For the third time in the last four seasons, the Murray Tigers have ended the University Heights Academy Blazers run in the All “A” Classic boys’ state soccer tournament with a win in the sectional round. The Tigers got two goals in the first twenty minutes of the match to get to the lead and then added two more in the second half as Murray got past UHA 4-1 at Givens Field.
The Tigers have eliminated the Blazers in the sectional round in 2018, 2020, and 2021. The Blazers beat St. Mary in the sectional round in 2019 to advance on to Frankfort.
Murray got on the boards just a little over five minutes into the match. The Blazer defense lost track of Chase Renick on a throw from near the Blazers’ goal and Renick headed the throw into the net to give Murray the early 1-0 lead.
The Tigers would extend the lead to 2-0 at the 20:00 mark when Caden Cain found an opening right in front of the goal and put the ball into the net.
UHA got back into the match at the 30:15 mark when the Tigers were called for a shove down in the box. Connor Dill drilled the ensuing penalty kick to cut the Murray lead to 2-1. That would be the score when the first half came to an end.
The first half was fairly evenly played. Both teams were about the same in terms of possession time and control of the flow of play. Murray held a 16-13 advantage in shots.
The match stayed that way for the first twenty minutes of the second half of play. The Tigers extended their lead back out to two goals at the 54:00 mark when Abraham Leon delivered a pass from the right-hand side to Trey Boggess in the middle of the field, with Boggess finding the net to give Murray the 3-1 lead.
Murray would add an insurance goal just over ten minutes later Chase Renick took a long pass on a run down the middle of the field and fired a shot into the net to extend the lead out to 4-1. The Tigers were then able to shut the door on the Blazers to close out the match.
Murray improves to 9-6-1 with the win. The Tigers will take on Kentucky Country Day in the quarterfinals of the All “A” Classic next weekend in Frankfort.
UHA drops to 8-8 with the loss. The Blazers are back in action Tuesday night when they host Todd County Central.
