Gallery by Tina Laney
Two years removed from winning the Class AAA boys soccer state championship, Morgantown head coach Samuel Snyder believes he once again has a team that can make a run at another title.
Saturday afternoon at Paul Cline Stadium, on the field that will host the state tournament again this year, the Mohigans added to their coaches optimism.
The visitors from Monongalia County stymied the offense from the Flying Eagles and hit two big chances to escape town with 2-nil win.
“We are trying to get back here. We think we have a very complete team,” Snyder said. “We are still trying to figure out certain roles, but we think we have enough to minimize chances on defense and create chances on offense. Anytime you have a team that can do both sides of the ball, you have a chance.”
Heading into the season, Beckley has also been convinced that it too can make a state tournament run. In the first half Saturday, the home team did not look like the team it hopes to be in late October.
“I was very surprised,” head coach Steve Laraba said about his team’s play. “I did not expect us to come out and be a well-oiled machine, but I thought we would be better than we were. The second half guys stepped up and made some adjustments. They were communicating. I know Morgantown played differently in the second half, but I thought we were much, much better and created some chances and problems. We just have to get things better in the final third.”
Morgantown (2-0) struck twice in the opening 40 minutes for all the goals it would need in the early season showdown.
“Woodrow is an amazing team. They are complete everywhere and they didn’t give us much. Our goals were outlier goals,” Snyder said. “They didn’t give us breathing room and they were everywhere in the middle. For us to play with the composure that we did against such a strong side and kind of grind out a 2-0 win is an amazing way to start.”
The Mohigans opened the season with a solid 3-1 win over Buckhannon-Upshur, scoring all three goals in the opening half. Still, Snyder had some concerns. The performance Saturday put some of the concerns to rest.
“Our defense was incredible as far as just our shape. We struggled Wednesday to hold space, so we worked on holding space (in practice). Our first game we outworked our self out of good space to bad space,” Snyder explained. “(Today) was working hard to maintain good space and minimize chances. I was really proud of that. We were a unit today.
Will Staples scored the first goal in the 20th minute on ball sent in from Riley Brabson.
“On their first goal, our guy had no idea there was somebody behind him. Nobody said anything and we didn’t open our bodies,” Laraba said.
Communication was problematic for the Flying Eagles who could not muster a shot on goal in the opening half.
“The first half we were very, very poor. There is really no other way to describe it. Morgantown had a lot to do with that, but they played very well in the first half and we didn’t match there quality,” Laraba said. “We didn’t match their intensity and there was no communication. That was the biggest thing. We weren’t talking to each other and we didn’t know where we were or where they were. We suffered for it.”
The goal from Fynn Ralston came on a blast in the 32nd minute from over 30 yards out. Ralston’s shot sailed under the crossbar inside the far post.
“We played an even match and we tried to not give anything. It took special moments to get those goals and we got some things in our favor. We tried to minimize their chances and get anything we could get,” Snyder said. “We have an area where we try to score goals and that was definitely well outside that area. As soon as he hit it though, I was like that has a chance.”
Laraba also said his keeper really had no chance to stop a shot of that caliber.
“When somebody hits a ball like that there is nothing we can do. He just laced it and it was an absolute rocket. We can get to him to not allow him to hit that ball however,” Laraba said.
Morgantown ended the match with six shots on goal, while Beckley had just one, which came late in the contest.
“It has been a bogey for us for a while. For some reason we are just shy to pull the trigger and take the shot sometimes,” Laraba said. “We are going to work on it Monday and hopefully we can get some more attacks going in the final third.”
Beckley (0-1) returns to the pitch Tuesday at Paul Cline Stadium when it plays PikeView.
