Woodford County High School boys’ soccer controlled possession early and survived an aggressive second half by the Colts to defeat West Jessamine 2-1 on Senior Night Sept. 17 at Community Stadium.
Chili Seitz put the Yellow Jackets ahead with 25 minutes remaining in the first half. Seitz found a bouncing ball in front of the goal and cleaned it up to give Woodford a 1-0 advantage.
The Yellow Jackets continued to control the ball and created multiple scoring opportunities throughout the opening half but could not extend their lead before halftime.
Woodford added an insurance goal with 29 minutes remaining in regulation. Andry Bo Cac sent a well-placed ball to Angel Aguilar, who finished with his left foot past the diving West Jessamine goalkeeper to make it 2-0.
West Jessamine answered with 15:31 remaining, cutting the Woodford lead to one and setting up a tense finish.
The second half featured end-to-end action and increasingly physical play. Six yellow cards were issued in the match, including three to Woodford, but the Yellow Jackets protected their lead through the final whistle.
Woodford Coach Fonyam Atanga had mixed feelings about his team’s overall performance.
“Our effort was OK,” Atanga said. “I wouldn’t say it was bad, but it wasn’t the best we could do.”
Atanga praised his senior class’s resilience and the work the athletes put in throughout their time with the program.
“They’ve seen us have some really big highs and some big lows,” Atanga said. “They’ve been very supportive and are a very resilient group.”
Atanga said some members of the class were initially told they weren’t ready to play at the varsity level but kept working until they earned their opportunities.
“There are a couple of kids in this senior class who, when they got out of JV, I told them they weren’t good enough,” Atanga said. “They came back, tried again and made the team this year. I always like seeing kids who work really hard for opportunities.
“The resiliency this group has shown is very admirable.”