Christian County got the quick started it wanted against favored Henderson County in Wednesday’s semifinal matchup at the 2nd Region tournament in Madisonville.
A crossing pass from the corner by Noah Davis was finished in front by Leland Creamer just 2:48 into the contest, staking the Colonels to an early lead.
But Henderson simply had two much offense, netting three goals before halftime on the way to a 5-1 victory.
Henderson (13-4-3) advances to the regional championship match for the sixth-straight year. The Colonels will face host Madisonville-North Hopkins (18-3-3) in Thursday’s 7:30 finale. The Maroons turned back University Heights 4-1 in Wednesday’s other semifinal contest.
Henderson held a 13-1 advantage in shots in the first half while heading to halftime with a two-goal lead. Henderson outshot Christian 25-4 in the contest.
Henderson tied the game with 26:15 left in the first half. Lincoln Black scored from in close after Ayden Wilson sent the ball back in front following a corner kick.
Cole Branson gave Henderson the lead just 50 seconds later when he followed a shot and scored on the rebound to make it 2-1.
Jack Gentry then gave Henderson a little extra margin before halftime, scoring with 3:25 left in the half to stake Henderson to a 3-1 lead at halftime.
Henderson tacked on two more goals in the second half — at the 36:30 and 6:20 marks from Gentry and Alex Bowley — to put the contest away.
Miles Pryor and Cameron Vick each added assists for Henderson.
Christian goalkeeper Mason Malone had 13 saves in the semifinal.
Carsen Emmick had four stops for Henderson.
Henderson won the regional title two years ago, beating Caldwell County 8-1 in the finale. Madisonville blanked Henderson 5-0 in last year’s championship match.
