Greenwood Soccer begins its state championship quest hosting Madisonville-North Hopkins
Madisonville-North Hopkins (9-6-2) @ Greenwood (14-2-1)
October 24, 2020 – 4:00pm – Drakes Creek Middle School
By Perry Swack – Sporting Times
Greenwood kicks off its state title defense on Saturday afternoon when it invites Madisonville-North Hopkins into town. The Lady Gators and Lady Maroons will meet for the second time in as many seasons, after kicking off the 2019 campaign against one another. Greenwood won that match – 6-1 – behind a hattrick from KY Miss Soccer, Anna Haddock.
Recent Meetings
August 13, 2019 – Madisonville-North Hopkins 1 @ Greenwood 6
August 22, 2014 – Madisonville-North Hopkins 1 vs. Greenwood 2 (at Daviess County)
August 17, 2012 – Madisonville-North Hopkins 1 vs. Greenwood 0 (at Daviess County)
September 22, 2007 – Madisonville-North Hopkins 2 vs. Greenwood 3 (at Marshall County)
Players to Watch
A key to the Lady Gators advancing to the quarterfinals for the third-straight season will be how its defense performs against the Lady Maroons. Anchoring that defense is 4th Region Tournament MVP, Kennedy White. The senior has been a force for Greenwood this year and will be needed to lead the backline as the tournament proceeds. The only person playing closer to the goal is keeper Taryn Guyer. Guyer came up huge in both the district and region championship games, stopping penalty kicks with the titles on the line. Her nine complete game shutouts also lead the entire state.
For the Lady Maroons, sophomore Lillie Carmen is the engine that keeps the team going. Her 10 goals are second only to Raelynn Blanford, and she has tallied 14 assists to lead the team. Carmen scored a brace and assisted on another goal in the team’s region semifinal win over Trigg County. Senior goalkeeper Kara Franklin helped North win the region title by coming up big in the penalty shootout.
Preview and Prediction
Henderson County was the favorite to come out of the 2nd Region after giving up only five goals all season long. However, the Lady Colonels were unable to defeat the Lady Maroons in regulation, extra time, or penalties, which meant their season was cut short of their expectations. The Lady Colonels were ranked 12th in the Maher Rankings, just behind Greenwood at #11. Madisonville-North Hopkins checks in at #47. I believe this sets up well for the Lady Gators to move on to the quarterfinals. With that being said, if the game carries on into the later parts of the game without a goal, I think it will start to give North the chance it had against Henderson County in the 2nd Region title game.
Greenwood will not let it get to that point though. The Lady Gators will come out firing all cylinders – feeding off the region title momentum – and score two goals in the first half. A third will come early in the second half putting the game out of reach. North will threaten for a consolation goal as time ticks away, but White, Guyer, and others will keep it from being realized.
Greenwood 3, Madisonville-North Hopkins 0
The winner of this game will host the winner of Marshall County (Region 1) and Owensboro Catholic (Region 3) on Monday night.
