MORGANTOWN – In what was arguably its best performance this season, the Morgantown High boys’ soccer team netted six goals on the way to a 6-0 shutout against Capital on Saturday at Pony Lewis Field.
Earlier in the season, MHS head coach Sam Snyder had concerns of his team’s aggression, particularly the pressure they were applying on the opposition. Goals were scarce to open the year, but game-by-game the Mohigans (8-6-5) found their identity and began to look like the team they knew they could be.
Earlier in the season, head coach Sam Snyder had concerns of his team’s aggression, particularly the pressure they were applying on the opposition. Goals were scarce to open the year, but game-by-game the Mohigans (8-6-5) found their identity and began to look like the team they knew they could be.
Snyder called Saturday’s victory, “the best 80 minutes we’ve played this season,” and it couldn’t have come at a better time with the sectional tournament beginning at 6 p.m. Tuesday, when the Mohigans host Brooke.
Not only did the aggression lead to a clean sheet against the Cougars, but the Mohigans put six goals past Capital, who have averaged just two goals against them this season.
The first came in the opening five minutes as senior winger Alex Tadros tucked the ball away after working the ball down the left side of the field.
Following soon after was another senior on the team, James Percifield, who dribbled the ball through a pair of defenders before passing to Riley Brabson, who finished the play with his eighth goal of the season. MHS grabbed an early 2-0 lead, and with it, all of the momentum.
The junior winger Brabson, found the back of the net again in the first half for his second of the day midway through the first half, giving his team a 3-0 lead.
The Cougars found some positive play after conceding a third, and with it came some decent looks on goal, with Capital desperate to score before half.
The home team had other plans however, as Percifield would score a goal this time, his 10th of the campaign. He worked a solo-dribbling effort into the CHS box with some impressive footwork, and shot the ball back across the goal into the corner.
“Our intensity was what you expect and we brought it from the opening whistle today,” Snyder said. “We capitalized on moments, we attacked both offensively and defensively. It’s just what you want to see out there overall. We got a set piece goal as well which is always good.”
The Cougars came out of the break on a positive note, working the ball into the MHS box multiple times. Mohigana keeper Tyler Crites made multiple stops however, preserving his clean sheet and denying the opponents any chance of turning the game around.
MHS would add two more goals in the second half, the first by defender Will Staples, who received a ball from Percifield before tucking the ball away for the fifth of the afternoon. Then, Alex Gonzalez finished a passing play for the sixth goal for MHS.
Now, the Mohigans begin postseason play. Coming in as defending state champions, Snyder and his team know every game will get harder from this point on and they need to bring the best they’ve got every night.
“Going forward we just need to match what we had tonight and try and build on it every game we have now,” Snyder said. “If we can match that, we can do anything.”
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