Three is the key to Madisonville-North Hopkins’ defense.
The Lady Maroons have six losses in 2024 with four of them coming when they give up three or more goals.
Trigg County came into Wednesday’s region semifinal match as one of the top scoring teams in the region.
Something had to give. Advantage defense as Madisonville defeated the Lady Wildcats 4-1 to move into Thursday’s region championship against Henderson County.
Madisonville’s quick and aggressive play held Trigg without a shot in the first half and to only four in the contest.
“I think (our defense) works well together as a group and their confidence level is high,” Madisonville coach John Tichenor said of his back line. “I think they take a lot of pride in defending, and they’re physical when they need to be within the rules.”
By limiting Trigg County’s offensive chances, Madisonville was able to methodically create their own chances and capitalized with four goals on 10 shots.
Madison Hill broke through the Trigg defense in the 14th minute and booted home a shot from the top of the box to give Madisonville a 1-0 lead. It was the fifth straight game in the tourney where the team that scored first won the match.
Hadley Hodges controlled a corner kick outside the box with 10 minutes left in the half and knocked home her eighth goal of the season for a 2-0 Lady Maroon advantage.
McKinley Wilson and Katelynn Howard doubled the advantage to 4-0 with second half goals.
Trigg’s lone goal came when the Lady Wildcats were awarded a penalty kick for a foul inside the box with 4:23 left. Leiah Hite found the net for the final goal of the match.
Madisonville improved to 11-0 all-time against Trigg County, whose season ends at 15-5-1 with a program-best third-straight region semifinal appearance.
The win also gave Tichenor his 200th win as Lady Maroon head coach. He won 305 games as Madisonville’s boys coach prior to taking the girls’ job in 2009.
Madisonville will play Henderson County in Thursday night’s region championship at 6:00 at Donley Field. The Lady Colonels rallied to beat University Heights Academy 2-1 in the other semifinal.
Henderson County beat Madisonville 5-4 on August 19.
“We just have to come focused and ready to play. Goals normally come at the start of the match, and then the first five or ten minutes of the second half,” Tichenor said. “We have to have that mindset and understand that. The game is so mental.”
