Bourbon County will play the winner of Boyd County/Estill County on Saturday afternoon at Rowan County High School

 

IVAN K. RICE I doctorofsports@aol.com

 

PARIS, KY – The reigning 2A Section 5 Champion, the Bourbon County Lady Colonels, rolled into Blanton Collier Stadium last night to take on a much-improved Paris Ladyhounds soccer team. However, when this one was all said and done, it didn’t take long for first-year Coach Andrew Steele’s Lady Colonels to dispose of Coach Alyssa Meadows’ squad by the mercy-rule score of 8-0, showing their rivals why they’re one of the best teams in the 10th Region, as they now set their sights on the upcoming Kentucky 2A State.

The victory, Bourbon’s 16th in a row over Paris, improved the Lady Colonels to 5-1-1 on the year and 1-0 in the 40th District, while the Ladyhounds dropped to 3-4 on the year and 0-2 in district play.

Bourbon raced out to a 4-0 lead midway through the first half and increased their margin to 8-0 near the five-minute mark. From there, The County cruised home with the shutout win, to make it a short evening for both teams on Paris’ orange field. Under the new mercy-rule, matches will end when a team owns an eight-goal lead either at halftime or in the second half.

“What impressed me the most, was how we stuck to our style of play,” said Coach Steele. “The energy, communication, and effort made the difference from start to finish. Cross-town rivalry games can be intense. They’re always played with a lot of emotion, but we stayed poised and went the distance.”

Senior Audra Steen led Bourbon’s scoring parade with four first half goals. Rising sophomore Samantha Wells finished with three goals, with freshman Alana Walker pushing one goal in the net. Adding an assist each were Steen and Wells. Senior goalie Briley Hudnall, with 24 saves on the season, saved one ball following a Paris free kick.

Steen leads the team with 12 goals. Wells has 11 and Walker 5. Assists leaders see Wells with a team best 6, while sophomore Brooke Goebel has dished out four, Steen has 3 and Walker 2.

“They’re the best team we’ve played all season,” Coach Meadows said about Bourbon. “Better by far!” The Paris coach also gave praise to her improving team.  “I’m extremely proud of our Paris Ladyhounds and how far we have come over the last few years as a team. The girls showed effort and never gave up. Only going up from here!”

 

Up next for Bourbon, the 2A State

Coach Steele’s Lady Colonels are now preparing for their Kentucky 2A Championship semi-state game on Saturday (2:00 pm start time) that will be played at Rowan County High School. Bourbon will face the winner of the Boyd County (5-1) vs. Estill County (3-3) matchup that is scheduled for tonight in Irvine.

Both teams have excellent programs and regardless of which team Bourbon plays, Steele knows that whoever they play, his team will be ready to go.

“Going into semi-state, these young ladies have shown that when you play with heart, trust, and unity anything is possible. They play for each other and for their community. They’re ready for the match and ready to leave it all on the pitch Saturday.”

Estill and Boyd met twice last season with Boyd County winning the game that matter when they eliminated the Lady Engineers in the first round of the KHSAA State Tournament. Boyd was ousted in the elite eight. Estill beat the Lady Lions in the 2A Sectional round and would then advance to the Kentucky 2A Championship final four, just a year after they lost in the 2A state championship game.

Chris Flynn has taken over an Estill County program that has won six straight Region 14 soccer titles, all under previous coach Gary Beeler. They beat Bourbon a year ago 3-2. The Lady Engineers are led by juniors leading scorers Jenna Jackson (7 goals) and Ava Barnes (3 goals), while fellow junior Katelyn Somerville leads the team in assists. Senior Analyse Day oversees the goalie position with her whopping 97 saves.

For Boyd County, Head Coach Olivia Pennington is in her fifth season with the team where she guided them to a 19-3-1 record in 2024. The last time Bourbon girls played Boyd was 2009 when, at the time, Coach Jeff Jett’s Lady Colonels’ program was one of the best in the state. Bourbon easily won that contest.

Leading the Lady Lions this year are seniors Faith Burnside and Aubree Moore. The two have combined to score 32 of the team’s 36 goals scored so far to date. Burnside has scored a total of 101 goals for her career, including 24 this season. Moore’s career total is 37 goals, with 8 coming in 2025. Junior Sylee Rogusky (22 saves), along with sophomore Emilee Bush (17 saves) have shared the goalie position.

The winner of Saturday’s match will move on to the Kentucky 2A State Championship final four where they will play the winner of the game between Section 7 Champion Corbin (4-5) and Section 8 Champion Johnson Central (6-0). The final four game is scheduled at noon on September 13th at Kentucky Wesleyan College’s Steele Stadium in Owensboro.

 

–MORE ACTION PHOTOS TAKEN BY JENNIFER ARNETT—