West Jessamine entered the state tournament with a talented roster and plenty of expectations, but the Colts quickly discovered that postseason soccer was going to demand everything they had.
In the quarterfinals, West Jessamine faced Sacred Heart.
The game remained scoreless for most of the night before senior standout Eva Mitchell found the back of the net with just 2:15 remaining.
Final score:
West Jessamine 1, Sacred Heart 0.
Goalkeeper Anna Rexford recorded six saves and the Colts survived one of the tightest games of their championship run.
It was a sign of things to come.
The next night, West Jessamine faced Simon Kenton in the state semifinal.
Neither team could score through regulation or two overtime periods.
After 95 minutes of soccer, it was still 0-0.
Simon Kenton had actually outshot the Colts 16-12, while Rexford and the West Jessamine defense continued to keep the opposition off the scoreboard. Rexford finished with seven saves in the game, plus another team save.
Then came the penalty shootout.
The shootout was tied 3-3 after five kicks.
West Jessamine needed one more.
Delaney Long stepped up and delivered.
The decisive penalty sent West Jessamine to the state championship game.
And Then There Was The Final
Waiting for them was Lexington Catholic.
The championship game wasn't nearly as tense as the semifinal.
West Jessamine came out attacking and took control early.
Maryah Jones opened the scoring in the 29th minute, with Anna Lee providing the assist.
Just four minutes later, Lee scored herself to give the Colts a 2-0 advantage.
West Jessamine carried that lead into halftime.
In the second half, the Colts kept their foot on the gas.
Eva Mitchell scored in the 63rd minute, with Lee recording her second assist of the night.
Morgan Pence added another goal in the 71st minute.
Four goals.
Four different scorers.
And a clean sheet for Rexford.
West Jessamine 4, Lexington Catholic 0.
The Colts were state champions.
The Stars Were Everywhere
The 2016 Colts had no shortage of individual talent.
Eva Mitchell was one of the state's most dangerous offensive players. She scored 41 goals and added 14 assists during the championship season.
She finished her high school career with an incredible 103 goals and 54 assists and went on to play college soccer.
Mitchell was also named Kentucky's Miss Soccer and later became the 2017 Gatorade Kentucky Girls Soccer Player of the Year.
But the championship team wasn't simply Eva Mitchell and a collection of supporting players.
Anna Lee was named to the KHSAA All-Tournament Team after playing a huge role in the championship game.
Anna Rexford, meanwhile, was a freshman goalkeeper who earned State Tournament MVP honors.
That's one of the fascinating things about looking back at the team ten years later.
The roster had experienced seniors, talented underclassmen and players who would continue their soccer careers long after leaving West Jessamine.
A Championship That Started Something Bigger
The 2016 championship was not the end of the story.
It was the beginning of another chapter.
West Jessamine returned the following season and won the state championship again in 2017.
That made the Colts back-to-back state champions.
And the success of the program under head coach Kevin Wright extended far beyond those two seasons.
Wright eventually finished his West Jessamine tenure with two state championships, 11 region championships, 11 district championships and a 240-62-40 record. He also coached 41 players who went on to play college soccer, including 17 Division I players.
But every great run has a team that starts it.
For West Jessamine girls soccer, that team was the 2016 Colts.
Ten Years Later
A decade after that championship run, the players can look back at the statistics, the trophies and the photographs.
But the memories that matter most probably aren't found in a box score.
They're in the bus rides.
The practices.
The locker room.
The jokes between teammates.
The nerves before a penalty kick.
The feeling of seeing a ball hit the net.
The celebration after surviving Simon Kenton.
And finally, the moment when the final whistle sounded against Lexington Catholic and everyone realized they had accomplished something nobody at West Jessamine girls soccer had done before.
They were state champions.
Ten years later, the names may be different, the lives may be different and the game itself may have changed.
But the 2016 West Jessamine Colts will always have something nobody can take away from them.
They were the first.
The first West Jessamine girls soccer team to win a KHSAA state championship.
And ten years later, they're back together to remember the season that changed West Jessamine soccer forever.