Gallery by Heather Belcher
Tuesday night in the Class AAA Region 3, Section 2 opener at John P. Duda Stadium, No. 2 seed Oak Hill and No. 3 seed Beckley entered the contest moving in opposite directions.
The pattern continued for both schools.
Riding a four-game win streak, the Red Devils scored early and rolled to a 3-0 win, sending the Flying Eagles to their fifth straight defeat to end the season.
“We came out tonight and played some good soccer. It was a better effort all the way around,” Oak Hill head coach Gerald Wilburn said. “We got on the board early like we wanted to and went from there. Madi (Friebel) came up big with that first goal and they played hard. It really showed.”
The two matches in the regular season went to Oak Hill, but both victories were hard fought, one goal decisions
Wilburn was convinced the key to the sectional showdown was for his team to score early and that chance came in the 15th minute. Friebel took a corner kick from Emma Curtis and punched it in for the 1-0 lead.
Undaunted by the first goal, Beckley remained on the offensive with some solid possessions. Unfortunately for the visitors, they could not generate much of an attack during those dominant periods.
“We dominated for like 20 minutes, but that goal changed the game. They started hanging their heads a little bit. I couldn’t get them to shoot,” Beckley head coach Julie Agnor said. “We talked about that yesterday. We haven’t scored in (five) games, so it was like what happened? They quit driving to the goal and were looking more at the side passes for somebody else to do it.”
Dynamic freshman Bella Holly gave Oak Hill some breathing room when she scored on a nice cross from Gracie Bennett for a 2-0 lead in the 33rd minute.
“We finally put some points on the board tonight and our defense did what they were supposed to do from the keeper to the back four,” Wilburn said. “They are some of the best defenders in the state. They had some possessions on us, but we played really well. We have been on a little winning streak and are peaking at the right time.”
Holly made it a three goal advantage when she hit another winner in the 53rd minute via the second assist of the night from Curtis.
“(Bella) played well tonight and she has carried us all year on the goal scoring. I am so proud of her,” Wilburn said. “Everybody up front played well. Tayler Sizemore and Jada (Wilburn) really played well. Gracie came in off the bench and played the ball well and Emma Curtis played strong for us.”
The loss brings the season to an end for Beckley which battled some late season injuries down the stretch run.
“We have had some end of the season injuries that the girls were playing through, but you are never on top of your game like that, Agnor said. “I am proud of them. We did all alright. They really worked hard. They took what I told them and did it, but we just seemed to lose steam at the end.”
Oak Hill (12-4-3) will now travel to Fairlea Thursday night to battle No. 1 seed Greenbrier East.
The Spartans and the Red Devils tied both regular season matches and will meet for the fourth straight year in the postseason.
Oak Hill won the match-ups in 2021 and 2022, while Greenbrier East won the sectional championship clash last year, 1-0 on a penalty kick from Emma Dotson.
“We just have to score and put the pressure on them a little bit,” Wilburn said. “They are good defensively and play good soccer. (Head coach) Mike (Dotson) does a good job with that team. It is going to be a tough one and another nail-biter.”
The match will kick at 7 p.m.
