The sun had set on base and we settled in for a matchup in semifinal number two of district eight between two all too familiar foes.
Christian County had defeated Hopkinsville earlier in the year and the Tigers were ready to win when it counted.
The game was a defensive showcase for sixty minutes.
That comes a s surprise, because the Colonels had to start a freshman in Goal, Mason Malone, and the Tigers had just got KJ McMickens back from being ineligible.
So we have two goalies who are either rusty or inexperienced. They did not look it.
Do not mistake the scoreless through sixty minutes as either team was not putting shots on goal, that would be a false narrative.
The Tigers and Colonels did a good job of putting pressure on the respective opposing goalie, but both held up extremely well; until they didn’t.
With nineteen minutes remaining it almost became a running bet who would score first. The answer ended up being County, but Hoptown was real close behind.
In a microcosm of the entire game, County’s Alex Hale finally broke the 0-0 tie with a spectacular shot up and into the corner of the net. The Tigers Nick Klar would not let the Colonel advantage stand for very long. A minute later, Klar finally connected on a streaking down the sideline shot to tie it right back up at one.
Both teams spent the next eighteen or so minutes the same as the first sixty. Opportunity after Opportunity, but no success.
It really was an incredible display by the goalies when you look back on it. However, like their female counterparts, the game had to find a winner so we went to overtime.
First OT, five minutes, golden goal, next shot sends someone to the title game against UHA Thursday.
Another microcosm of the game as a whole, multiple shots taken, none successful. OT one ends still tied at one a piece.
Second OT, same rules as the first, would begin. This time, unlike the girls game, we would not need PK’s.
Gabe Harton, the senior, would be the hero finding free space and finding the back of a very pesky net for the win. The celebration ensued and looked, sounded, like this…
What a scene as the Tigers celebrated and the Colonels, after an incredible display, fell short and were clearly distraught. Giving them space, as I certainly remember wanting after my final out and game in high school, we caught up with Head Coach Aaron Hutchinson and discussed his teams resiliency and fight, as well as the performance by County and Freshman Mason Malone.
Catching up with the Colonel staff after the game, I chose not to record, but they did express how proud they were of Malone and his performance as well as their team who fought their hearts out and came up just short.
What a game. Now we get a grudge match up epic proportions.
A rematch of a game from September 20th at UHA between the Blazers and Tigers. A game Hoptown played without KJ McMickens and a game they led multiple times 1-0 and 2-1 before losing 4-2.
It was a physical and rough game between two teams who clearly wanted and needed a win badly at the time.
I would expect double that intensity and effort Thursday night at 6 pm on the field at Fort Campbell. Don’t miss it!