Wednesday, November 16, 2011-Several Kings Knights players were recently 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
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.
October 22, 2011-The Kings Knights’ varsity soccer season came to an end tonight at the hands of the Mason Comets in the Ohio high school state sectional playoffs.
The Knights finish the season with a record of 9-8-1.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011–On a cold and rainy night, the host Kings Knights came back in overtime to win the first game of their sectional tournament against Colerain, 2-1.
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.
October 18, 2011–Head Coach Erik Poggi took a few minutes after training this week and talked about the last few weeks of the season and the upcoming playoff match against the Colerain Cardinals.
Senior midfielder Nathan Meyer recently reflected on his senior year and the Knights’ upcoming tournament game on October 19 against Colerain High School.
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.
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.
October 13, 2011–The Kings JV soccer team ended their season tonight in convincing style shutting out the Glen Este Trojans on their home field, 2-0. The Knights finished with an impressive 9-7-0 record.
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.
October 12, 2011–Hey Kings’ soccer family, just posted are many, many 2011 game photos from nine different games (almost all varsity). A special thanks to Jim Uetrecht for taking the pictures and for Kelly Mott for posting the pictures.
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.
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.
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