By
Sports Writer
RIPLEY— Both the Parkersburg High School boys and girls soccer teams won
their second consecutive Mountain State Athletic Conference championships on
Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Ripley.
The Big Red girls (
Hurricane 1
The Redskins stunned the Big Reds with a goal in the first minute of the match,
but when it’s quick, it’s often painless.
Immediately Hurricane drove the ball down inside the PHS 18, where Hurricane’s
Brooks Paine dribbled past defenders to get a one-on-one with Big Red
net-minder Brent McGee. McGee dove for the save, but Paine’s shot found the
corner to put the Redskins ahead 1-0.
“We don’t give goals up,” coach
The lead held up for 20 minutes, before PHS was awarded a direct kick from 30
yards out. Tim Stephens’ kick cleared awaiting teammates in front of the goal
and sailed into the corner of the net to tie the score at one apiece.
In the second half, the Big Reds started moving the ball well. Crisp passes and
good decisions allowed the Big Reds opportunities downfield.
On one particular trip down the left side, the stars aligned. Sophomore Adam Alleman had plenty of time in the left corner he set up and
sent the ball high, towards the far post. Freshman Harlan Gibson scored his
second goal of the season by being in perfect position on the far post.
“We finally sealed the back post,” Fosselman said. “I
put Harlan Gibson in and five seconds later we scored a goal. He sealed that
back post and put it in.”
Gibson’s header gave the Big Reds the go-ahead goal, but Hurricane wasn’t quite
finished. Senior captain Josh Cyrus wasn’t ready to give up the M.S.A.C. title.
Cyrus broke through Big Red defenders and fired a shot off the left post with
12 minutes remaining.
Eight minutes later, Cyrus fired a shot off the other post,
four inches inside on either shot and the Redskins would have tied the Big Reds
at two.
“This gets us in the right mind set to go into sectional play,” Fosselman said. “It was a hard fought game.”
The Big Reds will host the winner of the Monday night St. Marys vs. Parkersburg
Catholic match on Tuesday at
George Washington 0
The Patriots were the only team to get past the Big Reds this season, with a
2-1 win in the fourth game of the season, but revenge is oh so sweet.
The game-winning goal found the net with only six minutes to play in the second
half. Emma Levin-Nielsen’s direct kick from 30 yards out
landed on the far side in front of the goal and got under Patriot net-minder
Jarrett Walker. As the ball trailed towards the net, Brooke Logston followed the play and scored the game-winning goal.
“That’s just the way the game goes, we just create chances and somebody some
place is going to make a mistake,” PHS coach Mike Lockney said. “We just kept
creating chances and waiting for something to happen.
“We gave (
The game couldn’t have been more evenly matched. In the first half, G.W. was
matching PHS attack for attack. With 23 minutes remaining in the second half
the Patriots had an open net opportunity, but the Big Reds thwarted the attempt
and went right back the other way.
Logston served up a pass across the goal towards
Chelsea Maiden and Alex Bush, but niether could get
to the ball. The Big Reds struggled against a tough defensive effort led by
Patriot stopper Megan Johnson, but Johnson couldn’t keep PHS from securing 9
shots on goal.
“Our fitness level is pretty good and we subbed quite a bit,” Lockney continued.
“When we sub we don’t lose much and I think that showed a lot in the second
half.”
The Big Reds defense was another key to victory led by Levin-Nielson, but the
team overall just worked well together.
“Our defense held up against a very strong attack that they put together,”
Lockney said. “I thought our attacking players were very patient today and took
the time to figure out how to get past their defense.”
The Big Reds look ahead to the sectional championships at Stadium field on
Saturday at