Tuesday night saw the McCracken County Mustangs and Lady Mustangs return home to Mercy Health Field, as they played host in a doubleheader against cross-town rivals, Paducah Tilghman.
Mustangs 4, Tornado 1
In the evening’s later kick-off, the Mustangs would get the better of their rivals for the second time this season, controlling much of the night’s action en route to a 4-1 win, and a regular season sweep of the Tornado.
Throughout much of the first half, the Mustangs would get the better of the scoring opportunities, winning the majority of the battles in the midfield and controlling possession. While none of those chances would find their way across the goal line, the McCracken defense did well enough to snuff out any Tilghman counterattacks.
The pressure would eventually pay off for the Mustangs with just over 22 minutes to play in the half, when they drew a free-kick along the left wing. Off a cross whipped into the box, a soft header was floated just in behind Tilghman’s back line, where Jake Hazel was able to get a foot to the ball for the opening goal.
“They started their game playing five in the back, and with a defensive midfielder playing deep, it became six at times. It took a while for us to break that down, but the boys showed a lot of patience and were able to get that done,” McCracken County head coach Michael Wiersma said, reflecting on the early moments of the first half.
Down the stretch, with more solid defense from the Mustangs, Hazel’s goal looked like it would be the only strike of the half. However, on a run forward with two minutes to play, a rebound opportunity off the crossbar would fall to Maks Hazel, who fired a shot into the back of the net to double McCracken’s lead at the half, 2-0.
Shortly into the second half, after immediately pressing forward into Tilghman’s half, a handball in the box saw the Mustangs awarded a penalty kick. In his first game back from injury, Dawson Beyer would not miss the chance from the spot, burying the shot in the top left corner for the 3-0 lead.
“I know their goalkeeper pretty well, so I just knew that I had to hit this one well. Penalties still feel pretty natural, so that was good...It felt good to get back out here,” Beyer said.
In his unexpectedly quick return following a preseason injury, the senior saw just over 10 minutes in each half, but was able to make an impact even in his limited minutes.
“Dawson was really our MVP last season, and he did well in his first minutes this season. Having him back on the field is huge for us, and getting that goal was great for him,” said Wiersma.
Through the rest of the second half, the Tornado would find plenty of success moving forward in hopes of a rally, eventually breaking onto the scoreboard with nine minutes to play through Oliver Eck. However, it was too little, too late for the visitors, as a late goal for Eli Wright would put the Mustangs back ahead, 4-1, where the score would stay through full time.
“Overall, I was pleased with the way we played,” Wiersma concluded. “We’ve got a big game in Marshall County on Thursday, another two on Saturday, so it was good to be able to rest some legs, too, and get everybody some time.”
Next up for the Mustangs, they’ll look to defend their advantage in the district standings, as they aim to complete another regular season sweep over Marshall County.
Lady Mustangs 9, Lady Tornado 1
While the boys had already met this season, the earlier action night served as the first matchup between the girls’ squads. Taking an early lead and never letting it go, the Lady Mustangs would earn the comfortable win, 9-1.
McCracken would waste no time getting the leg-up in the match, firing straight up the pitch and finding the back of the net through Lucy Farmery just thirty seconds in. Holding firm control of the action, the Lady Mustangs would double the lead less than five minutes later through Ava Englert.
While the Lady Tornado would find their footing in the match following Englert’s strike, with solid defending and a decent spell of possession through the midfield keeping the lead in check for a while, they were unable to hold the Lady Mustangs off for very long. Specifically, Maddy Ledgerwood would make her mark on the match, with a pair of impressive runs leading to a quickfire brace, putting the hosts ahead 4-0 with 15 to play in the half.
Although the Lady Tornado would strike back through Christian Anderson late, McCracken would answer just seconds after through McKenzie Berget to make it 5-1, where the score would hold through halftime.
“I liked the way we responded [after conceding],” said Lady Mustangs head coach, Mike Lane. “If they put one in on you, no matter the score, you always want to have that energy to get it back, and re-establish some momentum.”
With a healthy lead heading into the second half, the Lady Mustangs continued to control the action, looking to close things out. While it would take them some time to find the back of the net again, with Tilghman’s defense able to turn away some early chances, Berget would eventually strike again from the penalty spot, making it six to one. Along with a goal for McKenna Moore, both Berget and Ledgerwood managed to complete their hat tricks down the stretch, as the Lady Mustangs pulled away to a 9-1 victory.
“Those two can really change a game for us, and they’re always able to find that next level when they need to,” Lane said, lauding Ledgerwood and Berget. “They did that today, and it’s always great to have that type of player on your team.”
Coming off of one district win, the Lady Mustangs head into another crucial district matchup later this week, as they face Marshall County this Thursday. After falling 1-0 to the Lady Marshals towards the end of August, the Lady Mustangs are now focused on getting their win back to reassert themselves in the district standings.
“We’re going to go back to the drawing board with them, watch some film, and just try to be better against them than we were last time,” Lane concluded. “It’s just a tough district. Tilghman came in here tonight with a game plan and did a good job of slowing us down at times. We need to be ready and go into this one and give 110 percent.”Kick-off between the Lady Mustangs and Lady Marshals from Colburn Stadium is set for 5:30 p.m. this Thursday night, with the boy’s game set to follow.