Woodford County High School boys’ soccer is coming off a pair of tremendous seasons. That’s the standard coach Fonyam Atanga has spent nearly 15 years building, and it’s the standard this year’s team inherits despite saying goodbye to one of the program’s more productive senior classes to graduation this spring.
The names may change from season to season. The expectations rarely do.
Woodford enters the 2026 campaign with plenty of confidence after another successful run into the postseason last fall. The Yellow Jackets finished 13-3-2 a year ago, scored 64 goals while allowing just 17, and dramatically captured the 30th District championship by defeating rival Collins in a penalty-kick shootout after two overtime periods. A year earlier, they made another deep postseason run in the KHSAA state tournament.
Graduation claimed a lot of that team’s offensive production and leadership, creating opportunities for a new group to step into larger roles. But if the opening weeks of preseason are any indication, Atanga doesn’t believe his players are starting over.
They’re continuing what previous teams have built.
“We’ve established a culture of winning here,” Atanga said as his players worked through another training session.
“The players coming in, even as eighth graders, learn what the expectations are. They understand what’s expected, and the upperclassmen pass that down. We just keep it going. There’s nothing new.”
That consistency has become one of the defining traits of Woodford County soccer.
Players arrive already familiar with the expectations. They know practices will be demanding. They know teammates will hold one another accountable. They know the goal isn’t simply to compete for district championships. It’s to expect to be in those matches every year.
“I’ve been really pleased with the attitude so far,” Atanga said. “They’ve shown a ton of heart. They’re working, there’s no complaining and everybody is on the same page.”
The coach smiled when talking about one of the more overlooked victories of preseason camp.
“We’ve stayed healthy,” he said. “Nobody’s taking injuries, and that’s always encouraging this time of year.”
Health, however, is only part of the equation.
Replacing last year’s production will be one of the biggest challenges facing the Yellow Jackets this fall. Woodford averaged more than three and a half goals per match last season while allowing fewer than one goal per game, a combination that made it one of the state’s most balanced teams.
Fortunately for Atanga, the cupboard isn’t bare.
Juniors Chili Seitz and Angel Aguilar return after developing into some of Woodford’s most reliable attacking players last season. Seitz found the back of the net eight times and Aguilar scored four goals while adding five assists, tying for the team lead among returning players in assists and finishing second in returning points. The duo’s ability to create scoring chances will make them focal points of the offense.
Sophomore Tyson Sergent also returns after quietly putting together one of the strongest freshman seasons on the roster. Sergent scored four goals and added an assist in 17 games played, showing flashes of becoming one of the program’s next offensive leaders.
Senior Hudson Deaton contributed two goals and two assists a year ago, while junior Ellis Endicott finished with three assists. Senior Asiel Lamas scored once and added another point, and sophomore Andry Bo Cac, along with senior Luke Howard, each contributed three points. Seniors Kieran Towe and George Esquivel and sophomore Jeronimo Pardo also found ways to impact the attack, each recording an assist.
The stats provide optimism. The conversations around the team reveal something deeper.
Ask Lamas what he enjoys most about soccer and he doesn’t begin by talking about goals or championships.
He talks about people.
“Honestly, my favorite part is just being around my teammates and making friendships,” Lamas said.
It’s an answer that says as much about Woodford’s culture as anything Atanga could have said.
Those friendships have been built through years of training sessions, conditioning workouts, and countless games together on middle school teams and some with club soccer during the off-seasons. The summer practices can be demanding. Conditioning tests players mentally as much as physically. But Lamas believes those moments are also what create the bond the Yellow Jackets rely on once the season begins.
“I think this team has the potential to go really far,” he said. “We can compete with the big teams if we keep playing hard.”
That confidence hasn’t come without work.
“I think the toughest part has been how hard we have to work every practice, especially the conditioning,” Lamas said. “But it’s fun because we’re doing it together.”
Now entering his senior season, Lamas finds himself in a position he spent years watching others occupy.
He remembers looking up to previous senior classes. Now, younger players are looking to him.
That passing of responsibility is exactly what Atanga means when he talks about culture.
The same theme surfaced when Deaton reflected on what has made his time at Woodford memorable.
“The toughest part is probably the mentality,” Deaton said. “You’ve got to come in ready to work hard every practice.”
He credits the coaching staff for demanding that effort every day.
“The coaches have been pushing us hard and making sure we’re giving our full effort,” he said.
But Deaton believes the best teams reveal themselves after mistakes, not goals.
“If I’m down after a bad game, my teammates are there to pick me up,” he said. “Those relationships are important.”
When another teammate struggles, he tries to return the favor.
“I just tell them to keep their head up,” Deaton said. “When they get back in, just go out there and do your best.”
Those moments rarely show up in a box score. Inside Atanga’s program, they matter just as much as goals and assists. Woodford’s assistant coaches are a big part of the team’s success as well. Raul Sanchez, Maclian Evans, Chris Phelps and Jorge Sanchez have done a great job keeping the team on task as the season approaches.
Howard sees another challenge facing this year’s team – leadership.
After graduating so many seniors, someone has to become the next voice.
“We’re working hard,” Howard said. “We’re trying to get fit and get ready for the season.”
He said Atanga and the coaching staff have emphasized more than tactics during preseason.
“They’re trying to instill teamwork and leadership,” Howard said. “We’re still trying to find those leaders who can step up.”
Leadership, he said, isn’t as simple as being named a captain.
“It’s hard,” Howard said. “As a leader, you’ve got to keep everybody together.”
Howard believes that’s what will ultimately determine Woodford’s season.
“We just want to go as far as we can,” he said. “If we stay together as a team, I think we’ll do pretty well.”
Those comments reinforce what Atanga has witnessed since taking over the program in 2011.
Fifteen seasons have taught him plenty about formations and tactics. The greater lesson has been learning how to coach people.
“I think it’s just growth and knowing what works,” Atanga said. “The buttons you pushed years ago don’t always work with today’s kids. I’ve learned how to adjust with the different generations.”
Even after nearly a month of preseason work, Atanga acknowledges there are still unanswered questions.
Woodford has spent weeks training and has played inter-squad scrimmages, but the real evaluations begin once another team lines up across the field.
“For the most part, I have a pretty good idea,” he said. “We’ve had two inter-squad scrimmages and we’ve been training since July 15. But you don’t really know until you face real opposition. That’s when you learn the most.”
The opportunity to show what this year’s roster can do is coming soon with the season-opening game set for Aug. 14 against Lafayette High School.
Atanga’s teams always face a gauntlet of Lexington schools each year. His teams are prepared by the time the district tournament rolls around.
This year’s district schedule will be difficult again, but Woodford always has Collins circled on its schedule. In recent years, the games against the Titans have been the most physical of the season and always come down to the final moments.
There are still questions to answer before the season begins, just like every year. New leaders will emerge, new players will step into bigger roles and the Jackets will find out what kind of team they have once the matches begin.
But with a veteran coaching staff, a winning tradition and a group that has bought into the program’s expectations, Woodford should once again be in the mix when the postseason arrives.