MORGANTOWN — Thursday night at chilly, rain-soaked Pony Lewis Field at JW Stadium, the Morgantown boys’ soccer team faced Steubenville (Oh.) in an Ohio Valley Athletic Conference Tournament semi-final match. And while the No. 6 Mohigans weren’t necessarily considered a long shot against the Big Reds, it was two first-half long shots from Aidan Stire that propelled MHS to a comfortable 3-0 halftime lead on their way to a solid 5-0 victory.
Despite missing three starters due to injury, Morgantown (11-2-1) was able to get to their impressive possession game right from the opening whistle, and it led to an important early tally. Junior Fynn Rolston gathered a loose ball 30 yards out in the fourth minute, turned to his right and launched a rocket of a right foot into the corner for a spectacular opening goal.
Eight minutes later, as the rain continued to fall, Stire took advantage of the slippery conditions and his own powerful right leg on a free kick from midfield. The 55-yard shot sailed passed defenders and teammates gathered in the box, dipped right in front of the Big Red keeper, and skidded under his hands and into the goal for a surprise doubling of the Mohigans’ advantage.
Steubenville (8-4-1) packed seven or eight defenders in the box most of the time, and even their infrequent counterattacks had trouble penetrating the MHS defense. The Big Red was most dangerous off of their infrequent corner kick opportunities, and they had two golden opportunities sail just wide of the goal in the middle of the half. Shortly after the Big Red chances, in the 24th minute, MHS earned another free kick from distance, this one from 42 yards out, and once again Stire took it, pounded it, and this time, the shot sailed all the way on goal, skipping off the keeper’s fingers into the net.
Those 97 yards of shot distance on Stire’s two goals weren’t accidental by any means, according to MHS coach Sam Snyder.
“We knew the conditions were poor,” he explained, “so our mentality was shoot, shoot, shoot. And Aidan has a powerful shot, so we can create chaos in the box on set pieces from almost anywhere on the pitch. They worked very well for us for sure.”
Down by three at the break, Steubenville tried to send more into the attack, but MHS’s dynamic center-back tandem of Ziggy Hirschfield and Sam Pacyna read the play beautifully, angled off forwards, and usually swept and distributed balls to the midfield with a single touch, allowing the Mohigans to quickly transition to offense.
The best chance of the night for the Big Red came in the 60th minute when a deflected clear bounced back toward goal, but MHS keeper Tyler Crites roared off his line and deflected a shot away with his feet. MHS immediately countered, and Alexander Gonzalez-Tanon, who controlled play all night and was continuously dangerous, got loose down the left side, then rolled a perfect cross to center driving Will Staples, who bravely beat both his defender and the Steubenville keeper to the ball just before heavy contact, knocking it past both into the open cage.
The finishing touch on the win was again manufactured by Gonzalez-Tanon, whose pass sprung Anthony Vessecchia free 1 v 1 with the keeper, and the freshman calmly deposited the ball for his first varsity goal to seal the 5-0 win and secure MHS’s berth in the OVAC final.
“The best part of the OVAC Tournament for us is that it it’s a way for us to play high stakes, single-elimination matches before sectionals,” Snyder said. “There’s really no other way to prepare for that kind of pressure other than to actually be immersed in it, so it’s like a bonus challenge for us. And Wheeling Park will definitely be a big challenge. We’re very evenly matched, and they’re big rivals.
“Anytime you can play a tough team that you may face in the playoffs,” he concluded, “and play for a trophy at the same time, it’s an excellent opportunity to see how your team responds. We’re looking forward to it.”
Morgantown travels to St. Clairsville (Oh.) for the OVAC Championship against familiar foe Wheeling Park on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. then returns home to host Brooke on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
BY MARK SCHRAF
