BECKLEY – The Morgantown girls soccer team are the 2022 WVSSAC Class AAA state champions after an overtime victory over Parkersburg South 2-1 on Saturday at Paul Cline Stadium in Beckley.
MHS claimed its second championship in four years, the second for the senior class, who also won when they were freshmen. It is also the second for fifth-year head coach Stirlin Rivers.
Junior captain Gracie Brown netted a penalty kick in the first sudden-death overtime to secure the title for the Mohigans, she also assisted on the opening goal by senior Cloe Ratliff in the first half.
“I told them to just calm down we were very emotional,” Rivers said, explaining his message to the team going into overtime. “We weren’t losing the game, it’s 1-1 and we needed to realize that and keep playing our game.”
The overtime came as a result of a 1-1 draw after an action-packed 80 minutes of regulation.
The opening 20 minutes of the first half yielded no goals but proved that the remainder of the game would be a test of toughness. Neither team allowed the other to possess the ball in dangerous areas long enough to find a decent chance. The first didn’t come until half an hour into the game when MHS worked the ball into the box but Lilly Staples sent the ball over the goal.
Then, just three minutes later, the Mohigans found the opener when Gracie Brown dribbled the ball down the left-hand side of the field. She weaved into the 18-yard box and passed the ball across to teammate Ratliff, who buried a left-footed effort into the net, giving her team a 1-0 advantage into halftime.
“I can just feel a connection between Cloe and I,” Brown said of her assist. “She was the one who assisted me (in Friday’s semifinal) so I knew if I took the ball down the line she would be there, I just trusted it.”
Opening the second half it would be Parkersburg South to earn the early chances. A free kick was taken from 40 yards out and somehow rolled through a crowd of players untouched, MHS keeper Madysen Scheller reacted in time but it caught her off guard for a second.
Then a game-changing moment with twenty minutes to go as a foul was called on the Mohigans inside the 18-yard box, resulting in a penalty kick for the Patriots and the opportunity to tie the game.
On the kick, Scheller dove to her left and saved the shot, beating the ball away with her left palm. However, the referee determined that she didn’t remain in a legal position as the ball was kicked and ruled the kick to be retaken. Scheller earned a yellow card for the violation and, per the rules, had to sub out of the game momentarily. That meant freshman Camdyn Smith would come in to defend the spot kick.
The second time would be the charm for PSHS as the equalizer was buried.
No goals would be scored before the end of regulation and the Mohigans would need their second overtime goal in as many games to capture the championship.
The first overtime period began calmly, with neither team wanting to give the other an easy opportunity to end the game.
Eventually, MHS worked the ball around for an extended possession that found senior Ashleigh Weaver with the ball in the box. She put a move on the defender, causing an attempt to steal the ball that instead, found Weaver’s ankle. The referee immediately awarded a foul to the Mohigans, giving them a penalty kick of their own this time.
Brown stepped up to the spot and buried a shot into the left corner of the net.
“It feels so good to finally come out with this win,” Brown said after the game. “I knew what I needed to do for my team and that’s all it’s about. We wanted to win this for the seniors. We need to lift everyone up and the energy was definitely driving us throughout the game. We are at our best when we come together.”
MHS finishs the season with a record of 20-1-1.
TWEET – @dompostsports @ahhh_griff
