Hopkins County Central hit Caldwell County with an early one-two punch, and the Lady Storm went on to claim a 6-1 victory Monday night in the 7th District semifinals in Madisonville.
“One” was a goal from Emma Vandiver from the left wing just 1:09 into the contest.
“Two” was a tally by Elissa Adams from the top of the box 2:05 into the match.
That gave the Lady Storm a two-goal advantage before some fans had even settled into their seats at Donley Field — and helped send Hopkins Central into Tuesday’s 5:30 p.m. championship match against top-seeded Madisonville-North Hopkins.
Hopkins Central (12-6-1) outshot Caldwell 13-3 in the first 40 minutes to build a 5-0 bulge at the break.
Lilly Armour made it 3-0 with 16:53 left in the first half when she stuck the ball in the net following a free kick.
Jaci Childress extended the margin to 4-0 with 2:22 to go before the break.
The Lady Storm added one more goal with just 21 ticks before the half.
Mary Starks hammered home a direct kick from just outside the box to stake Hopkins Central to its 5-0 lead after 40 minutes.
Caldwell (8-9) was more aggressive in the second half, getting off the first six shots and holding a 14-10 advantage in shots over the final 40 minutes.
But the Lady Tigers couldn’t find the net until late in the match.
Harper Ritchey scored the Caldwell goal with 2:59 to play. That came following a corner kick that got sent back in and redirected out to Ritchey, who blistered a shot from outside the box past the keeper and into the left side of the net to break up the shut out.
But Hopkins Central answered that score just 45 seconds later, with Vandiver dribbling in and getting her second tally of the night to make it 6-1.
Starks had a pair of assists for Hopkins Central.
Savannah Barnett had eight saves in the Lady Storm net.
Abbey Gill made 12 stops for Caldwell.
Hopkins Central has now taken four straight meetings from the Lady Tigers but Caldwell still leads all-time 32-10.
Hopkins Central will look to end Madisonville’s mastery of the 7th District tournament on Tuesday. The Lady Maroons have won six straight titles. Caldwell was the last team other than Madisonville to claim the crown, winning in both 2016 and 2017.
