Marshall County and McCracken County played for the Region 1 title the last two seasons but this year, the two region powerhouse teams crossed paths in the semifinal game on Tuesday at Murray High.
The reigning Region 1 champion Lady Mustangs were considered a favorite coming into the tournament with just one loss before Monday’s semifinal. In their one meeting during the regular season, McCracken County beat Marshall County 3-0.
At the end of 80 minutes of play, the Lady Marshals handed them just their second on the season with the 2-1 victory.
A fierce battle by both teams to score in the first half left both empty handed. At the halfway mark of the half, a corner kick by Rylee Teague was batted around near the goal line before it was cleared out by McCracken County.
Near the 17-minute mark of the first half, Marshall County goalkeeper Savannah Dodd had two back-to-back saves to keep the Lady Mustangs out of the net.
Addi Wall broke through with the first goal of the game off a corner kick by Rylee Teague to get the Lady Marshals on the board just over two minutes into the second half. London Lockhart doubled the Lady Marshals lead around the 25-minute mark.
With 10 minutes remaining, Katelyn Heider scored to get the Lady Mustangs on the board trailing 2-1 and in reach of tying the game up.
The Lady Marshals held off a battling Lady Mustangs team in the closing minutes to earn the chance to play for the program’s 24th Region 1 title. They will take on Murray on Thursday in the championship game at Murray High at 5:30. Murray beat Calloway County 4-1 to punch their ticket to the title game.
A great season for McCracken County comes to an end with a record of 19-2-2.
