The girls’ soccer second region tournament gets underway Saturday at University Heights Academy. The host Lady Blazers (16-2-1) are considered the heavy favorites to win, but the Henderson County Lady Colonels hope to make some noise and advance to state after last year’s heart-breaking loss to Madisonville-North Hopkins in the regional championship in a shootout.
“We’re ready for this postseason, just staying positive and keeping our heads up…We’re pretty confident and that’s the way to win. Just stay confident,” said forward McKinley Black.
The Lady Cols will play their opening round match at 7 p.m. against Hopkins County Central. HCHS comes into the matchup as the sixth district champion after routing Webster County 9-0 on Tuesday night.
That game saw eight different Lady Colonels score with Black leading the way with two goals. Layla Gugel added one goal and three assists, while Latta Johnston had a goal and two assists. The scoring was rounded off with one apiece from Ava Coomes, Olivia Joyce, Maleah Dixon and twin seniors Ainslee and Paislee Toombs. Goalkeeper Jersey Gardner recorded her 10th shutout of the season in the championship game.
Black, Gugel, Addi Gish, and Baylee Womack were named to the All-District team.
The Lady Cols enter the game 13-8-0, with an 8-1-0 record in the region, their lone loss coming in a 4-0 defeat to UHA back in September. As a team, they have scored 65 goals and allowed 31. Black leads the team with 26 goals, while adding five assists. Gugel brings a balanced attack with a team-high 10 assists to go with 12 goals. Johnston and Alex Rendle are tied for second on the team with nine assists each. HCHS suffered a major blow mid-season losing junior defender and captain Annabelle Wilson to a season-ending injury.
“It’s going to take a lot of work, but we’re optimistic,” said Joyce on her team’s chances. “It’s just finding the back of the net and making sure our defense is compact and talking.”
The Lady Storm were runners-up in the seventh district, losing to Madisonville-North Hopkins in the title match bringing their record to 13-3-0 on the season.
They are led in scoring by Emma Vandiver with 29 goals and Lily Armour with 24. Mary Starks is leader in assists with 16, while Armour and Vandiver are second and third with 16 and 14, respectively. Overall, the Lady Storm have scored 90 goals, while allowing just 19 on the season.
Henderson and Hopkins County Central did not play this season. Their last matchup was in 2024 when HCHS claimed a 6-1 victory. This will be their 22nd all-time meeting. According to KHSAA records dating back to 2001, the Lady Cols have never lost to the Lady Storm.
Awaiting the Lady Cols, should they advance, is the winner between fifth district champion Trigg County and Fort Campbell, the eighth district runners-up. HCHS beat Trigg County 4-1 in their season opener, but has not played Fort Campbell this year. Trigg boasts the second-best goal scorer in the state in Leiah Hite who has netted 56 of them. Combined with her 27 assists, she is the best in the state with a total of 156 points.
The Lady Cols face a tall task if they wish to win the region. According to MaxPreps, University Heights is currently ranked 18th in the state. However, they are the 10th best team when considering KHSAA’s RPI data. The Blazers’ Audrey Perry leads the state with 34 assists, while Kendall Hancock is fifth in the state with 47 goals.
Senior captain Baylee Womack has confidence in her team, though.
“We’ve proven, time and time again, that underdogs can win, and even though we’re not the favorite, we do have a chance at this thing,” Womack said. “If we truly lock in and focus, despite us being a younger team, we can make something happen.”
