back Brandon Coughlin. Coughlin delivered the first goal of the night putting Kings up, 1-0.
The rest of the match was back and forth until the 74 minute mark when the Cardinals found Walker alone and unmarked at a midfield position. His laser strike slipped through the gloves of keeper Danny Merz and the match was knotted at 1-1.
In the final 6 minutes Kings had numerous chances at winning the match. Playing great team soccer, the Knights pounded the goal and even winning consecutive corner kicks late in the match. As their momentum was building, nothing seemed to fall for the Knights and regulation play after 80 minutes ended with the score 1-1.
Kings wasted little time in OT showing the Cardinals who came to play and finish the match. Luke McLelland found Matt Hovis on a throw-in deep in Colerain territory and Hovis worked through a few defenders to find an open and unmarked Leo Mesones whose left foot found the back of the net. Game over and match to the Knights with the final 2-1. Kings wins their first tournament game in four years. Congratulations coaches and boys!
The next match is Saturday, October 22 against the winner of Mason and Western Brown.
Starters:
F: Mesones, Kirby
MF: McLelland, Householder, Hovis, Burkert
D: Fadayel, Kettler, Coughlin, Kowal
GK: Merz
Here is more about Nate (taken from senior profile) and his interview below.
Nathan Meyer, #12, is a senior midfielder. He played club soccer for Warren County Soccer Club. His favorite food is shrimp. When he is not on the soccer field, he spends time studying for school. Prior to every game, Nathan eats a banana. He is not sure how this originated. He would have Arnold Schwarzenegger play his part in a movie since he is really big. His favorite movie is “Due Date” and his favorite book is “To Kill a Mockingbird”. His favorite H.S. memory is every single day spent in KHS. His favorite soccer memory is during his sophomore year when Matt Nelson stole Blake Masencamp’s water bottle and got kicked out of practice. He plans on attending OU or Miami University next fall and will likely study Business. Lastly, he would like to grow up to be Coach Poggi.
Junior Danny Merz first start as keeper
October 13, 2011–In one of their best all around played games of the season, The Kings’ varsity team showed an extreme degree of poise and composure in defeating the Glen Este Trojans by the score of 2-0. It was a total team effort of coaches and players working together to spoil the Trojans’ Senior Night in front of their home crowd.
The match started with a very lengthy introduction and affirmation of the nine Trojans seniors. Each Glen Este player received commendations and accolades from mom, dad, the high school coach, their former SAY coaches and what seemed like a host of others. All in all, The Trojan seniors were well recognized.
From the very beginning the match started out a bit on the physical side of things. The wet and soggy grass field conditions contributed to a style of play that seemed to play into the Trojans’ desire to play physical soccer and knock the ball over the top.
But at the 8 minute mark in the match, Leo Mesones crossed a ball that Garrett Householder headed with great force toward the goal. The Trojan keeper could not contain the ball and Max Burkert finished the deflected ball to give the Knights the first goal and the lead, 1-0.
From there, the Knights backline of Coughlin, Kettler, Fadayel and Kowal contained the Trojan offensive attacks by shutting down, disrupting and finally controlling every one of their attacks. Danny Merz made his first start of the year in the keeper spot and he was dialed into the game all night. A huge improvement over past games was evidenced by the fact that the Knights defended every corner kick and free kick by staying on their marks. In the end, the Knights defenders gave an outstanding effort to earn the shutout win.
The first half ended with the Knights leading 1-0. At the 52 minute mark in the match, Kings went on the attack. As they put pressure on the goal, the Trojan keeper and centerback could not clear a ball that rolled into the six yard box. Matt Hovis closed on the ball and attempted a shot. But before he could get the shot off, he was mugged by two Glen Este defenders and pulled to the ground. The center ref had no choice but to call a foul and award the Knights with a penalty kick. Leo Mesones calmly stepped up and made the score 2-0.
