Charleston – Since realignment placed Woodrow Wilson and George Washington in the same region, the Patriots have been a thorn in the side of the Flying Eagles.
Thursday night in the Class AAA Region 3 soccer championship matches at the Fields at Trace Fork, George Washington again frustrated the visitors from Beckley.
After the George Washington girls took a 3-1 decision in the opener, the Woodrow Wilson boys fell to the Patriots 5-0 in the nightcap.
The Patriots entered the boys clash as the three-time defending state champions, and they looked the part building a commanding lead early in the contest.
Three goals in a span of 10 minutes put the Flying Eagles back on their heels and they never recovered.
Junior Rylan Morehead scored on two blasts from the top of the box which were sandwiched around an unassisted goal by Jack Williams.
“George Washington is a very good team and when you make the mistakes like we made, a team like that will punish you for it,” Woodrow Wilson boys head coach Steve Laraba said. “We just couldn’t allow them to get a three or four goal lead. We kinda got struck by lightning there.”
After assisting on an earlier goal from Morehead, Caleb Carney banged one home in the 23rd minute for a 4-0 lead that stood at the break.
With the two teams having played a tight battle in Beckley during the regular that wasn’t decided until late in the match, the Patriots came out firing Thursday.
“When you get on a wet field like this, you know it is going to be fast soccer. The ball is going to skip,” George Washington boys head coach Erik Engle said. “We also know when you go up against Woodrow, that you are going to have to be on your game from the first minute. Woodrow and George Washington in regional finals is always a good game, no matter what the records are throughout the year.”
Morehead would finish off the hat trick on a penalty kick in the second half for the final margin.
“Rylan came here from Kentucky. When he was in Kentucky, he was “the” guy. He was all-state as a freshman and as a sophomore. He was Lexington Player of the Year as a sophomore,” Engle said. “When he came here, he had to kind of change his role. He hasn’t been a prolific scorer; he has been the assists guy. Tonight, he got his goals.”
“We created a few chances early, but we knew that we would have limited chances tonight,” Laraba said. “But I am so proud of these guys. They played really hard all season and left it all out there.”
After dropping a lopsided affair in the regular season match to the Lady Patriots, the Flying Eagles came out fighting in the opening match.
For 27 minutes Woodrow Wilson held GW at bay with a solid defensive game plan before George Washington broke through on a cross from Kensy Thomas. Waiting near the far post was Katherine Akers who made good on the try for a 1-0 lead.
“This game was a lot different than the game played in the regular season and we expected that. There was a lot on the line and both teams played hard. Credit to Woodrow, they did a great job,” George Washington girls head coach Ali Sadeghian said. “We were a little bit impatient, and we forced our passes a little. In the second half, we made some adjustments, and we got a good result.”
George Washington amped up the attack in the second half, but Woodrow Wilson again stymied the powerful Patriots.
“We put together in three days what we thought would hold and we were so close. I think we just got a little tired there at the end,” Woodrow Wilson girls head coach Julie Agnor said. “When you pull five to the back, it is hard to generate a lot of offense.”
With 25 minutes to play, the Patriots doubled their lead on a goal from Ava Trethewey off an assist from Reagan Bromiley. Trethewey would strike again with just under nine minutes to play.
To Woodrow’s credit, the Flying Eagles never quit. Sophomore Ama Ackon-Annan scored right after Treadway to cut the lead back to 3-1.
Unfortunately for Woodrow Wilson, that would be the only goal of the night.
“I am beyond proud of my girls,” Agnor said. “When we met yesterday, my main message was leave with no regrets. Leave it all out there. We gave it everything we had tonight, and they left their hearts on the field.”
Both George Washington squads will now play in the state tournament starting Nov. 5 at Paul Cline Stadium.
