Beckley will be buzzing this weekend when teams from around the Mountain State gather for the 2021 West Virginia Secondary Schools Athletics Commission State Soccer Tournament at the YMCA Paul Cline Memorial Youth Sports Complex.
Eight semifinal matches will be contested Friday with the four championship matches played Saturday.
The matches prove to be intense battles with all eight combatants in each class having a legitimate chance to raise the coveted championship plaque.
Heading up the eight-team field coming to the City of Champions will be all four reigning state champions.
In Class AAA, the George Washington boys will be looking to garner their fourth consecutive championship. The Wheeling Park girls will be looking for their first back-to-back titles since their historic run from 1998-2001.
On the girls side in Class AA-A, Charleston Catholic has been the standard bearer for quite some time. The Irish have won the last two state championships after finishing runner-up the previous three years.
Fairmont Senior is also the two-time defending state champion in the boys AA-A division.
Looking to dethrone the top-seeded George Washington juggernaut will be Morgantown, Cabell Midland and Washington.
George Washington (20-1-1) has not lost this season to a school from West Virginia. Parkersburg battled GW to a tie in late September, but since then, the Patriots have won 10 in a row in impressive fashion.
The three-time defending champs have scored 94 goals with 72 assists. Senior Nick Ihnat leads GW with 31 goals, while juniors Jack Williams and Rylan Morehead have 15 and 13 respectively. Morehead also leads the team with 17 assists.
Washington (13-3-3) will be the first to try and dethrone GW in the semifinals. The visitors from Jefferson County are led by senior Jack Walker with 20 goals on the season.
Cabell Midland (12-7-1) and Morgantown (14-6) will clash in the other AAA boys semifinal.
The Mohigans have a strong trio of scorers led by senior Caden Carpenter who has 19 goals and 19 assists. Junior James Percifield has 11 goals, along with 11 assists, while senior Vivek Sriram has also added 11 goals for Morgantown.
Morgantown dropped regular season matches to both Washington and GW.
Ryan Holmes has been a key factor in Cabell Midland’s return to Beckley. The senior striker has scored 32 goals in 19 games
The Knights own a win over Washington, but dropped its regular season clash with GW, 4-1.
The girls semifinal match between No. 3-seed Cabell Midland (18-5) and No. 2-seed Wheeling Park (19-1-1) will be a clash of styles. While the Patriots rely on speed and finesse, the Knights will test you physically.
Park is led by All-state sophomore striker Merritt Delk who has been a handful in the open field. The Patriots’ defense has allowed just 14 goals all season and is led by another All-stater, Lily Hanna.
Olivia Charles has given opposing defenders fits all season scoring 47 goals which is half of the total output for Midland. The junior striker possesses a strong leg and is a serious threat from deep. She also has 28 assists on the season.
Sophomore Emma Shields has added 17 goals and 19 assists, while senior Hanley Riner has found the back of the net 15 times for the Knights.
GW (18-1-3) is the top seed on the girls side and has six players that have scored double-figure goals led by junior Ava Tretheway with 21 and freshman Reese Huffman with 17.
The question surrounding the Patriots will be the availability of senior midfielder Reagan Bromily who suffered an injury in the regional win over Woodrow Wilson.
Losing Bromily would be a serious blow for the Patriots chance at the title.
The Charleston Catholic (17-5) girls squad has lost just once in class all season and have already scored 21 goals in three postseason matches.
Claire Mullen leads a junior threesome of scorers for the Irish with 20 goals. Shannon Karr has 17 goals and Annie Cimino has netted 15.
Oak Glen will counter Catholic in the semis with its own trio of scorers led by Kami Ward. The sophomore sensation has 46 goals and 11 assists. Senior Brooklyn Watts has scored 19 goals along with 22 assists. Junior Carson Barr has scored 10 goals.
Winfield (16-2-3) and Philip Barbour (15-3-1) will meet in the other AA-A girls semifinal.
Junior Kate Hall leads the Generals with 15 goals and eight assists. Senior MacKenzie Meadows has added 10 goals.
The Colts battled Catholic strong for a half in last year’s state semifinal and would cherish another shot in the championship round this year.
Sophomore Braylyn Sparks is the top scorer for Philip Barbour with 25 goals and she has also had 13 assists. Twin sister Arrington has scored 15 goals and has had 17 assists on the season.
Charleston Catholic beat the Colts 5-1 to open the season and knocked off the Generals 1-0 at Winfield.
Point Pleasant (21-1-2) is the top-rated AA-A boys team and has five players that have scored double-figure goals. Point will open state tournament play against Herbert Hoover (18-3-3).
Junior Nick Cichon-ledderhose has 22 goals, while Colton Young has scored 15 and Tyson Richards has 14 for the Big Blacks.
Senior Bryson Beaver has already led Hoover to a Class AA state golf championship, and he has been equally as effective on the pitch. Beaver has recorded 46 goals along with 20 assists, while fellow-senior Trevor Rager has 20 goals and 10 assists.
The second Class AA-A boys semifinal will be a rematch of the 2020 state championship contest where Fairmont Senior (15-3-3) earned a 3-2 decision over Charleston Catholic (16-3-2).
The Irish brings a lethal duo to the pitch in juniors Sully Groom and Kelan Swan. Groom has scored 33 goals and has 17 assists, while Swan has scored 17 times to go along with 25 assists. Catholic has 86 goals as a team with 84 coming via an assist.
Bubby Towns has been the engine behind the Polar Bear machine with 35 goals and 20 assists on the season. Towns has been flanked by Kaelen Armstrong with 13 goals and 23 assists.
The two teams met just over three weeks ago in a regular season match won 5-4 by the Irish.
2021 WVSSAC State Soccer Tournament
at YMCA Paul Cline Memorial Youth Sports Complex, Beckley
Class AAA
at Paul Cline Stadium
Friday, Nov. 5
Girls
No. 4 Spring Mills (13-2-3) vs. No 1 George Washington (19-1-3), 10 a.m.
No. 3 Cabell Midland (18-5) vs. No. 2 Wheeling Park (20-1-1), 30 minutes after
Saturday, Nov. 6
Championship, 10:30 a.m.
Boys
Friday, Nov. 5
No. 4 Washington (13-3-3) vs. No. 1 George Washington (20-1-1), 5 p.m.
No. 3 Cabell Midland (12-7-1) vs. No. 2 Morgantown (14-6), 30 minutes after
Saturday, Nov. 6
Championship, 45 minutes after girls championship
Class AA-A
at Carter Family Field
Friday, Nov. 5
Boys
No. 4 Herbert Hoover (18-3-3) vs. No. 1 Point Pleasant (21-1-2), 9:30 a.m.
No. 3 Fairmont Senior (14-3-4) vs. No. 2 Charleston Catholic (16-3-2), 30 minutes after game 1
Saturday, Nov. 6
Championship, 9:30 a.m.
Girls
No. 4 Oak Glen (16-5) vs. No. 1 Charleston Catholic (17-3-2), 4:30 p.m.
No. 3 Philip Barbour (15-3-1) vs. No. 2 Winfield (15-2-4), 30 minutes after game 1
