The McCracken County Mustangs avenged two earlier losses to the Marshall County Marshals Wednesday night, defeating Marshall 4-1 for the First District title.
In true McCracken vs. Marshall fashion, the game showed high intensity from start to finish with the Mustangs striking first early in the first half and adding a trio of insurance goals in the second.
Among those four goals were a pair of goals from seniors Maks Hazel and William O’Neill who say beating Marshall and winning the region title is just what this team needed to spark a fire to go the distance in the region.
“This game was very important,” Hazel said. “They beat us twice this season, but I knew we had it in us. This difference this time is that we just wanted it more, I don’t think we wanted it earlier, but I guess that trophy made us want it.”
McCracken County got on the board at the 31:55 mark in the first half courtesy of an Aiden Mendoza second chance shot off of a deflection in the box. The rest of the half would go quiet scoring-wise, but the intensity of the game stayed high. Marshall suffered a pair of yellow cards near the back half of the frame, but their extra efforts paid off when a Maddox Konrad goal with 3:24 remaining found the back of the net on a second chance deflection.
With a 1-1 score coming out of the halftime break, McCracken knew they had to score early if they wanted any chance of keeping Marshall off their game.
“Knowing it was a championship atmosphere I think really sparked something in us and gave us the energy that we didn’t necessarily have in those two previous games,” O’Neill said. “We definitely saw that spark in the second half as well, which was huge for us.”
O’Neill had the honors of the Mustangs second goal of the night, just four minutes into the second frame. With the ball tipped just off the hands of Marshall keeper Carson Lovett, O’Neill found his opportunity from close quarters.
The Mustangs would go on an offensive surge from there, tallying multiple shots on goal including one directly off the cross bar, to keep the pressure on the Marshals defense.
Hazel would find his opportunity with 9:55 to go, striking hard on a shot straight ahead for the 3-1 lead.
Freshman Tate Shoulta would get in on the action with 5:17 to go, adding the nail in the coffin for what would be the final 4-1 score.
This district title marks the 13th consecutive title for the Mustangs in their 14 years of existence. For these seniors, winning the title means that much more in helping their team succeed.
“As a senior I didn’t want to let McCracken down,” Hazel said. “It’s team over self here and I’m playing for something bigger here, so I’m glad we were able to win the district championship as a team.”
As for what’s next, O’Neill says the kind of soccer he saw his teammates play on Wednesday is exactly what he wanted to see and what he hopes to continue to see as they head into the First Region tournament next week.
“What I saw tonight is exactly what we’d been looking for this whole season,” O’Neill said. “Most games we have had some good moments, but we never really seemed to put it all together in one game. I think we did that really well tonight.”
Following the night, some of the best from the First District were honored to the First District All-Tournament team: Paducah Tilghman’s Rex Gay, Aaron Ladd and Anderson Ballert: Marshall’s Maddox Konrad, Austin Lyles, John Shadowen, Owen Staley and Brayden York: McCracken’s Maks Hazel, William O’Neill, Kaden McKenzie and Johnny Mendoza.
With the win, the Mustangs will take on the runners-up of the Second District, Murray High on Tuesday night, while Marshall will play Mayfield as the Second District champions. The First Region tournament begins next Tuesday and the championship game will take place on Thursday, all at McCracken County’s Mercy Health Field.