Benjamin senior Sam Woods rose into the cool Palm Beach County night to help “underdog” Benjamin girls soccer grab a district championship trophy on Wednesday night.
Woods, daughter of legendary golfer Tiger Woods, scored the game-winning goal for the Bucs in a 1-0 upset victory against King’s Academy, clinching the District 8-2A championship in the process.
The senior central defender scored a header on a corner kick delivered by Kallan Pasciuto just before the second half water break.
“She scored a really, really nice goal,” Benjamin head coach Hillary Carney said. “It was beautiful. I couldn’t have written it up any better for them.”
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Benjamin’s Sam Woods game-plans with coach Hillary Carney during a water break in the second half of the Bucs’ district playoff game against Cardinal Newman on Jan. 27, 2025.
The goal was Woods’ third of the season, despite being a center back and defensive “general” for Benjamin (6-5-3).
Her header followed several near-misses from Kings’ Mia Mackrey and Benjamin’s Sienna Barboni in the first half.
Emily Simon made 11 saves, coming out of the box in the final 10 seconds to force a wide shot, preserving the victory.
“I told the girls as we were getting ready to warm up, I said, ‘Listen, we have a unique opportunity that we haven’t had in a long time. You’re the underdog.’ No one expected us to even get to that game, let alone compete in that game. I told them, ‘Compete with that freedom. No one expects you to win. Go have fun.’
Based on seeding, Benjamin and King’s Academy (13-3-4) are both expected to move on to regional play.
Benjamin’s Sam Woods (28) preps to defend Cardinal Newman’s Jada Alexander (6) during the district semifinals match on Jan. 27, 2025.
Alex Peterman covers high school sports for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at apeterman@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Sam Woods, Tiger Woods’ daughter, scores winning goal in soccer championship
