‘We have everyone against us.’ Two-time defending champs gut out state opener
West Jessamine’s quest for a third straight girls’ soccer championship got off on the right foot Monday in Lexington. The Colts defeated Paul Laurence Dunbar, 1-0, on the road in the semi-state round of the KHSAA Girls’ Soccer State Tournament sponsored by U.S. Army ROTC.
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A flurry of shots throughout the evening didn’t connect for West Jessamine, ranked eighth in the latest Kentucky Maher Rankings, until Hailey Cole got one into the net in the 71st minute. No. 5 Dunbar almost equalized in the next minute, getting off a couple shots in and around the box, but Colts keeper Anna Rexford fended off the Bulldogs. West Jessamine didn’t allow another shot attempt over the final eight minutes.
“I kept looking at the clock. I noticed we didn’t have much time left and I decided to take my chance,” said Cole, whose launch from about 10 yards out bounced past Dunbar keeper Morgan Turcotte as she attempted a save. “I had several chances in the beginning but missed a little bit wide. It feels really good. We’ve always said, ‘We have everyone against us.’ No one likes West, so it always feels good to come out with a win, especially on someone else’s home turf.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Here’s the “Top Dog” herself, Hailey Cole. I’ll let her explain the collar. <a href="https://t.co/UCiKQoBwPL">pic.twitter.com/UCiKQoBwPL</a></p>— Josh Moore (@HLpreps) <a href="https://twitter.com/HLpreps/status/1054542936136957952?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 23, 2018</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
West Jessamine is no stranger to big games at Dunbar’s Jon Akers Stadium. The Colts tied the Bulldogs, 0-0, during a regular-season matchup in August, and knocked off Sacred Heart there in 2016 en route to their first state championship.
They won their latest game there without head coach Kevin Wright, who was suspended for the semi-state game after being ejected from the Colts’ region finals win against Boyle County. Cole could notice a difference without her coach — one of, if not the most, enthusiastic in Kentucky — on the sidelines.
“It’s different. I could hear the crowd over Coach Wright, that’s for sure,” Cole said with a grin. “Usually we have him yelling and cheering us on. It was quiet today.
West Jessamine will play Russell — a 2-0 winner at Lawrence County on Monday — in the state quarterfinals at a still-to-be-determined time Saturday. The Red Devils, ranked 36th, went 11-0 against 16th Region teams but are 0-3 against Kentucky teams from outside the eastern part of the state; they fell to Clark County (5-1), Dixie Heights (1-0) and Tates Creek (4-0) during the regular season.
“Right now it’s just mindset, keeping our heads in the game,” Cole said. “Mental mistakes, that’s what gets you knocked out.”