Fort Campbell goalie John Arnold very nearly slammed the door shut completely on the University Heights Academy Blazers Thursday night in the championship game of the boys 2nd Region All A Classic soccer tournament. Note we say very nearly did it.
For more than 65 minutes Arnold turned back shot after shot from a Blazers’ attack that was nothing short of relentless and looked as if it was taking practice shots all night long. However, it will be the one that got away that the Falcons will likely remember for quite some time.
UHA finally broke through the ‘Arnold wall’ and broke a 0-0 tie at 65:30 and claimed a 1-0 win over the Falcons, giving the Blazers their 9th straight All A regional championship.
Calvin Givens took a ball that had deflected off a Falcon defender on a Blazer corner kick and got it past the Fort Campbell keeper for the only goal of the night and gave the Blazers the title.
The UHA offense got off 29 shots to just one shot for the Falcons as the front line attack came in wave after wave, but just could not get shots past the Fort Campbell keeper into the back of the net. On the other end, the Blazers’ mid-field defense was a solid wall and kept the ball in the Fort Campbell end of the field most of the night.
The UHA defense was a big part of the story during the tournament as the Blazers outscored three opponents 17-0 on the way to the regional title.
UHA will now face the 1st Region winner in the upcoming sectional round of the All A Classic
In the meantime, the Blazers (4-1) get back to action August 31 at the annual Boots and Butts at the Stadium of Champions.
Fort Campbell (1-2-1) goes on the road to Christian County on Tuesday.
