Purples hit the pitch tonight against McCracken County
By Perry Swack
Bowling Green kicked off their state tournament in style on Monday evening, shutting out Henderson County, 3-0, behind two goals from Zippi Willgruber in a span of seconds. The freshman headed home a corner in the 21st minute, seconds before she scored from distance to double the Lady Purple lead. Coach Lisa Correa’s team controlled possession through the first 20 minutes of the first half, threatening but not finding the back of the net. Finding two goals in a matter of seconds allowed the 4th Region champions to relax and settle into the game a little more. BG was rarely threatened the rest of the night and added a third before full time.
Although the Lady Purples were missing four starters when the two teams met in August, the Lady Colonels had defeated Bowling Green, 5-2, on the same field a little over two months ago. Willgruber and company ensured that history would not repeat itself last night.
The club now heads to Carroll County High School where they will take on South Oldham, the 8th Region champions. SOHS is the state’s #1 ranked team in the RPI rankings. The two programs have met three times in their history, twice in the state tournament. The Lady Dragons picked up victories in the 2000 and 2021 state tournaments, while the Lady Purples won a regular season match in 2016. South Oldham’s 1-0 victory in 2021 over BG was the first of three state tournament wins en route to a berth in the state championship. The two teams will play Thursday evening.
Purples Open State Title Quest at Home
Back in the state tournament for the first time since 2015, Bowling Green hosts McCracken County tonight at The Pit. Winners of twelve straight, the 4th Region champs look to continue their fine form against the 1st Region champions.
McCracken County (17-4-3) is in the state tournament for a third-straight season. The Mustangs are looking to reach the quarterfinals for the first time in the school’s young history. The team is led by senior Josh Kuntz. The midfielder has scored 26 goals and added 10 assists as both numbers lead the team. Junior forward Johnny Stevens has scored 15 goals and assisted on five more. The Mustangs will need both at the top of their game if the team is to make it to the quarterfinals.
Bowling Green (17-2) scored 18 goals in last week’s region tournament, only allowing one as they clinched the trophy for the first time in Craig Widener’s second stint as coach. Yaredi Yaredi led the way with five goals in the tournament, scoring a hat-trick in the finale against rival Greenwood. Shukurani Makiwa and Braden Widener each added three assists. This will be the fourth meeting between the two schools and the first since 2016. The Purples defeated the Mustangs in 2013, 2014, and 2016.
The winner of tonight’s game will face the winner of North Oldham and Daviess County on Saturday, October 22 in the state quarterfinals. Bowling Green currently has the second-highest RPI in the state, which means the Purples would host again on Saturday if they knock off McCracken County tonight.
