TALE OF TWO HALVES: Soccer Pats finish regular season in 2-2 tie
Published 12:55 pm Thursday, October 4, 2018
Photos by Nancy Leedy LINCOLN KEEPER Carter Tillett keeps his eye on the ball as North Hardin’s Umberto Cazzuola dribbles on goal before taking a shot on goal in the first half of Monday’s game at LCHS. Tillett had to leave the game in the second half after being kicked in the head, but did return to finish out the game.
STANFORD — Both Lincoln County and visiting North Hardin had 40 minutes to be happy with Monday night on the LCHS pitch.
The only problem was that the game lasted 80 minutes and, as a result, Lincoln’s final regular-season game ended in a 2-2 tie.
For most of the first half, the soccer Patriots (11-4-2) controlled the ball. While the visiting Trojans (7-7-4) were able to challenge Lincoln’s goalkeeper Carter Tillett and get in some repeated shots on goal, the soccer Patriots had the ball in front of their goal for a big part of the half and used that advantage to post a 2-0 lead.
Junior Trey Cummins scored off a corner kick less than two minutes into the game to give Lincoln the early lead. Then, midway through the period, Cummins tallied again, working the ball to the right of goal before shooting it in behind North Hardin goalkeeper Tyler Phoutharansy to make it a 2-0 ballgame.
In the second half, it would be North Hardin keeping the ball in front of its goal. After nine dead-on shots on goal against Tillett in the opening minutes of the second period, Michael McIntyre managed to break through the Lincoln defense, firing in a shot from the left side of goal to get the Trojans within 2-1 with 22:24 to play.
A minute after the McIntyre goal, Lincoln’s Hawk Randall and North’s Umberto Cazzuola were both yellow-carded and had to leave the game.
Then, with 13:59 to go, Tillett was removed from the game after taking a kick to the head. Tillett later reentered the game, but before he was back in goal, McIntyre scored on Tillett’s backup, Cummins. McIntyre scored with 10:49 to go to deadlock the game at 2-2.
Despite a strong fight by the soccer Patriots to get back in goal and break the tie, time expired on their regular-season finale.
Lincoln opens postseason play Monday night at Boyle County in the 45th District Tournament. The soccer Patriots, the district’s two seed, will face the host Rebels, the three seed, in the second game of a doubleheader at 8 p.m. Danville, the No. 1 seed, will take on fourth-seeded Garrard County in the opening game at 6 p.m.
