The First Region boys soccer semifinals took place on Thursday, with the latter game between McCracken County and Calloway County a dogfight with a spot in the region championship on the line. Ultimately, McCracken’s early lead made the difference, taking home the 3-1 win.
The Mustangs controlled the pace and possession for a majority of the first half. In soccer, those metrics lead to more opportunities and eventually goals, which is exactly what happened in the first 40 minutes.
Twenty minutes into the first half, McCracken struck first after Grant Seaton controlled a ball through a jumble of players and put one through to the back of the net. Fifteen minutes later, William O’Neill extended the Mustangs’ lead after streaming through defenders and putting one past the goalkeeper.
“It feels amazing coming away with this win,” McCracken junior Grant Seaton said. “Once we hit that first goal, and just everybody working together, we had to pull through.”
Less than a minute into the second half, a Laker fouled Mason Atnip in the box after a corner kick attempt, leading to a successful penalty kick opportunity, giving McCracken the 3-0 lead. The goal sucked the life out of the Calloway offense, but with their season on the line they did not roll over.
With 15 minutes to go, Brandon Vanmetre got the Lakers on the board with a goal, shooting some life back into his team. Calloway played out the rest of the game with a few strong attacks, but could not execute as the final alarm bell rang, finishing with McCracken as the victors by a score of 3-1.
A huge theme for the Mustangs in the win was the leadership from the upperclassmen. Two juniors and a senior accounted for all three goals, and have been key contributors all season long.
“They’ve been great all year, and they’re finally getting healthy,” Head coach Mike Wiersema said. “We can put them out there all at the same time, and that helps a lot.”
As the teams tied 1-1 in each other’s first game of the season, no one knew what to expect when these teams met on the biggest stage. Overall, it was McCracken who improved the most, and came home with the win. they now face a familiar, and now district, opponent in Marshall County. The Mustangs came away victorious in all three meeting so far this season, including the district championship game, but all bets are off as they meet again in the region finale.
“Having Marshall in our district pushed us,” Mike Wiersema said. “I think it’s pushed them too. We’ve played three very intense games which we’ve never played before in the 10 years I’ve been here. Having them has pushed us, and we push them, and I think I could get used to this being the region final.”
That coveted matchup between the region’s best will take place on Thursday at Marshall County high School, with kick off scheduled for 6 p.m.