Soccer

The Whitley County Colonels and the Corbin Redhounds both saw their 2025 seasons come to a close Thursday evening after a pair of ultra-competitive semifinal round contests in this year's boys' 49th District tournament, being hosted by South Laurel. The Colonels bested the host Cardinals earlier this week, 5-3, to advance to the tournament semifinals. They met up with North Laurel in the semis Thursday, falling in extra time, 3-2. Following that game, the Corbin Redhounds took on Oneida Baptist Institute in what ended up being another nailbiter. In the end, the Hounds fell to the Mountaineers, 4-3, ending their 2025 campaign with an overall record of 8-7-1. Whitley ended...

The Kentucky 2A sectional champion Whitley County Colonels and Corbin Lady Hounds are preparing to go on the road this weekend to open up play in this year’s 2A State Championship soccer tournaments. Both squads will travel to Rowan County for their round one games this Saturday, Sept. 6, and both will be taking on the Johnson Central Golden Eagles. The Eagles, coming out of the 15th Region, were recently crowned the champions of the Kentucky 2A’s Section 8 in both the boys and girls competitions. The Whitley boys and the Corbin girls were recently crowned champions of Section 7. The Colonels bested Corbin, 3-1, on Aug. 19 to secure...

This week, the Mid-South Conference champion University of the Cumberlands men’s and women’s soccer teams will host first and second round action in the 2024 NAIA National Championship Tournaments. For the Patriot women, it is an opportunity to take the next step in successfully defending the national championship banner that they won nearly twelve months ago. UC is coming into this year’s NAIA Tournament as the team to beat, boasting an undefeated 17-0 record with 12 of those wins being clean sheets (shutouts) for the Pats. The five games that weren’t clean sheets saw opponents scoring only a single goal, bringing this season’s cumulative score to 64 goals for,...

Corbin’s Olivia Jones once made a name for herself on the soccer field by denying goals as a three-year starting goalkeeper for the Lady Hounds. These days, she is all about obtaining goals as a fast-rising audio production assistant working for major networks such as NBC and ESPN. Recently, Jones received an Emmy Award for her contributions to the production of the 2023 NFL Draft, which was held in Kansas City, Mo. She served as an audio assistant on a team that was recognized by the National Academy of Arts and Sciences in the category of “outstanding technical team studio.” Jones is a 2018 graduate of Corbin High School. She helped...

With a 6-2 loss to the North Laurel Lady Jaguars in the championship game of this year's 13th Region tournament, the Whitley County Lady Colonels concluded their 2024 season with an overall record of 9 wins and 8 losses. The Lady Jags scored the first two goals of Thursday evening's regional championship contest, played at the Whitley County High School soccer complex. With 17:20 remaining in the first half, senior Autumn Sawyers scored on a penalty kick for the Colonels, but North scored again about five minutes later to take a 3-1 lead into halftime. Sawyers drilled a shot into the crossbar early in the second half, and teammate Cali Nugent...

Between July 10-13, about 400 high school student-athletes from across the state converged on the campus of Lindsey Wilson College in Columbia, Ky. for Coach Paulo Neto’s Brazilian Way Soccer Camp. Included on the list participating programs were the Corbin and Whitley County boys teams, both of whom are hopeful for a strong showing in the upcoming 2024 season. “I thought that we had a really good camp experience compared to last season,” said Roger Taylor, who is coming into his second year as head coach of the Corbin Redhounds. “We will be returning most of our starters. The core of the team is still there, unlike last year, where...

The University of the Cumberlands women’s soccer team made history Tuesday afternoon by securing the program’s first-ever NAIA National Championship Title. The Patriots ended the regular season with a 12-0-3 record, and ended up settling for a runner-up finish in the Mid-South Conference tournament after a 2-0 loss to Cumberland University (Tenn.) on November 10. The Patriots had the opportunity to host an opening round game in this year’s NAIA National Championship Tournament on November 18, defeating visiting University of Northwestern Ohio, 2-0, to advance in the tournament. With the opening round victory, Cumberlands moved on to Foley, Ala., where the remainder of the tournament would be played. They defeated Ottawa University...

This week, high school soccer teams across the state are getting their 2023 seasons underway. In the local area, the Corbin and Whitley County boys and girls teams are all gearing up for another year of competition in the 13th Region’s 49th District. Redhounds begin new era under Coach Roger Taylor The defending region champion Corbin Redhounds will have a new head coach leading the charge this season in Roger Taylor, but he is certainly no stranger to the program, playing a large part in its success as both a player and an assistant. “I started playing at Corbin in 1999,” Taylor said. “I played two years in middle school, and all...

Last week, several of Whitley County High School’s varsity sports teams joined forces to present a two-day youth camp that included hands-on instruction in six different athletic activities. The event was a huge success, with around 300 kids ranging in age from preschool to eighth grade showing up to take part. “At this age, kids should try all of it,” said Matt Rhymer, who is about to enter into his first season as the head coach of the Colonel football program. “We have to share athletes here as a rural county school, so it’s really about being one big community. We don’t want to create any barriers or walls, but...

Being a student-athlete is no easy feat. Being a successful student-athlete is even harder. Breaking records on the playing field while earning academic honors in the classroom? Well, any young man or woman who can accomplish that is truly special. For Whitley County High School junior Canaan Parsons, the hard work he has put into his athletic and academic careers are paying some pretty big dividends. Recently, he was one of several WCHS students to be inducted into the National Honor Society, a designation reserved only for high schoolers who are able to maintain at least a 4.0 GPA. As impressive as Parsons’ classroom achievements have been, he has also managed...