Gallery by Heather Belcher
Tuesday night at H.B. Thomas Field, Shady Spring and Beckley collided in a boys soccer match for the first time in six years.
Over the first 40 minutes, the Tigers gave the high powered Flying Eagles all they wanted in a scoreless battle.
The second half, however, belonged to Beckley which flexed it muscle in a 3-nil win over its county rival.
“I did not think we played up to our expectations in the first half against a team that played very well. A team that was very up for this game and they caused us a problem or two,” Beckley head coach Steve Laraba said. “I thought we handled the first half as well as we could with how poorly we were playing. The second half, the guys knew what we needed to do better. I could have ripped into them, but it was not going to do any good. We talked to them as a coaching staff as to what needed to happen and they agreed. They went out there and did it in the second half.”
In the first half the Flying Eagles had four shots on goal as opposed to two from the home team, but the Tigers definitely had good chances to hold the advantage at the break.
“The first half I thought was very even. I thought we created the more quality chances. It could have changed the tenor of the game if we could have gotten the first goal,” Shady Spring head coach Josiah Smith said. “When they scored early in the second half, we had already put in a lot of effort. They are just a tough team to contain. We just don’t have the bodies to be able to run at that level and that intensity.”
Prior to the beginning of the season, Laraba had emphasized that his team had two quality keepers. Tuesday night, senior Ryder Cogar received the starting nod normally held by junior Bryson Doss.
Cogar’s two saves in the first half kept the game scoreless and were a huge key to the Beckley win.
“Ryder is a very capable goalkeeper and we felt like he deserved to get 80 minutes in a game that meant something. I thought he did well,” Laraba said. “He made some good saves in the first half and wasn’t ever caught off-guard. He was dialed in for 80 minutes and that is what we needed out of him.”
The visitors took control of the match just three minutes into the second half.
Tyler Snyder served up a corner kick that Hagen Hall found his way on the other end of for a 1-0 advantage. Snyder served up another winner late in the game from the corner when Jackson Schroder scored on a header for the final goal of the night.
“A lot of times when you are not playing well, or a team has bunkered in a bit, set pieces are where you can get your goals. I thought Shady defended very well,” Laraba said. “When we were able to get a some chances, the keeper made some really good saves or they got the blocks.”
Allowing the two set piece goals was definitely a tough pill to swallow for the Tigers.
“Our defense was solid. Really only one goal during play and two set pieces that we just didn’t deal with appropriately,” Smith explained. “We have more control in those settings and it is unfortunate that we weren’t as sharp as we needed to be there. I take credit for that. I feel we haven’t prepared in the ways that we need to be effective in that. The mandate from this game is to progress. That is an area that I need to progress.”
The result was still very much in doubt for most of the second half before Coby Dillon found the back of the net on an assist from Schroder in the 68th minute.
“They are quality,” Smith said about the Flying Eagles. “It is not just that they have more bodies, they have phenomenal quality. They are doing great things.”
The match was the first setback for the Tigers (8-2-1) since a hard fought 2-1 loss to Charleston Catholic to open the season. The triumph pushed the Flying Eagles’ win streak to six matches.
Both coaches also agreed they would like to see the series continue into the future.
“I like the atmosphere that the Shady Spring fans provided and we had a good crowd as well,” Laraba said. “I thought it was good. We would like to keep it going.”
“It is so good. I want to do more games of this quality,” Smith said.” It is a a little bit of adjustment, but I would love to keep it going.”
Beckley (6-1-2) now heads to the Eastern Panhandle for a match with Hedgesville Friday before playing Washington Saturday.
Shady Spring is back in action Saturday when it travels to Mason County to play Class AA-A defending state champion Point Pleasant.
