By Josh Strope
The Intelligencer
WHEELING, W.Va. — Some losses hurt more than others.
And for the Wheeling Park boys’ soccer team, Saturday’s Class AAA Region I final was one of them.
Having not tasted defeat since the opening game against Hurricane, Wheeling Park reeled off 20 consecutive victories before that streak was snapped and at the worst time Saturday.
Riley Nett scored the lone goal of the match a little more than five minutes in, and University hung on to advance to the state tournament with a 1-0 victory over the Patriots.
“It means a lot to us, that despite all the seniors we lost, we are still upholding the high standards here at UHS,” UHS coach Michael Smith said. “We plan on continuing.
“This team has heart. We know that we are not as individually talented as we were last year, but this team right now is playing together, has a good team vibe and have really adopted a defensive mentality that we decided to make our trademark. And now are doing that at a high level.”
The last time these teams met, University (17-5-1) scored the first goal early in the OVAC tournament. Wheeling Park (20-2) was able to rally and win that.
This time was different.
The old saying that “it’s hard to beat a team three times in one season” held true here.
Nett’s hard-charging style paid off. As Wheeling Park’s Clay Meredith attempted a clear, Nett jumped up and blocked the shot.
He then beat Meredith to the ball, and as Wheeling Park goalie Zach Calvert left his net to challenge the Hawks junior, Nett slipped it past him for the only goal University needed.
“That is Riley,” Smith said. “He has manufactured goals out of nothing all season. When I talk about heart, there is probably not one bigger on this team than him. He wants the ball more and he gets the ball more because of that. It is amazing. He has had an outstanding year ever since we moved him out front.”
Wheeling Park controlled play throughout, and despite holding a 9-2 shot advantage, couldn’t find the equalizer.
“This team was so good and we were well-prepared,” Wheeling Park coach Mario Julian said. “We had some opportunities, maybe not as many as we would have liked. It was tight and I knew all year that University’s defense was one of the better ones we would face. They came and were confident and kept us off the board.
“(Nett) scored all three times we played. He is a really good player. We made a mistake early in the game and he capitalized. We were behind the whole game and kept knocking and knocking and thought we had the equalizer, but it was offside by a little bit and that is part of the game.”
In the 54th minute, it looked like the Patriots had tied things.
Meredith took a free kick from 30 yards out, which Jason Pennybacker used his head to deflect into the side of the net, setting off a Wheeling Park celebration.
It was short-lived as the linesman had his flag up, signaling offsides.
The Patriots kept coming and coming, blistering the Hawks’ defense during the final 10 minutes, but each shot went wide, over the net or into the hands of UHS goalie Timmy Bailey.
When the final whistle blew, it was University that earned a trip Friday to Beckley.
Despite the loss, Julian was proud of his team and what it accomplished this season.
“We won 20 games in a row,” Julian said. “Out of all the teams I have coached, that is by far the most wins consecutively that we have won. It was phenomenal. I told the players after the game, ‘I know you are young, impressionable, but as your coach, this is one of the most memorable moments of my coaching career and one that is going to last for a lifetime.’ ”
