On Monday night, the girl’s First Region Tournament got underway at McCracken County’s Marquette Stadium, as the hosting Lady Mustangs took on the Second District champions in the Calloway County Lady Lakers. Across a hard-fought eighty minutes, a second half strike would make the difference for McCracken County, as they outlasted the Lady Lakers to advance, 1-0.
“We just came out with intensity, and played with a purpose tonight,” McCracken County head coach Mike Lane said following the win. “These are the types of games we’ve been looking for. We knew we had to show up tonight, play hard, and the girls executed on the game plan perfectly.”
To start the first half, the two sides would be evenly matched, with neither able to carve out a clear advantage early on. While the Lady Mustangs were able to control the majority of the possession as the half rolled along, the occasional Lady Laker counterattack would keep the defense on their toes, with the McCracken back line doing more than enough to keep things tied. Perhaps the best chance of the half would come for McCracken with 18 minutes to play, when a shot from Maddy Ledgerwood would rattle off the crossbar. One more shot would strike the bar before the half was out for the Lady Mustangs, as the game headed into halftime still scoreless.
While the first forty passed without a goal, it’d take hardly a minute of the second half before the deadlock was broken. On a ball turned into the box, Ledgerwood would get enough of a shot to find the back of the net, giving the Lady Mustangs the 1-0 lead.
Now playing with the narrow lead, the Lady Mustangs kept the pressure on, looking to add a second.
While the second goal wouldn’t come, the forward momentum would keep the Lady Lakers from getting too many looks on McCracken’s goal as the half wound down. Eventually, time would run out on Calloway, as Ledgerwood’s goal would hold up as the difference in the 1-0 win.
“A big thing for us tonight was our pressure. We wanted to keep the pressure on them, and keep the ball down in their end,” Lane said. “I think we did that for the entire game, and I’m really proud of how the girls executed that. I’m happy with how we attacked, and how we defended when we had to.”
With the win, the Lady Mustangs advance to Wednesday’s regional championship, and will have a chance to return to the State Tournament for the first time since 2023. To get there, they’ll have to get past Marshall County, having fallen to the Lady Marshals three times this season.
“It would be phenomenal for our girls, and for our program to go win another regional title,” Lane concluded. “We’re excited to get another crack at Marshall County, and we’ll be ready for Wednesday.”
Kick-off between the Lady Mustangs and Lady Marshals is set for 6 p.m., back at Marquette Stadium.