Girls Soccer State Champ Ring

Highlands’ goalie, class of 2006 alumna Sydney (Hiance) Bastin, was on edge of the field waiting as teammate, Rachel Redmond, lined up to take the next shot. This shot could determine who won the KHSAA 2005 girls' soccer state championship, Highlands or Lexington Catholic.  Controlled excitement pulsed through the girls’ veins as they focused on Rachel’s approach to the penalty kick.  

Sydney said, “The stadium was full, it was the biggest crowd we’d ever played in front of.”  

Coach Kearns explained that it all came down to junior, Rachel Redmond. She didn't see any minutes on the field during the game but when Coach Kearns asked if anyone wanted to take the kicks, she didn’t hesitate to raise her hand.  

Coach Kearns said, “...coming in cold off of the bench is huge going into such a big moment, it wasn't a blind shot in the dark though, I knew she was good at them from seeing her in practice.”  

Rachel lined up to kick what would be the game-winning penalty kick...  

SHE SCORED!!!!! 

The other team still had to kick to determine whether they move on.  Unfortunately for them, the Lexington Catholic player missed her PK by shooting it high. The atmosphere was electric for the Highlands team, including Coach Kearns.  

She exclaimed, “It felt unreal/surreal, we chased it for so long and won off of an unfortunate mistake.” 

This mistake was enough for our girls to win our very first state championship.  In honor of winning the KHSAA 2005 state tournament, each Highlands player received a ring, which represented all the hard work they put in together as a team to achieve this goal. This moment made all the hard work worth it. 

During the season, leading up to this huge accomplishment, the team had to overcome some struggles. Their captain Karly (Maines) Hassman, a 2005 senior, was injured mid-season putting her out for the rest of the season. This was an enormous setback that they had to subjugate, quickly. 

Sydney recalled, “The blow of losing Karly turned into a positive thing because it made us all come together and want to win even more. She was so impactful, but it allowed others to step up and come together as a team. It was a huge motivator for us.” 

Their biggest rivals were NDA and NCC. Highlands had twenty shutouts, twenty-four wins, and two losses. The fifty-nine goals scored, seven allowed, and goal differential was a great part of their success. 

The seniors of 2005 were Kristen Pratt-Gerrein, Kara Dickerson-O’Hearn, Karly Hassman-Maines, Natalie Turner, Allie Nehus-Hanson, Shanna Gilbert, Jessica Wiseman, Cristin Veith, and Stefanie Pennington-Veale. Each senior had a gigantic impact on the field no matter how much time they got.  

Mrs. Nina Kearns was always a very tough coach and pushed the team to do their best. She made sure that she was hard on the team but also made sure that the team knew that she cared for them outside of soccer.  

Sydney explained, “She was very consistent, no matter what. She always demanded 100%, was very strict, and down to business, she always wanted us to play 100% no matter what.” This style helped the team bond and encouraged the girls to grow together.  

Coach Kearns had the team come together at the beginning of the season and set goals that the team wanted to reach. She also made sure those goals were met.  

Mrs. Kearns shared, “We always had a large list.  They always had a goal to not have any losses at home and always wanted to shut people out.  Some favorites were no yellow cards and definitely no red cards. They always wanted to have a certain percentage of goals off of set pieces, and a percentage of goals attempted vs number of goals they scored.”  

Coach would have the captains come together and pick out the uniforms that they wanted to wear that season, for very special reason.  

She stated, “I met with the captains in the spring because we were going to pick the uniforms that year and I said, ‘Pick the one you're going to win state in.’” 

These components were just a few aspects that helped them push their way to the state championship.  

The 2005 season was a huge success. Even though there were some challenges along the way, they came together as a team to overcome them. Their dedication and hard work had paid off and carried over into the 2006 season where they did it all again.  Back-to-back state titles!   

This winning soccer team experienced growth and development on the field and off, with unusual adventures, in addition to soccer.  As a team building outing, they went to Camp Joy which helped the girls to help become closer as well as share laughs and challenges as a team.  They also went to New York City together, which was a unique opportunity.  They  established a Big Sis/Little Sis tradition that is still a current standard for our team today.  It helps the players develop a sisterhood and a network of caring.  The memories created on the Highlands soccer team have extended into adulthood and the confidence developed serves these alumnae in all aspects of life.