The rest of the match amounted to Glen Este racking up three yellow cards for overly aggressive play, the Knights continually shutting down the Trojans’ over-the-top attempts and Kings possessing the ball with poise and not retaliating with physical play. To put a cap on the match, Merz made a one handed save look easy at the 79 minute mark to preserve the shutout.
Kings ends the regular season with an 8-7-1 mark and a 3-4-1 FAVC league record. That earns them sixth place in the league. The win also gives them some momentum into next week’s tournament match against Colerain.
Hear Garrett Householder’s post-game comments:
Starters:
F: Mesones, Householder
MF: Meyer, Hovis, Burkert, McLelland
D: Kowal, Kettler, Coughlin, Fadayel
GK: Merz
A full write up of the game is coming soon. In the meantime, listen to Alec Paulson’s comments that were captured shortly after the match.
Check out the 2011 Photos under the “Features” column.
For those of you who do not know, Jim is Brendan’s father and Brendan was the Kings GK a few years ago and graduated in 2010. And, Kelly’s son Carter plays on the JV team.
Thanks for the memories!
See you at Glen Este. Go Knights.
2011 Men's Varsity Soccer Team
October 10, 2011–Both the varsity and junior varsity teams finish up their regular seasons with a road game at Glen Este High School (5pm/7pm) on Thursday, October 13.
Both teams need a win to secure a winning record for the 2011 season. The JV team enters this final week with an 8-7 mark which is already a great improvement over winning just three games last year. Congratulations boys and Coach Mount and best wishes this Thursday!
The varsity team sits at 7-7-1 while Glen Este enters the week with four matches scheduled on Monday, Wednesday (Milford), Thursday with Kings and finally Saturday. Glen Este’s record currently stands at 6-6.
Once the regular season concludes, the Knights will prepare for their first tournament game. The Knights were selected as the 15th seed (out of 28 teams in the Cincinnati Division I pairing). They were awarded a home game on Wednesday, October 19 at 7 pm against the 17th seed Colerain Cardinals (currently 5-9-1). The Knights scrimmaged the Cardinals on August 18 and played a favorable match.
You can find the complete tournament draw at http://www.swdab.org/Boys%20Soccer/bs_div_i_cincinnati.htm
Austin Smith-outside midfielder
October 6,2011–The positives were few and far apart tonight as the Kings Knights were outplayed by the home team Milford Eagles 6-0. As the season draws to a close, the Knight are trying to get back to some of the winning ways from earlier in the season. But it would not happen tonight.
Overall, the Knights could not handle the speed and quickness of Milford. In the first 12 minutes of the game, Kings had two decent offensive buildups, but could not put the finishing touches on any of their attack. Their lack of possession and ability to attack left them open to an Eagle counter attack, and that is exactly what Milford did.
At the 12 minute mark in the match, Milford divided the Kings’ backline with their lightening speed to score the first of three “kick and run” goals. They scored at the 12 minute mark and again at the 17 minute mark and finally at the 39 minute mark on balls that were crossed into a speedy forward streaking down the middle of the field.
If their speed and quickness were not enough, Kings was once again plagued by a familiar nemesis–the set piece. At the 25 and 27 minutes marks in the match, Milford capitalized on Kings’ fouls and made the most of their free kicks by banging in two more goals. At the half the score stood Milford 5 and Kings 0.
Lots of subbing on both sides characterized the second half of play. There was one moment when Kings seemed to gain a spark. At the 48 minute in the match, the Knights put together a series of quick touches to generate an offensive attack. Landon Kirby was found on the left side of the field but his strike went wide left of the near post. Milford would add another goal late in the match to make the final 6-0.
Several reserves gained some valuable playing time tonight in the second half. Seniors Austin Smith and Blake Masencamp added valuable minutes. Sophomore Garrett Irwin saw his first action after injuring his back very early in the season.
The challenge for Kings now is to finish the regular season in winning fashion at Glen Este next Thursday and prepare for the tournament. With a 7-7-1 record, a winning season is within reach with a good outcome against the Trojans.
Knights, you can do it!
