Photos by Chris Jackson
OAK HILL – Woodrow Wilson senior striker Carson Eckley is a playmaker.
Tuesday night in the Class AAA region 3, Section 2 semifinal battle with longtime rival Oak Hill, Eckley made the play of the game just before halftime.
With the ball at his feet, Eckley beat three Red Devil defenders for the game’s only goal in a 1-0 victory.
The win sends the Flying Eagles to the sectional championship Thursday night against Greenbrier East in Fairlea.
“I am extremely satisfied and proud tonight,” Woodrow Wilson head coach Steve Laraba said. “Oak Hill has been a bogey team and honestly this venue has been a bogey venue for us. We just have not been able to get results here. Oak Hill is a good team, but I thought we were a better team in the first half. I also thought when we were able to play soccer in the second half, we were the better team.”
With both teams struggling to gain an advantage in the opening 40 minutes of action, the match looked to be headed to halftime in a scoreless tie.
That was before Eckley saw an opportunity and took full advantage.
“I saw their center-back had actually stepped up and I think he was trying to push the box and get more people in. The ball just rolled out to me,” Eckley explained. “I knew he was the only defender that could keep up with me. I took a touch right past him because I knew I was going to beat him on the dribble. The goalkeeper was way to the left and I knew if I put it to the right, it was a goal.”
Eckley blast was true, and Woodrow Wilson took the 1-0 lead to the break.
“They played more direct than us in the first half. We didn’t compensate for it,” Oak Hill head coach Lenny Keaveny said. “I think we got caught a little bit forward and we just didn’t protect the goal. Then in the second half, it reminded me of a couple of years ago when we beat them. We were able to hold onto a lead, which is exactly what they did.”
“I thought Carson could have had one in the first five minutes, but Oak Hill’s keeper made a really good save,” Laraba said. “That is what Carson can do. In a heartbeat, he can receive the ball and he has a change of pace that very few people can keep up with. The only thing the defender could do was let him go or foul him and risk being sent off.”
Oak Hill did apply more pressure in the second half, but the Red Devils could not break though the Flying Eagles back wall.
“The second half they were on their heels the whole time, but they didn’t tip over,” Keaveny said. “We threw a lot forward and the boys played well. The boys didn’t give up anything. We probably should have played that way from the get-go.”
In a regular season loss to three-time defending Class AAA state champion George Washington, Laraba was pleased with his team’s play defensively. He also stated, if his team could defend like that in the postseason that he liked their chances each night.
“The whole back five and I am including goalkeeper Josh Farnsworth along with Evan Laraba, Tyler Randolph, Cooper Bell and Aiden Bell, they were just fantastic,” coach Laraba said. “When they went to three up front, we dropped Jackson Quattrone back in there to deal with that and he was very good. It was great to have Jackson back. We haven’t had him since the East game.”
“They were trying to play on their athleticism in the second half and I thought we handled it very well,” Laraba went on to say. “They had maybe two free kicks that were on frame, but other than that, they didn’t create anything, and I thought we defended well. I am very happy with the performance, and I thought the boys deserved the win.”
After missing the regular season meeting against Oak Hill, Eckley was a little extra excited with the outcome Tuesday.
“It feels really good, especially as a senior. I am ready to go into the sectional championship,” Eckley said.
East and Woodrow met just once in the regular season. The match was played in Beckley and ended in a 3-3 tie.
“If we play Thursday night like we did tonight with lockdown defense, I think we have a good chance,” Eckley said.
