Both Hopkinsville Coach Aaron Hutchison and Fort Campbell Coach Dan Drier used Wednesday’s district opener as a first-week measuring stick for their respective soccer teams.
And both liked what they saw following Hopkinsville’s 4-3 win over the Falcons at the Stadium of Champions.
Hopkinsville was two days removed from an 8-0 loss at Murray in the season opener, while Drier has had less than a month to assess and coach his Falcon squad.
For Hutchison, the big difference was his team’s physicality on Wednesday.
“We were a little more physical today and more physical than we’ve been the last couple of games. We’re not quite where we need to be, but it’s definitely an improvement,” he said.
Hoptown used that mindset once they fell behind early. Mateo Cerritos Gatto got loose behind the Tiger defense and scored five minutes into the contest.
Fort Campbell held an early 4-1 advantage in shots only to see Hoptown manage the midfield better and finish the half with a 9-6 lead in shots.
Hopkinsville tied the game in the 32nd minute when Alex Ramierez took a pass from Erick Hernandez and found the net.
The Tigers scored quickly to begin the half when freshman Jason Macario scored the first of his two goals. However, the Falcons answered when Dylan McDonald cleaned up a loose ball in the front of the net to knot the score at 2-2.
Things remained tied inside of ten minutes left and it looked like the Falcons were going to break the tie but McDonald’s shot from 25 feet caromed off the cross bar and into play.
The bar proved to be a key as Macario took the ball out front and found the corner of the goal for a 3-2 Hopkinsville lead in the 75th minute.
Hoptown was fouled in the goal box three minutes later and Mikel Ramirez banged home the penalty kick for a seemingly safe 4-2 lead.
However, Fort Campbell kept pressing. Chase Cribbett hooked in a corner kick with less than a minute left to draw the Falcons to within 4-3.
“We knew it was going to be a tough game,” Drier said. “We still have a lot of work on, but I’m super proud of the boys. They came out and fought all the way until the end, and they never gave up.”
Wednesday was Drier’s first real chance to evaluate his team for a full 80 minutes after taking the coaching job late in the summer.
“As long as we can keep that mentality and carry that forward all season, these boys are going to go places that they didn’t imagine. I’m proud of them.”
Meanwhile, Hutchison liked how his team adjusted in the second half and had an answer when the Falcons tied the game at 2-2.
“We tried to spread the ball out a little more. Everything was so direct in the first half. We took everything down the middle and we’re just trying to make sure we spread the field out. We have to make those little passes, you know, and we struggled a little bit early on.”
The win was Hoptown’s 20th straight over Fort Campbell dating back 15 years. The last two meetings have been decided by one goal.
The win also takes on added value for Hopkinsville for postseason seeding as 8th District teams only play each other once during the regular season.
Fort Campbell travels to Hopkins County Central on Saturday, while Hopkinsville hosts Logan County.
