OHS, Maroons fight to draw
Sep. 24—Owensboro High School and Madisonville-North Hopkins fought to a 2-2 tie at the Owensboro Soccer Complex on Thursday night.
The Red Devils (6-8-1) have lost five games by one goal and then came this tie.
"We're a young team and we're learning to win," OHS coach Ryan Haley said. "We've lost five games by one goal, one goal. Tonight, we weren't going to let that happen. We responded well — we'll take it and learn from it.
"Our tempo, our hustle, our willingness to fight for the game was all there. We came out running a five-back system, it kind of stifled Madisonville to do that. We had to sacrifice our wings to do that.
"I think we gained a little respect in the soccer community and I'm proud of them."
Madisonville got on the board first in the 38th minute when JJ Brown got free for a big shot from just inside the box off a pass from Eli Redpath.
Owensboro tied the game in the 51st minute when Saw Thaw got on the move and fired quickly to score after he'd collected a fast pass from Sang Thang.
"After they got their goal, we unleashed our wings back to normal play," Haley said. "I thought we were able to win the field back. It was back and forth between us and Madisonville."
Redpath scored in the 59th minute, with the freshman working in the box and shooting to beat Owensboro keeper Alex Gonzo on the post side.
OHS tied the game a second time in the 70th minute when Peter Saang finished in space off another pass from Thang.
The pace of play was more frantic in the last 10 minutes, but the best chance was a Madisonville free kick with two minutes left that was wide.
OHS finished with 11 shots. Madisonville took 15 shots.
Gonzo made eight saves, including three that were difficult and on the move, for the Red Devils.
"We were not very good, we didn't play well at all, just didn't show up," Maroons coach Christakis Agisilaou said. "The field is different, turf, it's a big advantage for Owensboro."
Madisonville is 14-3-2 and is ranked in the top 20 in Kentucky.
