Gallery by Tina Laney
FAIRLEA – The phrase that best describes the recent boys soccer battles between Woodrow Wilson and Greenbrier East is “instant classic.”
Thursday night the two longtime rivals added another thrilling chapter.
Although they were outplayed most of the night, the Spartans slipped past the Flying Eagles when Luke Dolin scored off a penalty kick with just over 16 minutes to play for a 2-1 win.
“We were outplayed 80 percent of the game and I will only give us 20 percent because we scored two goals,” Greenbrier East head coach Lucas Lemine said. “(Woodrow Wilson) had an excellent game-plan. They pressed like devils for 80 minutes and they were excellent.”
Flying Eagles head coach Steve Laraba was happy with his team’s play, but it was also mixed with a dash of frustration, feeling his boys did not get the result he felt they deserved.
“I am super proud of the guys, but there is a bit of frustration. Greenbrier East is a good team, but I felt like we did a good job controlling the game,” Laraba said. “I thought for the first 15 minutes, we didn’t do what we needed to do. After that, we were very, very good. A tangle of the feet (got us). We had chance after chance. Ten shots on goal and set pieces that were dangerous. There is so much for us to build on.”
Although it was out-shot 3-1 in the opening half, Greenbrier East held the 1-nil lead thanks to a blast from Chase Mizia with 21:22 to play until the break. The senior striker gathered a loose ball at the top of the box and rifled it just inside the left post.
Sophomore Tyler Snyder scored the equalizer less than two minutes into the second half on a blast that sent Woodrow Wilson on an attacking frenzy.
The Flying Eagles tallied seven shots on goal in the second half along with a pair of near misses on set pieces, but the visitors could not get a chance to hit the back of the net.
“Woodrow was flat out solid everywhere. We had an idea of what we needed to do, but when they get the athletes that they have out on the field, it takes away any type of gameplan,” Lemine stated. “We knew they wanted to cut the field in half, but they cut it in quarters and kept us in the quarter. We didn’t play very composed and we weren’t able to open it up as well as we like to.”
A pass in the box to Adam Seams resulted in a foul, giving East the eventual deciding goal, but Lemine felt relieved to escape with the win.
The win for the Spartans will give them home-field advantage in sectional play.
“We will watch a lot of film and see if we can improve on tonight. Laraba is a Hall of Famer, I guess you would say. He has been doing it for over 30 years and I am only 33,” Lemine said, jokingly. “They are well coached, so we will have to watch a lot of film for the next time we play them if we happen to meet in the postseason.”
Laraba is well aware that there will be at least one sectional clash prior to the two teams possibly meeting again in the postseason, but he definitely has an eye on a rematch.
“There were two fantastic matches tonight. Hopefully we can continue to build throughout the season,” Laraba said. “Whoever our first sectional opponent is, hopefully we can be fortunate enough to win that game and then be back here in October and see where things go.”
Woodrow Wilson and East tied 3-3 in a fast-paced JV contest.
The Spartans (9-0-0) host St. Albans Saturday, while the Flying Eagles (4-1-3) host Oak Hill Thursday at Paul Cline Stadium.
