With all four teams being from District 9, the Region 3 soccer championships will be played as a doubleheader at Apollo beginning at 5:30 p.m. Thursday.
In girls action, Daviess County plays Owensboro Catholic, while the Daviess County boys play Owensboro. Both matches will be the fourth meeting for the teams this year.
The boys tournament was already taking place at Apollo, while the girls have been playing at Meade County. Apollo athletic director Dan Crume said the decision to move the girls championship to Apollo made sense for several reasons, starting with convenience.
“The big thing was the two teams play here in Owensboro,” Crume said. “ It saved an hour and a half of travel. It also cuts down on dealing with bussing, both costs and planning.”
They also hope it can bring in more revenue. By keeping the teams in town, Crume said they are hoping to draw a much bigger crowd than would have traveled to Meade County.
“Part of what were hoping for is the fan base being a little bigger,” Crume said. “Hopefully their fans want to come out.”
The girls game, originally scheduled for a 6 p.m. start, will be played at 5:30 p.m. The boys game, originally scheduled for 7 p.m., is pushed back to 7:30 p.m., or 25 minutes after the awards ceremony for the girls match.
Tournament officials had discussed the possibility during the draw Saturday, but nothing was made official until around 7:30 a.m. today, after both District 9 teams won their semifinal games.
The decision starts with the original tournament host and goes through several officials before being finalized.
“Ultimately Meade County is the host, so it’s up to them if they want to give it up and move it to another venue,” Crume said. It starts with them and goes to us and if we’re willing to host it. Then it goes to the schools involved in playing. It’s kind of a process that you go through.”
