After losing the regular season match, the Christian County Colonels gained a measure of revenge on the Hopkinsville Tigers Tuesday night in the boys’ 8th District soccer semifinals. Noah Davis’ goal late in the first half game the Colonels the lead and then the defense took over as Christian County advanced to the district championship match with a 2-1 win over the Tigers at Givens Field at University Heights Academy.
All the scoring for this one came in the opening half of play. Hopkinsville broke the ice when Erick Hernandez came on a run down the right side and got a shot past Christian County goalie Mason Malone to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead at 22:15. After that, the Colonels did not allow Hopkinsville many good looks at the net.
Christian County came back to tie things up at the 29:00 when Tyler Stokes scored off a corner kick, making it 1-1.
The turning point of the match came five minutes later. Christian County’s Noah Davis rebounded a shot and took aim at the goal. His shot deflected off Hopkinsville keeper Landon Beaulieu puting the Colonels ahead for good at 2-1.
In the second half, both teams played intense, physical defense, with the intensity increasing as the night grew later. Neither team gave up a score as neither defense allowed the other to get good looks at the net. Christian County managed five shots in the second half, while Hopkinsville was limited to just three. For the night, Christian County outshot the Tigers 11 to 6.
Both teams battled down to the final whistle with the Christian County sideline erupting into celebration when time ran out while several of the Tigers left the field in tears after laying it on the line.
For Hopkinsville, the season ends at 6-13-0.
Christian County avenges a 4-2 loss to the Tigers in September and improves to 12-6-0. The Colonels will now face University Heights in Thursday night’s 8th District championship match at Givens Field.
