Photo - Ava Roberts
The Hopkinsville Lady Tigers will be squaring off against the University Heights Academy Lady Blazers in the 8th District championship match for the third straight year Wednesday night. Getting a big night from Rebecca Wood, the Lady Tigers advanced to the title match with a 6-2 win over the Christian County Lady Colonels Tuesday night at the Stadium of Champions.
The win was the fourth in a row for the Lady Tigers over the Lady Colonels and sixth in their last seven meetings.
The match was a scoreless battle early until a flurry of goals over a two-minute stretch got things moving. Rebecca Wood scored during an exchange in front of the net at 17:30 to give Hoptown a 1-0 lead.
As soon as the ball was put back in play, Christian County’s Alayah Lander drove straight down the field and found the net to even the score at 1-1.
Less than two minutes later, it was Rebecca Wood again, giving the Lady Tigers a 2-1 lead. She would then complete her first-half hat trick with a goal off the rebound of a missed shot to extend the lead to 3-1. Kaydon Coats scored in the final two minutes of the half and all of the momentum was on the Hopkinsville side as the Lady Tigers led 4-1.
Wood scored early in the second half to run the lead out to 5-1.
Christian County briefly stemmed the tide when Alayah Lander scored her second goal of the night at 69:30, but there would be no miracle comeback. Kaydon Coats closed out the scoring with her second goal of the night less than 30 seconds later to seal the win.
Hopkinsville controlled the flow of play most of the night and the Lady Tigers defense, other than the two runs from Lander, limited the chances for Christian County to score.
Christian County sees its season end with a record of 7-13.
Hopkinsville improves to 9-7-2 and advances to face UHA in the girls’ championship match. Due to the threat of rain on Thursday, the championship match has been moved to Wednesday evening at 5:30 at the Stadium of Champions.
Photos – Ava Roberts
