Gallery by Heather Belcher
Beckley – Wheeling Park hadn’t allowed a single goal all postseason.
George Washington’s Bella Cinco picked a great time to snap that streak.
The senior scored a goal with 1.9 seconds left in regulation to tie the Class AAA championship game and ultimately ended it nine minutes into the first overtime with another goal, leading GW to a 2-1 win over Wheeling Park Saturday in Beckley.
The state championship was the first in program history for GW, which played the final 75 minutes of the game without star Ava Trethewey whom left the game with an injury.
“I’m so proud of our girls,” GW head coach Ali Sadeghian said. “It was a big loss losing Ava. With our No. 1 and No. 2 players out we still fight. We didn’t close the door and we didn’t give up. I always tell them hard work never fails. We had to step up with some of the younger girls … With one second we get the tie and force overtime and then we have the momentum. I was so proud. We just got the result.”
A chaotic end to regulation gave GW the spark it needed. A corner kick in the waning seconds led to a loose ball just outside the box – one that found the leg of Cinco who mailed it for the equalizer.
“In the history of soccer that I’ve been coaching for over 20 years, I’ve never seen anything like that,” Sadeghian said.
“Bella, you can’t ask for better than that,” Sadeghian continued. “The kids come in and give great effort. Anywhere you ask her to play, she will do it without hesitation better than anybody else.”
Wheeling Park, the defending champion, attempted only six shots all day after scoring five goals on Friday. Park’s lone goal came courtesy of Mia Recca in the eighth minute.
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