The last time Marshall County and McCracken County boys’ soccer teams met was in last season’s Region 1 Championship game. The Mustangs won 2-0 and it was the fourth consecutive title game between the two dominant Region 1 teams.
Since McCracken County’s consolidation in 2013, the Marshals hold an 8-6-2 advantage. Coming to Colburn Field on Thursday, the Mustangs were 6-1 with their only loss to Paul Lawrence Dunbar 1-0.
Thursday belonged to the Mustangs who punched in three goals in the first half to beat the Marshals 3-1. Firmly in control the first half, McCracken County’s first goal came just one and a half minutes in by Johnny Stephens that followed up a free kick.
Hayden Stewart took a free kick attempt for the Mustangs and it was batted away by Steven Claborn, but Lenny Garcia found some space and booted the ball back in for a 2-0 lead at 26:41 in the half.
Five minutes later, Julian Warfield gave the Mustangs a 3-0 lead they would take into the halftime break leaving the Marshals with a lot of work to do.
While the first half belonged to McCracken County, the Marshals carried the second half. Zander Maxlow got one past goalkeeper Grayson Parrish near the 64th minute of the match to put them on the board and avoid the shutout.
For the game, McCracken County took double the shots but held a slight lead on shots on goal with seven compared to six for the Marshals.
Their next match is Tuesday at home against Madisonville-North Hopkins (5-2).
