‘We’re ready to compete.’ Douglass girls knock off defending state soccer champions.

It’s only August, but Frederick Douglass’s come-from-behind 2-1 win over defending girls soccer state champion Bethlehem on Wednesday night at The Farm felt like a milestone moment for a team that hopes to be in contention for an 11th Region title this year.

“It’s a good early win. It’s a good test for us,” said Douglass coach Megan Adkins, whose Broncos have started the season 5-0. “We’ve just got to see what we’re made out of and that one was a good one.”

Bethlehem pulled off a stunning upset of seven-time state champion Sacred Heart in last year’s state finals. And while these Banshees might not be the same as last year’s champs, they’re still expected to be one of the favorites in the 5th Region.

Last year, Douglass claimed its first 42nd District championship in the school’s seven-year history but suffered a 2-1 defeat to Madison Central in double overtime of the region semifinals. Madison Central went on to upset then No. 1 Lexington Catholic in the region finals, ending the Knights’ run of four consecutive 11th Region crowns.

Strikers Jordan “Jojo” Williams and Maddi Merryweather, combined for 32 goals and 18 assists last season and are two of five seniors back on a team facing a schedule that Adkins admits might be the toughest she’s ever put together with road games against traditional powerhouses Sacred Heart and Lexington Catholic on tap.

“We have a lot of respect for those teams,” Merryweather said. “But (the schedule) also means we’re ready to compete. We’re ready to go out there and challenge them.”

Douglass came out as the aggressor Wednesday against Bethlehem but fell victim to a counter attack to cede a 1-0 lead just eight minutes into the contest. That put the Broncos on their heels for a while, but they regained their footing midway through the second half.

With Douglass pouring pressure into Bethehem’s box, Merryweather slotted a low shot just inside the right post to tie it 1-1 with 18:58 left.

“I think it really set the tone for the second half of what we wanted,” Merryweather said. “We wanted the effort, we wanted the positive attitudes from everybody. … It felt good to put it into the back of the net.”

Eleven minutes later, Merryweather lofted a pass into the 6-yard box from just outside the right corner of the 18. Ella Flynn flew onto it with a perfectly timed run that put her all alone in front of the keeper for a leaping header she sent back across the goalie’s face for a 2-1 lead.

“I kind of felt it. We had a goal like that earlier in the season,” said Flynn, a junior midfielder. “Credit to Maddi for playing a perfect ball. All I had to do was finish it.”

Adkins liked how her team responded after falling behind.

“We asked them to dig a little deeper and do some things a little better,” Adkins said. “So it’s showing that this team has got a lot of fight. … I don’t want to put too much on this because it is August, but it is a good boost for us.”

Douglass next heads to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, for its annual team tournament trip before returning to Kentucky to play Sacred Heart in Louisville on Aug. 28. Important district games against Henry Clay on Sept. 16 and Sayre on Sept. 25 precede a Sept. 26 showdown with Lexington Catholic.

The Knights hold a 35-game winning streak against Lexington teams that dates to 2019.

“(Lexington Catholic) is always a good team and everybody’s at their heels constantly,” Adkins said. “There’s a few teams that can make a pretty good run at them. And I hope we’re one of them.”

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