Shane Thomas | The Valdosta Daily TimesThe Wildcats' Arica Jackson looks to kick the ball downfield during the first half against the Coffee County Trojans at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium on Friday.

VALDOSTA –– The last time the Valdosta Wildcats qualified for the postseason, head coach Jacob Crawford was in uniform patrolling the pitch in 2006.

Eleven years later, Crawford and the Wildcats punched their ticket to the second season with a 1-0 victory against the Coffee County Trojans on Friday night.

The Wildcats were able to grind down the Trojans in the first half, getting into scoring position three times. Though the Trojans were able to get saves on the first two shots on-goal and were let off the hook when the Wildcats were offside with 12:37 left in the half, the Wildcats kept coming.

With 4:27 left, Rolin Hernandez knocked in a goal just to the left of the post past the Trojans’ goalkeeper to put the Wildcats up 1-0. For Hernandez, it was his second consecutive game with a goal and proved to be the difference maker in the end.

Crawford has emphasized working hard on the field to his club and pointed to his club embracing the grind as the key for the win.

“The biggest key for us was work ethic and work rate tonight,” Crawford said. “I thought our boys certainly worked hard enough to win.”

The Trojans managed to get the ball near the goal in the second half but the Wildcats’ defense came up with key disruptions and held off repeated attempts by the Trojans to even the score. Crawford believes his team is capable of getting stops and praised his team for being able to protect the lead in the second half.

“(Breaking up plays) was really nice,” Crawford said. “We made some good tackles at certain times where it was needed. I know defensively we can do what we need to. In the past five games, we’ve been scored on once so we’ve made some adjustments and defensively, we’ve got what we need. I figured that if we get one goal and get to halftime and we could see it out if we needed to from there.”

Crawford was an all-region player for the Wildcats during their last playoff appearance in 2006. According to Crawford, being able to guide the team back to postseason play is just as sweet as the last time he suited up 11 years ago.

“It’s very nice to know that my name will be on it from being a player here and getting us back to where we should be,” Crawford said. “It’s been a long time since we’ve been able to do that and be a part of it again. But, off the field, it’s still pretty nice.”

Valdosta girls 4

Coffee 1

The Valdosta girls soccer team also locked themselves into playoff position on Friday as they rushed past the Trojans 4-1 in the opener.

Nayeli Cruz punched in the first score for the Wildcats just 6:45 into the action and went into the locker room leading at intermission. Wildcats coach Brent Doughty cited the 1-0 halftime lead as a key factor in controlling the game.

“We felt if we scored first that we would actually win the game,” Doughty said. “Going into halftime with a 1-0 lead, we just talked about all of the scenarios we needed to do to make sure we got the win.”

Though the Trojans got three first half saves from keeper Chiann Watson, the Wildcats continued to put pressure on. The Trojans replaced Watson at the net but failed to keep the Wildcats out of scoring position for long as Alejandra Cruz beat the Trojans at the net to give the Wildcats a 2-0 advantage with 30:13 remaining.

The Trojans earned a free kick after a tackling foul in the box. Kylie Taylor drilled a booming kick high into the net up and over Wildcats keeper Ella Wilson to bring the Trojans within a goal at 2-1 with 25 minutes to go in the game. The momentum was short-lived as Laura Kirby scored to put the Wildcats up 3-1 with 22:13 left.

The Wildcats were able to cut off the Trojans in scoring positions in the second half while protecting the lead. Wildcats captain Mary Nix believed the team’s defense in the second half was crucial.

“Our defense was very important,” Nix said. “Without defending, then we wouldn’t have stopped multiple balls. We worked together as a team to stop and did what we had to do to keep the ball out front.”

With breathing room to play with, the Wildcats looked to shut down the Trojans last-ditch efforts to get on the board. A goal by captain Jade Carter sealed the deal with 7:49 left in the contest as the No. 3-seeded Wildcats move on to the playoffs to play the winner between Coffee County and Northside-Warner Robins in the next round.

After beating the Trojans, the Wildcats also see a favorable matchup against the Eagles, should they advance, after defeating them 7-0 earlier in the season. Carter believes having familiarity works for both teams but emphasized focus for future success.

“The first time you play a team, they get a feel for you,” Carter said. “The second time you play them, they feel like they know you and try to get into your head. The main thing is for us to push forward and keep doing what we’ve been doing.”