Madisonville was the last Second Region soccer team to beat Hopkinsville. That was 22 games ago in the semifinals of the 2015 region tourney. The Tigers made sure history did not repeat itself in a 6-0 win over the Maroons Wednesday in the region semifinals at Madisonville.
Ryan Roussel had the first half hat trick as Hopkinsville put the pedal to the medal offensively to grab the lead then let their defense do the rest in recording their seventh shutout of the season.
Neither team scored until 22 minutes in when Steven Hermosillo rebounded a missed shot to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead.
Hoptown was awarded a direct kick with 14 minutes left in the half, and Ryan Roussel drilled it home from in front of the box for a 2-0 lead. The Maroon coaches vehemently protested the infraction should have led to an indirect kick. After conferring, the officials let Roussel’s score stand.
Madisonville (14-6-4) seemed out of sorts after the ruling as Roussel scored less than two minutes later for a 3-0 Hoptown lead. The Tiger senior completed the 10-minute hat trick for a 4-0 lead.
The microcosm of the Madisonville night came with 5:26 left in the half when a Maroon defender tried to clear a Hoptown direct kick in front of the goal and, instead, directed it into the goal.
Hopkinsville was able to shuffle their lineup some in the second half but still kept the Maroons out of the net. Zach Moore blasted home a shot for the Tigers’ only goal of the second half.
Xavier Bussell and Ethan Bailey combined to make six saves in goal to combine for the shutout.
Hopkinsville (16-6-2) will meet Henderson County (12-6-4) in the region championship Thursday at 6pm at Madisonville’s Donley Field.