Madison Henson scored twice during a four-goal first half as the Woodford County High School girls’ soccer team defeated district-rival Collins 4-0 Wednesday at WCHS.
Woodford’s victory secured the district’s No. 1 seed for the Yellow Jackets.
“It was important to get the one seed,” Woodford County coach Brandon Cummons said. “We kind of know our destiny now. We’ll probably end up with Spencer County or Shelby County in the semifinals.”
Collins produced the first two shots of the match, but Woodford goalkeeper Emma Dorsey turned away both attempts. The Yellow Jackets then began applying pressure, earning three corner kicks before Henson provided the breakthrough.
Abby Lowe sent a corner kick into the box, and Henson knocked it into the net to give Woodford County a 1-0 lead.
Henson struck again moments later. After the ball was played into a crowded penalty area, she fought through the scrum and scored with 11 minutes remaining in the opening half.
The goals were especially meaningful for Henson after working her way back from several injuries.
“It feels really great just to get the game going,” Henson said. “I’ve had a lot of injuries, so it felt nice to score.”
Woodford added another goal approximately a minute later. Sacoyia Garcia delivered a cross into the box, and Bailey Green finished the opportunity to extend the lead to 3-0.
The Yellow Jackets struck once more with 20 seconds remaining before halftime. Lowe sent a long through-ball to Afton Hall, who got past three Collins’ defenders, including the goalkeeper, and scored to give Woodford a 4-0 advantage.
Cummons was encouraged by the Yellow Jackets’ success on set pieces and the contributions he received throughout the lineup.
“I was pretty pleased that we scored off some set pieces and some corners,” Cummons said. “We rotated a lot of girls in. A lot of girls experienced their first Collins game, and I thought they all fought pretty well.”
Hall displayed her versatility by playing forward during the first half before moving to center back after halftime.
“I was pleased with Afton (Hall),” Cummons said. “Afton played up top in the first half and center back in the second half.”
The Yellow Jackets protected the lead throughout the second half to complete the shutout.
The rivalry has consistently produced close, physical matches regardless of where the teams stand during the season.
“They’re always fired up to play us,” Cummons said. “It doesn’t matter what our records are. It’s always chippy against this group.”
Henson said scoring first helped Woodford settle into the match and create opportunities throughout its lineup.
“It feels really good because we’re always super close with them,” Henson said. “We were able to pull away after the first goal, and then a lot of different players scored and had opportunities.”
The victory helped the Yellow Jackets regain momentum following a difficult stretch against some of the state’s strongest competition.
“We’re just playing together as a team,” Henson said. “We’ve had some losses, so we’re just building our confidence back.”