Starters:
F: Hoover, Kirby
MF: Burkert, Mesones, Householder, Meyer
D: Fadayel, Coughlin, Kettler, Merz
GK: Holdeman
Logan Kirby was the TOOT's Player of the Game
October 1, 2011–The JV Knights got back on track Saturday night with 2-0 shutout over FAVC rivals Anderson. The Knights, shutout 3-0 Thursday at Walnut Hills on Thursday, put together one of their best performances of the season to improve their record to 8-6-0. Goalkeeper Robby Frye and his rock solid defense, consisting of the usual crew of Juan Romo, Kris Hacker, Nick Guiliano and Alex Brammer, recorded the team’s sixth shutout of the season. Ben Dreikosen tallied twice for the Knights, scoring his ninth and tenth goals of the campaign.
The match looked to be fairly even in the first twenty-five minutes on this windy and unpleasantly cold evening. The Knights had looked the more dangerous scoring threat, however, and this was proven with the opening goal of the match. Sophomore Pierson D’Enbeau put Dreikosen through and the freshman did the rest of the work, sliding the ball past the Anderson keeper to make it 1-0. The Knights held tight to the lead and head into halftime.
The Knights continued their excellent play in the second half. The defense shut down any real attacks Anderson threw their way, and they were able to begin attacks from the back. The hosts were rewarded for the strong play with a second goal—another nice pass, this time from freshman Cater Mott, set up Dreikosen for his second of the night. This sealed the win for the Knights, giving them a winning record at home for the season (5-4-0). Freshman Logan Kirby, who worked hard all evening and created a number of dangerous scoring threats, was the TOOT’s Player of the Game.
The Knights (8-6-0) will look to guarantee a winning season on Wednesday night, when they travel to Milford. The game will begin at 7 pm.
Starters:
GK: Frye
DEF: Brammer, Guiliano, Hacker, Romo
MID: Kratz, Paulsen, D’Enbeau, Woeste
FWD: Dreikosen, Guerriero
Nathan Meyer scores his first varsity goal
September 29, 2011–Both Men’s soccer teams would like to hit the ‘Redo’ button after their performances Thursday night at Walnut Hills. In the JV encounter, the Knights were shutout in a rain-shortened sixty-minute match, 3-0. The varsity was not shutout, but they conceded a season high eight goals; all but one coming in the first half.
In the opening match, the Knights came out totally flat-footed, failing to build a reasonable attack on the Eagle defense. On the other end, however, the hosts were constantly attacking the Knights’ net, though only finding the net once. The Knights were fortunate to go into half time1-0.
Right from the kick in the second half, the Eagles looked determined to strike again. They would do so twice in quick succession, leaving the Knights in a 3-0 hole, from which they wouldn’t recover. With about ten minutes left in the match, the rains came down and lights flickered off, as players, coaches and parents would find cover and the game would be called.
The rain lightened up just enough for an 8:10 varsity kickoff, but it continued to pour throughout the match. Unfortunately for the Knights, goals would continue to pour as well, with the Eagles netting seven times in the first half. Senior Nathan Meyer would tally for the Knights, but that would be the only goal the visitors would score. Knights’ goalkeeper Danny Merz made a number of nice saves in the second half, hoping to shutout the Eagles in the second half, but with under a minute to play, the hosts tallied one final goal. 8-1 was the final.
The Knights ( JV: 7-6-0 and Varsity: 7-6-0) will do their best to erase these matches from their memory and get ready to take on Anderson on Saturday. The JV match, coinciding with Kings Senior Night, will kickoff at 5 pm, the varsity at 7pm.
Starters (JV):
GK: O’Day
DEF: Brammer, Hacker, Guiliano, Romo
MID: Kratz, Paulsen, D’Enbeau, Guerriero
FWD: Dreikosen, Mott
Starters (Varsity):
GK: Frye
DEF: Fadayel, Coughlin, Kettler, Kowal
MF: McLelland, Mesones, Householder, Burkert
F: Terrier, Hoover