‘HOUNDS IN SOCCER FINALS

PAINTSVILLE  — In Belfry’s 16th Region Tournament’s opening round victory over Perry Central, the Pirates trailed 3-2 late but scored three goals late, two in stoppage time, to claim its first ever victory in a region tournament game.

The Pirates tried the same formula Thursday night as they faced off against Corbin. The Redhounds built a 3-1 lead before Belfry charged back late. But this time the magic ran out as Corbin held on for the 3-2 victory.

Brody Freeman paved the way for Corbin, scoring all three of the Redhounds’ goals. The senior got Corbin on the board in the fourth minute, kicking in a goal on a ball that reflected off a Belfry defender, to give the Hounds an 1-0 lead.

Corbin didn’t  let much time elapse before increasing the lead.  In the 14th minute Michael Browne made a pass to Freeman as Freeman sent a header by the goalie and into the back of the net to spot Corbin a 2-0 lead.

The Redhound offense would cool down a bit as Corbin failed to score the rest of the half. But Corbin’s defense was dominant as the Hounds held a 2-0 lead.

The Pirate offense started to find life in the second half. In the 49th minute Belfry’s Eli Holzapfel took a pass from Dakota Williamson on a corner kick and drained a goal, trimming the deficit to one at 2-1. But  Freeman and the Hounds had an answer as Freeman completed the hat-trick, scoring his third goal of the game, to extend the Corbin lead to 3-2.

But Belfry had one last rally in them as Williamson drove the ball down the field and scored his fourth goal of the tournament to cut the Corbin lead to one at 3-2.

Belfry had its chances in stoppage time. The Pirates had a corner kick which hit the fingertips of the out-stretched arm of Corbin goalie Craig Warner and fell down into Warner’s arms for the goalie save. Warner finished the game with four goalie saves.

The Corbin offense dominated the game, attempting 21 shots-on-goal to Belfry’s eight attempts. Pirate goalie Jonathan Freeman finished the game with five goalie saves.

With the win Corbin (9-10-1) advances to the finals were it will play district rival South Laurel with the championship on the line Saturday at 7:00 p.m. at Johnson Central High School. Last season South Laurel spoiled Corbins bid for three straight region titles with a 3-2 victory over the Hounds in the title game.

 Editor’s Note: Justin is a sports writer for the Pikeville News-Express.