WORTON — The seniors on Kent County High School’s 2025 girls soccer team share a legacy of leading the Trojans to their first playoff victory since 2018.
That’s not nothing.
KCHS defeated North Dorchester, 2-1, in the opening round of the Class 1A East I Region tournament.
The match was played Oct. 22 in Trojan Stadium, the locals’ first truly “home” match of 2025.
In the 12-match regular season, because of a sprinkler system upgrade at Trojan Stadium, Kent County’s home matches were played either at nearby Worton Park or Washington College.
The Oct. 22 match was the so-called rubber match after the two sides had split the home-and-away series during the regular season — North Dorchester winning at home on Sept. 11, 4-3, and host KCHS winning the rematch, 3-0, on Oct. 9.
In round three of the Kent County-North Dorchester series this season, freshman Amelia Ritchie scored what held up to be the winning goal in the 65th minute to break a 1-1 tie.
“Gosh, it was so much fun to watch,” KCHS second-year coach Ben Joiner told The Evening Enterprise.
“I’m so proud of these girls. This team has so much heart and they never, ever quit, no matter what the score is,” he added.
As expected, North Dorchester was physical and assertive.
Also, according to Joiner, the Eagles “had gotten healthier” since the Oct. 9 match and they had several players back, including their starting keeper who played such a key role in the first meeting between the two teams.
But the improving Trojans, who were playing their best soccer at the end of the season, followed the game plan as scripted by Joiner and assistant coach Joel Tolbert.
“We did a much better job of protecting the ball in the middle third and the defense was outstanding again,” Joiner told The Evening Enterprise in a text message.
Senior forward Zuleika Nava put KCHS (3-11) on the board first, but North Dorchester (1-11) found the back of the net not long after for a 1-1 draw at halftime.
“It was tied up 1-1 for the longest time and we finally broke through with 12 or 15 minutes left,” Joiner recounted. “And then we just had to hang on.”
North Dorchester had a handful of scoring opportunities late, “but we kept coming up with stops,” Joiner said, “and then we’d turn around and put some pressure right back on them.”
This was the first-ever playoff win for Kent County’s seniors: Mary Jane Joiner, Savanna Reynolds, Delilah Markovic and Nava.
“There’s a lot of pride in winning their first playoff game in years,” coach Joiner said.
He said the seniors led by example, and “really carried us all year, but especially late in the season.”
Kent County’s playoff rush ended two days later with a 5-0 loss at top-seeded Colonel Richardson.
Colonel Richardson (8-6) went on to lose in the region final at home to No. 2 seed Perryville, 8-1.
NOTES: Prior to last month, Kent County’s last playoff win came in the opening round of the 2018 region tournament, 3-0, against Colonel Richardson.
The Trojans, who would finish 6-8, lost in the next round to eventual Class 1A state semifinalist Patterson Mill.
