If it was a preview of a regional tournament battle, one can only hope the second time around will be as much fun. Despite having their struggles in the middle of the field for much of the match, the Hopkinsville Tigers got the game winning goal from Tyler Greenwell at the 75:00 mark to pick up a big 2nd Region win over Madisonville Thursday night at the Stadium of Champions.
Greenwell’s header into the net came off a free kick from Mason Rye from just outside the right front corner of the box. The Tigers, who had not led to that point in the match, were then able to hold the Maroons at bay for the final five minutes to pick up the win.
The Maroons set the Tigers on their heels early in the match. At the mark, Luke McElroy scored off a pass from Zak Brown to give the Maroons an early 1-0 lead.
Madisonville controlled the flow of play for much of the first half, especially in the middle of the field. However, goalie Xavier Bussell was able to slam the door on the Maroons for the rest of the night.
The Tigers finally broke through at the 33:00 mark, when Mason Rye picked up a missed shot out front, and then drilled it into the lower left corner of the goal from about 35 yards out to even the match up at 1-1, which is how the first half ended.
The turning point in the match may have come at the 51:00 mark, when the Tigers were whistled for a foul in the box, setting up a penalty kick opportunity for the Maroons. However, Xavier Bussell was up to the moment, and read the attempt perfectly, deflecting the ball away from the net. The play was one of 12 saves on the night for Bussell.
On the night, the Tigers were outshot 14-9, but made enough plays to get a huge win over a regional rival.
With the win, the Tigers improve to 4-2 on the season, while Madisonville falls to 3-1-1. The win was the 6th straight time the Tigers have knocked off the Maroons.
