The Woodford County High School girls’ soccer team spent most of the game knocking on the door against Spencer County in a home district match Aug. 26.
Late in the second half, they finally kicked the door down.
Senior Addison Cummons scored from the right side late in the second half to lift Woodford to a 1-0 win over Spencer County, keeping the Jackets unbeaten in 30th District play.
Woodford controlled much of the game and created multiple chances, particularly in the opening half. The Jackets got off nearly 20 shots before halftime but couldn’t find the back of the net.
Some shots were off the mark; a few were stopped, and others were just unlucky. A few were simply unlucky.
“I think we hit the crossbar three times,” Woodford Coach Brandon Cummons said. “The keeper made a save on a corner on a header that looked like it was going in. It was interesting. But it was a different game. It was a win, and that’s really all that matters right now.”
Despite dominating possession and producing plenty of opportunities, Woodford went into halftime locked in a scoreless game.
The frustration continued into the second half as the Jackets searched for the breakthrough. Finally, Addison Cummons decided to take her chance from the right side after an assist from Annastyn McIntosh.
“I’m so glad it finally went in,” Cummons said. “I was like, ‘I’m just gonna kick this.’ I was so happy when it went in. I was like, ‘Thank God.’”
After watching chance after chance narrowly miss throughout the night, Cummons’ goal gave the Jackets the 1-0 advantage they had spent most of the game chasing.
The senior said the game presented a different challenge after Woodford had come through a pair of difficult matches.
“This was just a rough game,” Cummons said. “We had two really hard games, and so it was hard to transition to a game like this.”
Once Woodford finally grabbed the lead, the Jackets’ defense made sure it stood. Emma Dorsey completed the shutout in goal as Woodford picked up its second district victory of the season.
Coach Cummons said part of the challenge for his team right now is learning when to settle into its style of play and when a game requires something different.
“We tried to do a few different things today,” Cummons said. “They didn’t want to play kickball like our first district game. But they need to understand how to switch, right? When we have to do that versus when we can settle down and play. But it’s a process.”
Woodford has managed to pick up two district wins despite still having a significant portion of its roster on the mend.
And while the Jackets have yet to put everything together, Cummons isn’t concerned about his team playing its best soccer this early in the season.
“I don’t want to be the best team in August,” he said. “We’ll figure it out.”
For Addison Cummons, there isn’t much reason to dwell on a frustrating night that still ended with a victory.
“A game like this, we can easily forget and move on,” she said. “After 24 hours, we forget this game and we go into the next game.”
Woodford also cruised to a 7-0 win over Shelby County Aug. 31, improving to 3-0 in the district and outscoring opponents 12-0 in three games. Afton Hall had a hat trick. Sacoyia Garcia, Annastyn McIntosh (2) and Abby Lowe rounded out the scoring; Dorsey got the shutout in goal. Garcia also added two assists.