Gallery by Heather Belcher
The storyline Tuesday night was one that the Woodrow Wilson girls’ soccer team had seen several times against visiting Cabell Midland.
Unfortunately for the Flying Eagles, it was not one that they cared to see again.
Coming into the match averaging two goals per game, junior all-state forward, Olivia Charles did that one better on the turf at Paul Cline Stadium.
Charles’ third goal of the match, which came inside the final 10 minutes, gave the Knights another late, come-from-behind, 3-2 victory over Woodrow Wilson.
“Every year it is the same thing,” Cabell Midland Head coach Andy Wilson. “They are tough, especially down here, but it was a good game.”
“The last three games we have played them they have come back at the end,” Woodrow Wilson head coach Julie Agnor lamented.
Heading into the match, Agnor knew her young team would be in for a tough battle.
“When I meet the (Cabell Midland) girls out to the line, I noticed every single one of them stood at my height or taller,” Agnor said. “When the physicality comes in to play, we kind of get pushed around a bit. We are a little smaller and probably a little lighter on our feet. We tend to get bounced around a little bit.”
Physicality was the key word to describe the battle, especially for the Knights who sent Woodrow players sprawling to the turf on numerous occasions.
“That was frustrating for me, and I struggle with yelling at refs because it doesn’t do a lot of good,” Agnor said. “Mainly it is an example to the girls. We are out here doing the best that we can, and I want them to learn from their experiences. Things don’t always go our way and it doesn’t help to throw a temper tantrum.”
Woodrow Wilson struck first in the ninth minute when Sophie Hall pushed the ball through to a streaking Alisae Berg. On the shot attempt, Berg was fouled inside the penalty box.
On the ensuing penalty kick, Mya Wooton blasted the ball in the left corner of the net for a 1-0 lead.
The lead would only stand for 10 minutes as the Knights began to get more chances and it became clear that Charles would be a handful to deal with up front.
“She is hard to handle,” Agnor said about Charles. “I had a player on her tonight, and she got bounced around a good bit. The rest of the girls also stepped up and took her when they needed to, but she had some good shots tonight.”
The Flying Eagles regained the lead in the 22nd minute on a through ball from Sophie Hall to Sydney Vaught. One-on-one with the keeper, Vaught’s first two shots bounced off keeper Elaina Hess. Vaught made good on the third try when Hess could not gather the deflections.
The 2-1 lead would stand at the break and Wilson was not happy with his team’s performance in the first 40 minutes.
“The first half wasn’t very good, so I had to get onto them a little bit about being more aggressive in the second-half. We did pick it up and played a lot better in the second half,” Wilson said.
Cabell Midland (6-1) took Wilson’s words to heart and attacked Woodrow (1-2-3) with a barrage of shots. A blast from Charles not two minutes into the second half evened the match.
“It is nice to have her. It makes life easier as a coach, I tell you that,” Wilson said. “She is a great player and knew she needed to take over. Olivia gets marked a lot, gets pushed and shoved, but she still hangs in there and does the job. Sometimes I wonder how a keeper doesn’t break an arm stopping her shots.”
For 72 minutes Woodrow keeper Allie Arthur weathered an incredible storm from the Knights before the deciding blast from Charles found its mark in the left corner of the net.
“Allie did a fantastic job and she actually has a pulled muscle in her back,” Agnor said. “All things considered, she played lights out tonight. She was not an easy goalie to score on tonight.”
While the loss stings, Agnor feels the match will pay dividends in the long run.
“Tournament time it will be more physical. This is good for us because it will help us toughen up a little bit,” Agnor said. “It is not the way I like to play. We are more of a finesse team than a physical team, but we can roll with the best of them.”
The schedule gets no easier for Woodrow Wilson who now hosts defending Class AAA state champion, Wheeling Park (5-0-1) Saturday.
“We may try a few different things and some new formations. We will give them a crash course this week,” Agnor said. “We have had some girls really step in and help us, so I feel like we are going to be ready by the end.”