Christian County had been close this season but just didn’t have enough offense to get a win in its first 10 games. That changed Tuesday as the Colonels beat Hopkinsville 3-2 in the 8th District semifinals to notch their first win of 2020.
The win snapped a nine-match losing streak to Hoptown, who had beaten the Colonels 3-0 on Sept. 12. Christian County had entered Tuesday’s game scoring just five goals in posting an 0-9-1 start. However, Jaiden Northington got the Colonels on the board quickly against the Tigers, outworking the defenders off a missed shot and finding the net just two minutes into the contest.
Hoptown answered in the 17th minute when Miguel Magana found the net out front to knot the contest at 1-1.
Christian County took the lead back in the 31st minute when Daniel Macario’s shot in the box was inadvertently redirected into the goal by a Hoptown defender.
Ashton Smith put the Colonels up 3-1 midway through the second half when he got behind the Tiger defense for his third goal of the season.
Hoptown had several chances to cut into the lead but were turned away by the Colonel defense and goalie Josh Settle, who made 13 saves in the contest.
Magana scored his second goal of the game with two minutes left, but couldn’t net the equalizer as time ran out.
For Hopkinsville, they will miss out on their first region tournament in seven years when Christian County again played the role of postseason spoiler. The Tigers’ season ends with a record of 3-8.
Christian County [1-9-1] will play University Heights Academy Thursday for the championship. Regardless of that outcome, the Colonels will appear in next week’s region tournament for the first time since advancing to the 2014 championship game.
