Tuesday brought about the premier match-up the region had been waiting to see, with Henderson and Madisonville-North Hopkins playing to a 1-1 draw. The Lady Colonels and Lady Maroons seem to have put some distance between themselves and the rest of the teams, although UHA may prove to be a worthy challenger. Below the top teams, Fort Campbell makes a big move while the Lyon County Lady Lyons plummet.
1. Henderson County (4-3-3) – The Lady Colonels may not sport the best looking record, but their strength of schedule plays a major part in that. Losses to Daviess County and Evansville Memorial were sandwiched around the tie with Madisonville, but a 3-1 setback to the 10-1 Lady Panthers doesn’t hurt Henderson’s resume. Meetings with 2nd-Region competition await on Thursday and Monday, with the wounded Hopkinsville Lady Tigers hosting before a trip to Dixon to face Webster County to start next week.
1. Madisonville-North Hopkins (6-1-1) – The Lady Maroons confirmed their status as regional contenders with a 1-1 home draw with Henderson on Tuesday, extending a 7-game unbeaten run. Tough match-ups with 6-1-1 Marshall County and 4-1 Ohio County are coming up, before surging Fort Campbell comes calling on Tuesday.
3. University Heights Academy (3-2) – Since returning from a week-long break for a school trip, the Lady Blazers have posted three-straight shutout wins, including a 9-0 thumping of Lyon County and a 4-0 result over 8th-District rivals Christian County. With a narrow victory over Hopkinsville already under their belt, the Lady Blazers also look to be creating some seperation just below the top two. Meetings with Henderson and Madisonville will have to wait until later in the season, but the 2nd Region All “A” final at Fort Campbell followed by matches with Caldwell County and Marshall County will provide tough tests.
4. Hopkinsville (3-5) – The goal-shy Lady Tigers have suffered four-straight shutout losses, but the feeling is that they would still be favored in match-ups with the teams below them in the rankings. Hoptown’s only game since last week’s rankings was a 4-0 loss to a strong 6-1-1 Marshall County team, not enough to drop the Lady Tigers. They will be busy over the next week, hosting Henderson County on Thursday, before a couple of teams ranked just below them attempt to state their case for jumping the Lady Tigers. Hopkins County Central makes the trip to the Stadium of Champions on Monday before Hoptown goes on the road to face Caldwell County on Thursday.
5. Fort Campbell (6-2) – The red-hot Lady Falcons have won five-straight, including back-to-back wins over Lyon County and Caldwell County to break into the rankings. The dramatic 1-0 result over the Lady Tigers punched their ticket to Thursday night’s 2nd Region All “A” title game with UHA. After the match-up with Grace Pape and the Lady Blazers, the stingy Fort Campbell defense, that’s only allowed 3 goals during its winning run, will be further tested by Camryn LaGrange and Madisonville-North Hopkins on Tuesday.
6. Caldwell County (3-4) – After winning three of their first four, the Lady Tigers have dropped three-straight, including a 2-1 loss to Graves County and a 1-0 setback in the All “A” region semifinals to Fort Campbell. It remains to be seen if that result says more about Fort Campbell than the Lady Tigers, but home meetings with UHA and Hopkinsville next week should provide a clearer picture.
7. Hopkins County Central (4-2) – The Lady Storm hold wins over both Fort Campbell and Lyon County, but a 10-0 shellacking at the hands of Madisonville-North Hopkins is reason for concern. Hopkins Central will be expected to take care of business on Thursday when Union County visits Morton’s Gap, but a trip to the Stadium of Champions on Monday to face Hopkinsville will give a better idea of where the Lady Storm stand in the region.
