Gallery by Brad Davis
The journey to the Class AAA Region 3, Section 2 girls soccer championship game Thursday night was not an easy one for Woodrow Wilson.
None of that seemed to matter, however when the final horn sounded at Paul Cline Stadium.
Trailing 1-0 at halftime, the Flying Eagles rallied for three second-half goals to beat defending sectional champion Oak Hill, 3-1.
“It has been a rollercoaster ride. We tried new things. We fixed things. We also put things together that have really meshed. It has been amazing to see these girls come together through hard losses and horrible ties. They have just pushed through everything to put this team together,” Woodrow Wilson head coach Julie Agnor said.
The Red Devils drew first blood on a goal from Samiah Lynch and when the teams went to the break, it was unclear if the Flying Eagles could break through the Oak Hill defenders.
“At halftime we sat and talked about what we needed to correct,” Agnor said. “We talked about the best way to get the ball to the middle and the best way to get the ball in the goal.”
If there was any self-doubt amongst the Woodrow players, there definitely wasn’t after Agnor’s halftime speech.
“We were quiet at halftime, and we needed Julie to get us pumped up and she really did. Five minutes into her conversation we were all energized,” freshman striker Mya Wooton said. “We were ready to go back out there and win this thing. We love this game and we just needed to have fun. When we started the half, Sophie (Hall) told me to have fun and I told her to have fun. We went out there and we had fun.”
The difference in Woodrow’s energy level from the first half versus the second half was quickly evident.
Less than two minutes into the second half, the right footed Wooton worked the left side of the box and went far post with her left foot to tie the match 1-1.
“I was so excited that I made that shot. I even did a flip, that is how excited I was, and I had so much energy,” Wooton said. “I have been trying to work my left foot because I want to be dominant on both feet. I don’t want to be known as a weak player. If you have a weak foot, you are a weak player, and I don’t want to be known for that.”
“Once that happened, I felt like the flood gates would open. It was just a matter of getting that first one in. We just had so much energy, that I think we just wore down Oak Hill,” Agnor said.
With 15 minutes to play, the Flying Eagles took the lead on a wild scrum in front of the Red Devils’ net when Sophie Hall hit the eventual game-winner.
“The cross was sent in, and I am not sure how, but it ended up at my foot and I hit it. The keeper then hit it into her own player, which ricocheted off her foot and in the goal. A goal is a goal, and we will take it,” Hall said with a big smile. “We were so pumped after that goal, and we knew if we got one more, we were winning this. (Mya) is my best friend out there. Once she told me to just have fun, the whole game turned around.”
Wooton iced the game with five minutes to play on another blast that slid through the keepers’ hands in the wet conditions.
In her fourth year as head coach, it was Agnor’s first sectional championship win. While she was excited with the win, she was more excited about the battle her girls had weathered to get there.
“It’s really exciting right now,” Agnor said smiling, “They just don’t quit. My girls just don’t give up. That is a mental skill and not a skill that every player has, but these girls have it.”
First-year Oak Hill head coach Gerald Wilburn took over a team that looked to be in full rebuilding mode. His team was only 40 minutes away from the championship, but injuries created a lack of depth that eventually took its toll on his young team.
“Overall, our team played well, and we got better every game,” Wilburn said. “I have a tough little team and I am really proud of them. We came out tonight and we fought. We just came up a little short. We are just not very deep, and we get tired. The legs start going and we have had some injuries. That is no excuse but losing players like Bethany (Rosiek) really hurts us offensively. She is a big attacker and crosser.”
Woodrow Wilson will now travel to George Washington Thursday for the regional championship match which will start at 5 p.m.
