FLATWOODS — Newport Central Catholic not only won the first Poage Landing Days Girls Soccer Tournament, but had time to soak up the atmosphere.

The 22nd-ranked Lady Breds capped off a 3-0 weekend by getting past co-host Russell 2-1 on Sunday afternoon at the Russell Soccer Complex.

Afterwards, the northern Kentucky team posed for photos at midfield with the championship trophy.

“It was good to come down, play three good games, get three wins and kind of grow more as a team,” NCC coach Kevin Turnick said.

On Saturday, the Lady Breds beat Ashland and Southwestern during the morning and afternoon in Ashland, then had some fun off the field. Players, along with their parents and Turnick, attended Poage Landing Days festivities in downtown Ashland. The team also went bowling at Blue Ribbon Lanes.

“The girls had a good time,” Turnick said. “We did a team mass this morning and then got ready to head over to Russell for more soccer.”

NCC outshot the Lady Devils 21-6 but had a battle on their hands.

Several minutes into the second half, Russell senior Ashley Huffine took a pass from Shelby Huddleston and dribbled into scoring position while being shadowed by a defender. Still on the move, Huffine fired a shot into the upper left corner of the net to pull the Lady Devils even at 1-1.

Huffine, a second team All-State selection as a junior, has been nursing a quad injury all season and coach Joe Grizzle substituted for her following the tying goal.

“As soon as she scored, with that right leg, I could see she was hurting,” Grizzle said. “We got her over to the sideline and put some ice on it.”

Newport Central Catholic regained the lead with just under 14 minutes remaining. Sophomore midfielder Loren Zimmerman scored on a loose ball in front of Russell’s goal.

When play resumed, Huffine had talked her way back into the game.

“Ashley is just a fighter,” Grizzle said. “She kept saying, ‘I’m fine, I’m fine.’ She’s so competitive.”

Huffine came off the field again after being shaken up on a header, but reentered and took an angle shot in the closing seconds that hit the outside part of the net.

Despite a 13-2 shot advantage in the first 40 minutes, NCC only had a 1-0 lead to show for it. Late in the half, junior midfielder Chandler Cain headed in a loose ball after Lady Devils goalkeeper Jalyn Forsyth blocked a shot.

Newport Central Catholic banged two first-half shots off the crossbar and couldn’t take advantage of eight corner kicks for the game.

“We came here last year and beat them 9-0,” Turnick said. “I think if we could have finished our opportunities, we could have put it away and not let their confidence grow. Typically, we are pretty good as far as capitalizing on corner kicks. Russell hung right in to the end.”

The Lady Breds improved to 9-2-1 and Turnick gave the team today off in preparation for Tuesday’s visit from top-ranked Notre Dame.

Turnick, who has coached the program since 1999, wore a 3-peat T-shirt Sunday that recognized NCC’s three consecutive All ‘A’ state titles from 2005-07.

The Lady Breds failed to advance out of their tough All ‘A’ regional this year, which allowed the team to accept an invitation to the new Poage Landing Days tournament hosted by Ashland and Russell. The Red Devils also have a game at Newport Central Catholic on Sept. 29.

Grizzle and Turnick are both members of the All-State soccer committee and have known each other for several years.

“We were glad to have them in this tournament,” Grizzle said. “We’re trying to attract some good teams. Hopefully it can be bigger and better next year.”

Ashland defeated Southwestern 2-0 on Sunday to go 1-1-1 for the tournament. Russell finished 1-2, Beechwood 1-0-1 and Southwestern 0-3.

Sarah Hudson and Emma Wonn scored goals Sunday for Ashland (8-5-1), while Charity Collins had an assist. On Saturday, the LadyCats fell to Newport Central Catholic 4-1 and later tied Beechwood 1-1. Collins scored a goal in both matches.

Russell began play with a 2-0 loss to Beechwood despite outshooting the visitors. The Lady Devils bounced back with a 3-1 win over Southwestern as Huffine put in two goals and freshman Morgan Vonderheide scored the other. Heather and Hollie Hencye each had an assist.

ROCKY STANLEY can be reached at rstanley@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2671.