MORGANTOWN – Last night’s Region 1 Section 2 boys soccer Sectional semifinal between host University and Fairmont Senior, far from the typical opening round mismatch, pitted two talented teams with rich traditions and a long history of competitive matches.
So when the Hawks burst out to a 3-nil halftime lead, absolutely nobody in balmy Mylan Pharmaceutical Stadium anticipated a second-half blowout, and absolutely everybody was right, as the Polar Bears scored a goal in both the first five minutes and the last five minutes, but just couldn’t get the equalizer, as UHS survived and advanced with a 3-2 victory.
In a first half that featured very physical play from both teams, University (11-7-2) controlled possession and generated more build-up through the midfield, while Fairmont Senior (10-6-5) earned numerous free kick opportunities. The difference? The Hawks were able to finish their best chances as well as produce sound defensive clearances on the Polar Bears’ set pieces.
The opening goal in the 8th minute featured a quick transition from midfield on a diagonal pass to UHS forward Brock Shuba that split the defenders and sent the senior straight into the box. FSHS keeper Will Jones raced off his line for a terrific kick save, but the ball spun left right to fellow senior Wesley DeLeurere, who calmly booted the rebound into the empty goal.
Within a minute, University doubled their advantage when Shuba’s throw-in was gathered by freshman Andrew Ballard at the right corner of the 18. He quickly turned and poked a low near post shot that slipped under Jones and rolled in.
Down two goals early, the Polar Bears continued to generate enough pressure in the final third to garner several free kicks and corners, but the UHS defense was especially strong in the air to clear balls out of danger, and any FSHS shots were sent far over the top. After absorbing this offensive thrust through the middle of the half, the Hawks picked up their third tally of the match in the 36th minute. Junior Davion Huckaby gathered a loose ball in the left side of the penalty area, slickly dribbled around a defender then buried a low shot into the near corner.
Trailing by three, Fairmont Senior knew they needed to take more chances, and hoped to get an early goal to build some belief – and they did just that when Cam Peschel lofted a corner kick directly on goal that snuck over the fingertips of UHS keeper Finn Worstorff and under the bar to make it 3-1 at the 45 minute mark. Energized, the Polar Bears continued their pattern of drawing whistles in the periphery of the UHS box, but time and again the Hawks cooly cleared the ball out of danger, and on several occasions, quick counter attacks gave them golden chances to restore their lead, but the final pass or shot wouldn’t happen.
In the 68th minute, a powerful Polar Bears shot from just inside the box was punched away by a diving, stretching Worstorff, easily the most spectacular save of the day, to preserve the 3-1 advantage, but in the 75th minute, another surrendered corner led to a loose ball near the back post which was half-volleyed in by Sam Flower, and suddenly Fairmont Senior had pulled to within a goal. Pushing hard, the Polar Bears earned a corner in the final minute, and after a brief scrum in the box, the ball squirted out, heading toward the far post, but was deftly cleared off the back line by senior striker Pierre Kpegba. Moments later, the final whistle blew, and the Hawks were on to the Sectional championship game.
So exactly what was a striker doing on the back line, other than saving the game?
“On corner kicks,” Kpegba smiled, “I usually take the back post and try to make sure I’m there in case the ball gets loose. And that’s what happened, so I just watched, and when the ball started coming about thigh high right at the post, I just made a soccer play and swung my leg around and kicked it wide of the post. There’s a chance you can put one like that in your own net, so I was really happy that didn’t happen.”
After the match, University coach Michael Smith was especially pleased with his team’s play in the first half, and was not at all surprised by Fairmont Senior’s comeback attempt.
“We put a lot of what we worked on in practice this week onto the field tonight, and it made a difference, especially early,” he explained. “We finished our chances and were solid in the back. I told the guys at half that they were gonna come hard, and they did, but I give our guys credit for hanging tough and gutting out the win.
“And this was a really good playoff tournament game against a very good team,” he continued. “It’s certainly the most competitive Sectional semi-final we’ve played in a long while, and I think that great for high school soccer, and great for our team. We’ve been ready for the postseason for a while now, and everyone – especially our nine seniors (DeLeurere, Kpegba, Shuba, Kevin Hernandez, Nate Lindsay, Nickita Aytac, Brady Grubb, Josh Espinoza, and Anthony Gonzalez) – is looking forward to going on the road, trying to keep our season going. This was a good first step.”
The Hawks will play for the Sectional title this Thursday on the road against Bridgeport, who defeated Buckhannon-Upshur 4-0 in the second semifinal. The Indians defeated UHS 1-0 last week as the sides split the regular season series with a win a piece.
– By Mark Schraf
