Hopkinsville won the first half. Trigg County won the second half. So, it was only appropriate that their boys’ soccer contest ended in a 2-2 tie Tuesday at the Stadium of Champions. The tie snapped Hoptown’s five game winning streak against the Wildcats, who were looking for their first win over the Tigers since 2010. Their 2014 matchup ended in a tie.
Hoptown came out the aggressor in the first half, catching the Wildcats back on their heels. Tyler Greenwell scored in the eighth minute to give the Tigers a quick 1-0 lead.
They extended the lead to 2-0 when Ryan Roussel found the net for his 21st goal of the season.
Trigg County gained a little steam toward the end of the first half although couldn’t get the ball past Hoptown goalie Ethan Bailey, who made three saves in goal in the half.
The Wildcats got on the board inside the first two minutes of the second half when Cristian Llarena fed Elijah Gaines for the goal that cut the Hoptown lead in half at 2-1.
Five minutes later, Gaines scored again off a feed from Will Jolly for the equalizer. For Gaines, it was his team-leading 31st goal of the season while Jolly recorded his team-leading ninth assist.
Both teams had opportunities to score the go-ahead goal in the game’s final 15 minutes but both goalies – Hoptown’s Bailey and Trigg County’s Matthew Smith – as well as both defenses came up with big stops.
Trigg County (11-5-1) return to action Monday in the Fifth District championship game against Lyon County at the Complex.
Hopkinsville (10-6-2) hosts Graves County Thursday at the Stadium of Champions.