Highlands Girls Soccer Opens With Victory

Bluebirds Start Season Strong

Twitter Photo. Highlands senior Kenzie Nehus scored the first goal 15 minutes into the game for the Bluebirds. The Bluebirds opened the season with a 5-0 win at Ryle.

The Highlands Bluebirds girls soccer team continued where it left off from last season with a convincing victory despite the delay from Coronavirus 2019.

Highlands opened the season with a 5-0 win at Ryle. Senior goalkeeper Jasmine Rehberger had four saves and junior Megan Gessner had three in the shutout.

"Before the game, you could see the fire in their eyes," said Alex Dean, Highlands Head Coach. "We started off a little slow and rusty. But that's obvious essentially with the lack of time that we had (with practices and scrimmages). They all said, 'Don't take it for granted. You never know when it could be your last game, especially with this season.' In two hours, they can all it off. We were able to get some more field players in there to get some experience as well so that was great. All the girls on the team deserve it."

Freshman striker Laney Smith made a strong debut scoring two goals for four points to lead Highlands. Junior midfielder Faith Broering had a goal and an assist for three points.

Senior forward/midfielder Kenzie Nehus put Highlands on the board 15 minutes into the game. That turned out to be the lone goal the Bluebirds needed to win the game. Highlands had 19 shots.

"It was some great movement," Dean said. "Obviously, we had some passes that we need to crisp up a little bit. But the selflessness that we had was great to see, especially in the first game. The girls understand that it's we, not me. If we want to get back to a region title, it's going to have to be all 24 players on our varsity roster."

Senior defender Katelyn Vaught scored the fifth goal for the Bluebirds. Senior Greta Noble and senior forward Jenna Hartung had one assist each for Highlands.

"It was really nice to see everyone come together and work as a team," Hartung said. "I just feel like we're all blending really well. There's a lot of talent. We're going to be able to compete at a high level."

Highlands takes on East Central in St. Leon (Indiana) on Thursday. Game time is 7:30 p.m.