In what has been a season with some difficult stretches for the Hopkinsville girls’ soccer team, the Lady Tigers gave the Caldwell County Lady Tigers all they wanted in the 2nd Region semifinal, losing 1-0 at Madisonville-North Hopkins High School. Caldwell had previously beaten the Lady Tigers 6-0 during the regular season.
Hopkinsville played defensively and limited Caldwell County’s clear chances on goal, with leading scorer, senior Avery O’Hara playing in the middle of the Lady Tiger defense. Caldwell’s goal came with 12:35 left in the first half, when Hoptown goalkeeper Danea Richards couldn’t hold on to a Caldwell free kick and junior Laney Fletcher was on hand to knock in the rebound.
The second half mirrored the first, with Hopkinsville absorbing the Caldwell pressure and looking to counter. Hoptown’s job was made more difficult with a red card with 16 minutes remaining in the match, although with O’Hara now up top the Lady Tigers were proving more of a threat to the Caldwell goal. However, Caldwell were able to continue to dominate possession and see out the 1-0 victory, with senior goalkeeper Dru Hadley Thomas posting the Lady Tigers’ 9th shutout of the season. They now move on to the regional semifinals Wednesday night against the Trigg County Lady Wildcats, winners of Tuesday’s other quarterfinal. In their first match of the season, Caldwell County beat the Lady Wildcats 7-2 at the Recreation Complex.
