6A Playoffs: Madison Central girls roll past Desoto Central 5-0 in first-round action

MADISON – Madison Central stormed into Tuesday's MHSAA Class 6A first-round matchup against Desoto Central with a full head of steam, and Cecil Hinds' bunch kept it rolling.

The top-seeded Lady Jags blanked Desoto Central 5-0 behind an onslaught of offense — including two goals from Anna Wheatley — and 60 minutes of solid defense.

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Madison Central (12-4) had quite a strong close to their season finishing region play a perfect 6-0 with wins over Clinton and Germantown. Thanks to those victories, the Lady Jags earned a 1 seed in the playoffs and as such played host to the two seed Desoto Central.

Desoto Central (11-6-1) earned its spot in the playoffs with victories over region foes Olive Branch and Center Hill. Although they came up short against the region champion Lewisburg, the Lady Jaguars still had an impressive regular season showing and earned their spot in the playoffs. 

But Tuesday's contest was all bout Madison Central. It was a rematch of a Nov. 13 contest Madison Central thoroughly controlled and came out with a 5-0 win. From the first minute Tuesday, it seemed the Lady Jags were intent on repeating that result.

Akala Jacobs ran onto a beautiful pass over the top by Anna Wheatley. With just the goalie to beat, Jacobs slotted the finish past the Desoto keeper and Madison Central was up 1-0 in the first minute. 

Just four minutes later, Madison Central doubled their lead. Lorilee Taylor played a great curling pass that snuck right past the Desoto defense. Wheatley ran onto the pass and it was an easy finish for the midfielder.

Madison Central attempted several additional shots over the next ten minutes from Wheatley, Sophia Monico, and Elizabeth Delaney. However, Desoto Central goalkeeper Ann Marie Barton was up for the challenge making several nice saves.

Madison Central’s pressure eventually broke through yet again, when Olivia Tribolet beat the outside defender to the end line. Tribolet played a cross that went buzzing to the back post where Wheatley ran onto it and smashed it home. Madison Central was up 3-0 inside the first 20 minutes. 

Desoto Central’s Micah Benson nearly drew a chance for her team in the 24th minute. After dancing around some defenders Benson nearly drew a penalty kick but Madison Central cleared the chance. 

Tribolet scored off a corner in the closing moments of the half, giving Madison Central a 4-0 lead. Barton made several tremendous saves for Desoto Central in the second half, but Madison Central eventually added one more goal to win 5-0. 

Madison Central will now advance to the second round of the playoffs to face off against the Oxford Lady Chargers, who defeated Southaven in the first round.

MORE: MHSAA Girls Soccer Playoff Brackets

Goals: Akala Jacobs (1’), Anna Wheatley (6’, 17’), Olivia Tribolet (39’), Sophia Monico (65’)
Assists: Anna Wheatley (1’), Lorilee Taylor (6’), Olivia Tribolet (17’), Ava Dear (39’)

Players of the Game

Madison Central – Anna Wheatley 
Desoto Central - Ann Marie Barton

Feature photo by Tyler Cleveland