Gallery by Heather Belcher
Over the last three years, the Shady Spring has owned Class AA-A Region 3, Section 1 girls soccer.
Now you can make it four.
Running out to a three-goal lead early in the second half, the Tigers held off Bluefield for a 3-2 win on H.B. Thomas Field in Shady Spring for their fourth straight sectional crown.
“Every time we play Bluefield, they show up to play. I knew our girls were prepared to be in a fight and they stepped up,” first year Shady Spring head coach Corey Hunter said. “I talked to some players before the game and I felt like their confidence was up and that was exactly what we needed. They came out, played confidently and they controlled most of the game. It was huge and it was a good game.”
Junior striker Ella Gray, who leads the team in scoring, staked the Tigers to a 1-0 lead on a breakaway in the 18th minute, beating the keeper inside the far post.
Grabbing the early lead was crucial according to the Shady Spring coach.
“The confidence of the lead goal is humongous for their head space. It was absolutely what the girls needed to move forward, because obviously, Bluefield came back,” Hunter said. “For Ella to get that first goal for everyone to get the momentum moving forward was massive.”
With the clock ticking inside 10 minutes to play in the opening half, Shady Spring doubled its lead when freshman Baylee Garrett knocked in a loose ball bouncing in front of the net.
Taking a two goal advantage to the break, the home team wasted no time putting the Beavers in a deeper hole to open the final 40 minutes.
Using some nice footwork, Gray did the number when she worked free inside the box and blasted home her second winner of the night for a 3-0 lead.
Just when the winner of the match appeared to be a foregone conclusion, Bluefield began to fight its way back.
“That is why I am constantly saying, let’s go, let’s go, let’s go,” Hunter said. “The moment that we relax, you never know what is going to happen. That third goal turned out to be the game winner and it was huge.”
Senior Abigail Matthews scored the initial goal for the visitors with a blast in the 57th minute. With just over 10 minutes remaining in the match, Matthews then found fellow-senior Taylor Mabry for the second Bluefield score of the game, trimming the deficit to 3-2.
“They picked up their pace and we started to relax,” Hunter said. “It was a combination of both. They always come to play and they never stopped.”
Bluefield nearly evened the match on a direct kick that sailed just across the crossbar just over a minute later, but the Beavers could not find another netter the rest of the way.
Although Shady Spring had been the dominant team in the section for the last three years, making the sectional final in 2024 was far from a given.
After winning the third title, Shady Spring head coach Joey Beckett retired and the Tiger roster was hit hard by graduation.
“We lost some very pivotal players. This is a different style of play than even the seniors know and are used to. The amount of progress this team has made from the beginning of the season until now is huge,” Hunter said. “They are a completely different team than last year. It was amazing to watch the transformation and watch them come together and play really well. It has been a great season.”
Shady Spring (10-6-3) has at least one more match on the docket this year, but it is easily its toughest test of the year. The Tigers will now face Charleston Catholic (18-0-1) for the Region 3 crown. The Irish are ranked No. 1 in the Mountain State across all classes.
The regional battle is set for Thursday at 5 p.m. in Charleston.
