A rivalry for the district title.
Hopkinsville and UHA on a neutral field.
This was a tight game back on September 17th, a 2-1 Lady Blazer win at home, and the Lady Tigers certainly seemed to have gotten better as the year went on.
Wednesday night it did not go their way.
Both teams seemed primed to make this a defensive struggle and war as possession went back and forth but rarely was pressure put on the goalies until late in the half.
So we go to halftime and the discussion became who adjusts, who comes out and shifts their strategy.
Eight minutes into the second half we got our answer.
Emma Dill along with several other Lady Blazers did what they are told to do, crowd that goal. It paid off when Dill booted a rebound off the goalie into the net and helped UHA take a 1-0 lead.
Hopkinsville was response though, pushing the ball up the field and putting good pressure on the Lady Blazer defense and goal.
They just never were able to come up with a point.
Several minutes later Skylar Cantrell rocketed a shot into the nylon and made it 2-0. At that point every second seemed like it was just slipping away from Hopkinsville try as they might, and they did.
The dagger came, however, when Audrey Perry was given a chance on a set kick from the left side and she put a shot up that has to rank among the best we have seen this season. A beautiful arc and curl it soared just over the heads of the defense, past the hands of the outstretched goal keeper, and into the corner of the net. It looked like something you might see Abby Wambach or Alex Morgan do back in their days with USA soccer.
That would be the final score of the game and as the clock hit zero, the celebration ensued for the now district eight champion UHA Lady Blazers.
What might be most impressive about this UHA team is Perry is one of seven freshman who start for them, after the game I caught up with Head Coach Michael Parker and talked about that very fact and the Perry Goal…
The Lady Blazers now await their regional matchup which will be determined by RPI after tonight’s games. Their first game should come sometime early next week.