A third consecutive trip to the All A Classic state soccer tournament quarterfinals was in jeopardy for the Todd County Central Rebels on Saturday as they found themselves down 2-0 just 17 minutes into their sectional match with Owensboro Catholic.
However, the Rebels responded to tie the match by halftime and win 4-3 thanks to a penalty kick round that saw Todd Central succeed in seven of its eight shots.
Both goalies allowed four goals on five shots in the first round. Todd Central’s John Mark Campbell’s lone save in the first round of PKs was a rare kick save.
In the second round of PKs, Campbell made two saves on the first two shots he faced. Meanwhile, Kollin Ensign, Charlie Campbell, and Mason Emrick banged home goals to give the Rebels the advantage.
The match ended when Owensboro Catholic’s ninth penalty kick caromed off the crossbar, giving the Rebels their third consecutive All A state quarterfinal appearance — all at the expense of the Aces in the sectional round.
Todd Central outshot the Aces 10-8, but it was the Third Region champs were aggressive in the early going with a pair of goals in the first 17 minutes. Landon Condor opened the scoring nine minutes in for the Aces, who added a second goal seven minutes later off the foot of Andrew Bailey.
Todd Central got on the scoreboard in the 19th minute when Carson Caracciolo redirected a shot in front into the net.
The Rebels tied the match in the final minute of the first half on another redirected shot, this time off the foot of Mason Emrick.
Todd Central took a 3-2 lead five minutes into the second half when Spencer Pool scored off a corner kick.
However, Owensboro Catholic tied the match with 26 minutes left on a header in front of the goal.
The best chance for either team to score from that point on came 10 minutes later when a Catholic header hit off the top post and bounced away.
Todd County Central will take an 8-4 record to Louisville and will play either Somerset (5-3-2) or Sayre (5-2) in Saturday’s quarterfinals at 1:30 pm (ET) at Collegiate High School.
