PHS, South boys soccer teams anxious for a rematch

By KERRY PATRICK, Sports Writer

PARKERSBURG — Six and counting.

The Parkersburg High and Parkersburg South soccer programs are keeping tabs on the number of victories needed to win a state championship in West Virginia.

The postseason begins for both teams tonight and if both pass their first test, they will be on a collision course to meet in the sectional final Thursday night. PHS must first get past St. Marys. Game time for the PHS match is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Stadium Field. South, meanwhile, hosts Williamstown at 7 p.m. at Erickson All-Sports Facility.

“We’re just taking one match at a time then we will worry about Parkersburg High School,” South coach Bill Matthews said.

PHS won’t take its first-round test for granted, either. Yet, the two-time defending state champs are anxious for yet another meeting with South. In their first regular-season encounter on Aug. 28, the Big Reds won 1-0. Exactly one month later, the two teams played to a 0-0 tie.

Since splitting their first four matches of the season, the third-ranked Big Reds are enjoying a 16-game, non-losing streak. Overall, they are 16-2-2.

“We’ve been focusing on this week for the whole year,” PHS coach Don Fosselman said.

South bulked up its schedule and finished the regular season 11-6-3. The most lopsided defeat for the eighth-ranked Patriots occurred to top-ranked Huntington St. Joe by a 2-0 count. Otherwise, only one goal has made the difference in their remaining losses.

For the season, South is allowing 0.90 goals per match. One reason for the Patriots’ success is sophomore goalkeeper Derik Ayers.

“Our defense has been strong all year,” Matthews said. “We did hit a spell early on where we had trouble scoring goals. Lately, it has not been much of a problem.”

During one recent four-game stretch, which covered six days, the Patriots won three matches and tied with PHS. Matthews is hoping that success parlays into the confidence factor.

“We haven’t been out of any game — we are capable of playing with anybody,” Matthews said.

South will have to cool off the Williamstown attack. The 10-8-1 Yellowjackets are scoring at a 3.53 clip per match while surrendering 2.84 goals per outing.

If anybody has the momentum this week, it may be PHS. The Big Reds are coming off Saturday’s 2-1 win over Hurricane in the championship game of the Mountain State Athletic Conference Tournament.

“That was a great win against a very good team, and put us in a good frame of mind for Thursday,” Fosselman said. “Of course, we are not overlooking (tonight’s) match.”

PHS all-state goalkeeper Brent McGee has been downright masterful at his position. Opponents are scoring just 0.55 goals per match against PHS. Of the nine goals surrendered, five have occurred via the penalty kick.

“I think we have the best goalie in the state,” said Fosselman, who surpassed a coaching milestone earlier this season with his 300th career win. “Brent came in as a sophomore and won a state championship. He came in as a junior and won another state championship.

“He is seasoned; he is a veteran. It’s like having another coach on the field.”

It’s been difficult to find much weakness with St. Marys goalkeeper Chris Lewis, who pitched his sixth shutout in Monday’s 2-0 win over Parkersburg Catholic in a sectional quarterfinal match.

“We will have to play smart defensively,” St. Marys coach Steven Fleegle said. “Obviously, Parkersburg is much more experienced — they have a lot of speed and skill. They aren’t the defending state champs for nothing.”

Contact Kerry Patrick at

kpatrick@newsandsentinel.com

Tuesday, October 16, 2007