Gallery by Tina Laney
Oak Hill – Thursday night the Oak Hill boys soccer team battled Woodrow Wilson in the first-ever varsity sporting event played on the new turfed field at John P. Duda Stadium.
Unfortunately for the Red Devils, their longtime rival stole the show.
Striking for two goals in under six minutes, the Flying Eagles dominated the night with a 7-0 victory.
After his team struggled to find winners in the first three contests, Woodrow Wilson (1-1-2) head coach Steve Laraba was not concerned. The veteran coach believed his team had created good chances, but just couldn’t get the proper results.
The dam broke loose at just the right time for Laraba’s team in the first regular season sectional clash of the 2024 season.
“I thought the boys played really, really well. We took chances and created some chances of our own as well,” Laraba said. “I felt like they put together a complete performance. We pretty much bossed the game and it was a good outing for us.”
The quick lead by the visitors from Raleigh County came off the foot of Ali Farghaly who had a memorable night to say the least.
Before fans could settle into their seats after the National Anthem, the sophomore sensation had found the back of the net in the first minute of play.
Five minutes later Farghaly doubled the advantage on an assist from Vince Umberger and the Flying Eagles never looked back.
“Ali’s first two goals were him doing what he does,” Laraba said. “Scoring two like that can really invigorate our team, but it can also take the wind out of the sails of another team.”
Prior to the halftime horn sounding, Farghaly had completed the hat trick with just over 15 minutes left in the half. A direct kick played into the box found senior Michael Fayiah who set up his sophomore teammate perfectly with a header.
Farghaly finished the night with a goal midway through the second half, assisted by fellow-sophomore Alex Belcher.
“That is a big night and we are so happy for him,” Laraba said. “Last year Ali was injured and even more undersized, so he wasn’t able to get on the varsity field much. He has grown some and he came in healthy. There is not a lot more than you can say about that than four goals.”
Holding the 3-0 lead at the break, Woodrow Wilson refused to relax in the second half controlling the possessions and keeping the Red Devils at bay.
“You can sit back, but you can also decide to keep playing and keep the ball,” Laraba said. “Just keeping the ball is kind of how we pulled back the reins. We just kept the ball moving.”
Junior Jonathan Scott found his way on the end of a corner from Fayiah to extend the lead to 4-0 with a header in the 56th minute.
After Farghaly made it a five goal advantage, Dylan Basconi and Kofi Ackon-Annan rounded out the scoring late in the match.
The Flying Eagles collected 11 shots on goal in the win, while Oak Hill managed just one.
Woodrow Wilson travels to Bridgeport Saturday, while Oak Hill (3-1) will look to rebound next Thursday when it hosts Nitro.
