Morgantown dominates Parkersburg South 10-0

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MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — After Wednesday’s season-opening loss to Fairmont Senior, the Morgantown High boys’ soccer team wanted nothing more than to get back to .500 last night at Pony Lewis Field against Parkersburg South — except maybe to raise its level of soccer at the same time.

Missions accomplished, as the Mohigans displayed a controlled, patient dominance throughout the match on their way to a convincing 10-0 victory.

“We did not play our best soccer against Fairmont Senior, not by a long shot,” said MHS coach Sam Snyder after the win. “We were too complicated, and too vertical, and pretty much did not play the way we need to play to suit our team. But tonight was much, much better.”

With the holding midfielders cutting the field essentially in half, Morgantown (1-1) dominated possession from the opening whistle, generating a plethora of quality chances with its speed, creativity and small-space passing prowess. The Mohigans dented the scoreboard first in the 8th minute when striker Caden Carpenter sprinted onto a long, looping ball over the Patriots (0-1) defenders, then slipped past goalkeeper Garrett Lewis — who had no choice but to gamble far off his line. The junior then walked in uncontested for likely the easiest and shortest goal of his career.

Five minutes later, a cross from senior Otto Klinke found fellow senior Jack McCoy all alone for another uncontested finish to double the advantage.
After several more near misses and some solid saves by Lewis — who registered 8 saves in the first half and 18 total — MHS netted a pair of goals in the 38th minute to break the match wide open. Junior midfielder Vivek Sriram drilled a hard right foot shot through the goalkeeper’s hands, and then a lovely give and go between Carpenter and Azain Uqaily 20 seconds later gave the Mohigans a 4-0 lead heading into the break.

After netting that shorty to open the scoring, Carpenter scored his quickest and longest goal ever just seven seconds into the second half, bombing a shot from 50 yards out that caught Lewis too far off his line.
Senior Geoffrey Swisher made it 6-0 with a 20-yard, right-footed bullet into the top right corner in the 49th minute, then Uqaily added on three minutes later, bending a left foot into the open right side of the goal. Uqaily then rifled a heavy shot — this time with his other foot — from 30 yards out in the 61st minute for Goal No. 8.

The Mohigans’ reserves kept the offensive pressure on full blast, and in the 65th minute, after two remarkable point-blank saves from the Parkersburg South defense, the third time was the charm for MHS junior Bernardo Pereira, who buried the second rebound for the ninth tally.
A fitting capper to the Mohigans’ prolific night came in the final minute when Lucas Howell’s relentless ball pressure forced a turnover, leading to a quick breakaway for the junior, who angled toward the left post, then found the foot of McCoy with a perfect cross, and the senior buried it for the final goal.

“That’s the way we need to play, building from the back and moving the ball more horizontally,” Snyder said. “When we switch fields, and connect with each other with clean, simple passes and sharp, quick runs, that’s when we’re at our best. I thought our back five (four defenders and keeper Benjamin Meyer) were very confident on the ball, stayed very organized and did a great job of connecting with our midfielders.

“We’re a technical team,” he continued, “and if we possess the ball and are as efficient in generating scoring chances as we were tonight, I think we’ve got a chance to win a lot of games this season.”

The Mohigans host regional rival Wheeling Park at 2 p.m. on Saturday.