The soccer history between the Marshall County Marshals and the McCracken County Mustangs dates back to 2013. Last Wednesday night, that rivalry and history again clashed in the First Region Championship game.
Marshall County went in looking to reclaim their regional throne that the Mustangs took away in 2020, while McCracken County looked to protect their title in hopes of going back-to-back and make history for their youthful soccer program.
And like every great sports film, the night ended with heroics and tears as McCracken County earned the win after the nerve-wracking shootout, 2-1.
With less than 20 minutes left to play, McCracken County senior Ethan Roberts dashed down the field in control of the ball, scoring the first goal of the night to give his team a 1-0 lead.
Roberts’ goal stood until the seven-minute mark when Marshall County’s Collin Riley scored, tying it 1-1. The final whistle blew and sent the championship into two 5 minute overtimes but neither the Mustangs or Marshals were able to score and forced penalty kicks where McCracken won, 3-2.
Marshals advance against St. Mary in semis
Marshall County punched their ticket to the regional championship with the 6-0 win over St. Mary last Monday at Marquette Stadium.
The night kicked off with Marshall County’s Collin Riley scoring the team’s first goal within 10 minutes of play beginning. Moments later, St. Mary kicked the ball into their net, giving the Marshals a 2-0 lead with 20 minutes left in the first half of the game. Marshall’s Zander Maxlow snagged credit on the goal.
With less than four minutes left before the halftime whistle blew, Jackson Boone knocked one in with an assist to Riley, making it 3-0. Then, William Lynch shot a dazzling goal to make it 4-0 leading into halftime to add to the lead. It was not long after the second half got underway when Riley scored on a pass from Boone to make it 5-0. The Marshals went on add one more goal before the referee blew the final whistle.
