Saturday afternoon at Paul Cline Stadium there was a state soccer tournament vibe in the air when Woodrow Wilson welcomed Wheeling Park for a boys and girls doubleheader.
When the day was done it was clear that all four teams could very well be back on the same field in early November with the state title on the line.
Wheeling Park assistant head coach Olivia Montgomery, who was filling in for head coach Carrie Hanna who could not make the trip, summed the day up best.
“We come down here to play on the championship field and that is where we want to be in November,” Montgomery said. “Coming down here mid-season is a chance to get on the field and get a nice competitive game. That is exactly what we want.”
Fair to say, both Patriot teams got a little more than it expected Saturday.
The Flying Eagle boys opened the day with a 2-nil win over Park before the Beckley girls dropped a 2-1 heartbreaker in the second match.
For the boys it was more of the same this season. Dominate the possessions, play strong defense and attack the keeper.
“This is a very good win for sure. I thought we played really well,” Woodrow Wilson head coach Steve Laraba said. “Wheeling Park is a phenomenal program that is extremely well coached. They have some very good players and Tresz McLeod is an elite player.”
After a scoreless first half, Connor Mollohan set the table for Woodrow’s first goal in the 60th minute of play.
A foul on Park gave Mollohan a free kick just inside the midfield line. Mollohan dropped a perfect strike just in front of the Park keeper where junior Ishmael Fayiah knocked in a header for a 1-0 lead.
“We had been doing that kick all game and up to that point I had been mis-hitting them or hitting them too long. I just tried to float it up and it got over the keeper,” Mollohan explained. “Ismael got in there and finished it off. I couldn’t be more proud of him.”
Mollohan was a ball of energy the entire match, which could be seen as ironic after the last few days he has had on the pitch and the gridiron as the Woodrow place-kicker.
“Connor is a kid that everybody wants on their team. He is going to give everything he has every single time,” Laraba said. “This kid played an intense rivalry (soccer) game on Thursday. He went to an away football game (in Lincoln County) where he was busy because they scored a lot. Then he comes in and plays against one of the top programs in the state on Saturday. He earns his Sunday fun-days.”
The versatile senior explained where his energy originates.
“It is easy to come out here and play with these guys who bring it every single day. I play for them,” Mollohan said. “When I see them giving it all they have, I have to come out and give even more than they are giving.”
Not wanting to miss on the chance, Fayiah faced a split-second decision when the ball landed in front of him.
“I was thinking I had to get in there in case there were any mistakes or slip ups happen. Guess what happened? And I was there,” Fayiah said with a big smile. “I was wondering if I should use my leg or my head, but I used my head to be safe. Anything can happen in that moment. I could have kicked it out or kicked it over. The safest was to go with my head.”
The Woodrow Wilson faithful breathed a sigh of relief in the 76th minute when freshman Jackson Gray slid a perfect through ball to Harrison Eckley. Eckley brought the keeper out and beat him far post for the 2-0 lead.
Park gave Woodrow a couple scares on the day, but only recorded to shots on goal to seven for the home team.
“We allowed (Tresz) to turn and face up in our final third one time and he rattled the crossbar,” Laraba said. “That is the type of player that he is and how dangerous he is. I think that we handled everything else really well.”
Following five straight road matches where they collected four wins, the Woodrow girls wanted to make statement in their match against Park. The Patriots won the state title in 2020 and were runner-up last year.
Although they did not collect the win, the Flying Eagles proved they could play with anyone in the state.
“My girls played really well. Wheeling Park is really fast, but we kept up. We took it to them and we didn’t quit,” Woodrow Wilson head coach Julie Agnor said. “My girls are finally seeing how good they are and I am so proud of them. They are matching who they are playing.”
Last year when the two teams met, Park walked away with an easy 7-2 win and it could have went that way again, but Woodrow never folded in the first half and withstood the heat.
All-stater Merritt Delk riddled the Flying Eagles last year and started hot when she got behind the defenders for a goal in the fifth minute of play.
Park continued to fire rockets at the net, but Woodrow keeper Ally Arthur stood tall in net to keep the game 1-0 at the half.
In the second half, the Flying Eagles turned the tables and took over the game physically to frustrate the visitors.
The frustration went even higher for Park with just over 25 minutes to play when Mya Wooton weaved through the defenders and slid the ball to Ama Ackon-Annan who converted the try to tie the game at 1-1.
“We did frustrate them,” Agnor said. “There was a time even in the first half for about 10 or 15 minutes that we did step in and take it to them. Just knowing they can do it is big. My defensive line played lights out. They knew where to be and hit every ball they needed to hit. They played really well.”
Unfortunately for Woodrow Wilson a late corner kick decided the match when Lucy Aderholt gathered a loose ball and knocked it in for the game winner with 2:40 to play.
“They have improved for sure. Last year we felt like we controlled the tempo a lot more,” Montgomery said. “They are a more physical team and they really gave us a battle today.”
The Woodrow boys host St. Albans Thursday, while the girls are back in action Tuesday when they host Pocahontas County.
