It wasn’t the start Josh Nichols was hoping for in his coaching debut with University Heights Academy Monday. However, the Blazers’ 8-0 loss to Madisonville-North Hopkins can serve as a measuring stick for his squad moving forward.
Eli Redpath tallied a hat trick and Logan Terry added two more goals as the defending region champions tallied its largest win over UHA in over two decades.
“I just didn’t know how my guys would play in the first game of the season. You know, high school kids, there’s always a little nerves walking into the game,” said Madisonville Coach Christakis Agisilaou.
Madisonville scored inside the game’s first three minutes when Sam Dodds found Logan Terry for the goal. It was one of three assists for Dodds.
The game remained 1-0 for the next 30 minutes as Madisonville controlled the tempo but couldn’t find the net.
With a shortage of soccer officials gripping the western part of the state and causing games to be canceled, the match officials took control early, issuing two yellow cards to Madisonville.
From a conduct standpoint, that set the tone for the rest of the match and no further yellows were issued.
Madisonville outshot UHA 12-3 in the first half as Quinton Quarles made several point-blank saves for the Blazers.
“Q kept us in the game, made some point-blank stops that were phenomenal,” Nichols said. “His athleticism is just off the charts, and we’re thrilled to have him back there.”
Redpath scored Madisonville’s second goal in the 33rd minute and Terry scored off a Dodds pass two minutes later for a 3-0 advantage.
“Credit to Josh (Nichols) and UHA for the first 20 minutes. It took us a while to get going. We made a couple of minor changes, but I’m proud of my boys, and how we ended,” Agisilaou said.
The minor changes paid off as the Maroons found the net three times in the first 15 minutes of the second half. Maverick Peyton fed Redpath on consecutive goals and Noah Mays scored on a header from Dodds for a 6-0 lead.
Brighton Mier and Maddox Schneider rounded out the scoring for Madisonville.
Madisonville outshot the Blazers 24-4, tallying 12 shots in each half.
“We got beat by a better team. They were better all the way around tonight,” Nichols said. “At this point in the season, they’re an experienced, talented group, and we got some catching up to do. I thought we’ve seen this happen before, where we get our heads down and let things get worse than they need to be. And that happened again tonight.”
Madisonville will play at Greenwood Tuesday, while UHA will play at St. Mary Thursday.
