Boys soccer falls in semis
After experiencing heartbreaking losses in the regional tournament the past two years, the Lady Colonels’ soccer team was finally able to break through to claim the 2nd Region championship for the first time since 2023.
Both the 2024 and 2025 seasons ended with losses in penalty shootouts, but it would be Henderson who would prevail when it made all five of its penalty kicks to complete a shorthanded, comeback win over University Heights on Thursday night at Colonel Field.
“It’s super surreal,” senior Olivia Joyce said. “We obviously were down quite a bit in the first 20 minutes or so and that set in pretty fast. You get in your head thinking about all the possibilities. Being able to make all five PKs was really, really good for us.”
Joyce, an excellent defender, scored twice in the game including the game-tying goal with around 11 minutes left in regulation and on the third penalty kick during the shootout. Just ahead of her goal, Jersey Gardner saved a shot from the Blazers to give her team the advantage. It would be the only saved or missed shot from either side and set up Lillian Stinson Perez to put in the game-winning goal on Henderson’s final kick.
Things looked bleak for the Lady Cols early in the game, as UHA took a 2-0 lead within 19 minutes of play. However, with 9:57 left in the first half, Alex Rendle was able to score from a Henderson corner kick to cut the deficit in half.
Disaster struck with about 33 minutes left in the game, when the team’s leading scorer Layla Gugel was sent off the field with a red card, after picking up her second yellow on a hard foul. The play also resulted in the Lady Cols having to continue the game one player down, still trailing by one goal.
HCHS was able to persevere despite the challenges, allowing Joyce to come up with her aforementioned goal from a corner kick late in the second half to tie the game and force a shootout.
“Typically, I go up for corners, but I’ve only ever scored maybe a couple in my career. It’s just so meaningful to be able to contribute in that capacity, especially as a senior,” Joyce said.
The Lady Cols placed five players on the All-Region team including McKinley Black, Gardner, Gugel, Latta Johnston, and Annabelle Wilson.
Head Coach Ben Dempsey also earned his 200th win in the team’s semifinal win over Caldwell County.
Henderson advances to the state tournament where it will face Marshall County on Monday, October 26 at 7:00 PM. The match will be played at Marshall County High School. The two teams played to a scoreless draw all the way back on August 22.
The Lady Marshals won the 1st Region with a 1-0 win over Calloway County. They are led by sophomore Kaomi Lunsford who has scored 20 goals this season and sophomore Maeci Moryl who has 15 goals to go with her team-high 14 assists.
“Going into state, our confidence level is going to be really high,” Joyce said. “We are going to play Marshall County, so as a team that we’ve seen in the regular season, our confidence level is higher knowing already kind of what to expect in some capacity.”
According to Joyce, Coach Dempsey has cautioned his team to stay composed if they wish to win their opening round game. Marshall County has a large fan base that always packs the stands, making it a difficult venue in which to play.
Joyce believes in her team.
“It’s very doable. If we play like we did in the second half against UHA, I think we can go really far.”
Colonels season ends in 2nd Region semifinal
The Henderson County boys’ soccer team lost to Christian County 2-0 on Monday evening in a heated match that brought an end to the Colonels’ season.
“The game was a bit unfortunate,” said head coach Benson Pryor. “I thought we played well enough to win that game. There were a couple bad breaks and a couple bad bounces. Everything seemed to go Christian County’s way and that happens sometimes in soccer. Hats off to them. They capitalized on their two best chances of the evening.”
The loss was compounded by a series of player ejections that left the Colonels short-handed and without their head coach as Benson Pryor was also dismissed. There were a number of calls that went against HCHS, leading to disagreement with the officials. By the end of the match, the Colonels were left with just seven players on the field.
The Colonels did have multiple scoring opportunities, but were unable to convert any of their chances. They had several near misses and hit the crossbar a couple of times, but were not able to find the back of the net.
“I know the guys are devastated and I am as well. I always refuse to allow one game to determine how I look at the entire season. We were a very formidable team. I think our record speaks for itself,” Pryor said. “To have the record we had was special. I could always count on this team to play hard. By the end of it, they’d actually become a really good team.”
The Cols finished the season 16-5-2, missing the 2nd Region final for the first time since 2017. Miles Pryor’s 21 assists led the 2nd Region and tied for fourth in the state. He was also second on the team with 16 goals. Warren Grove led the team and was third in the region with 19 goals. Zehn Hazelwood was second on the team in assists with 12, while Jack Monroe and Grove each had 10 assists to tie for third.
Grove, Hazelwood, Pryor and Beckham Womack were named to the All-Region Team.
Henderson will have to replace nine seniors next season. Several are considering their playing options after high school, but none have committed to playing at the college level yet.
“This senior group, after last season where we thought we underperformed, really came in with a drive that they weren’t going to allow that to happen. They trained really hard and held expectations high of each other and of themselves,” Coach Pryor said. “There’s going to be some thank yous for this group bringing back the grit that Henderson County plays with. Unfortunately, I think maybe a little of our grit got us in the end.”
