Morgantown locks down rivalry showdown, edges University 1-0

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Heading into Thursday’s rivalry matchup against University (8-2), coach Sam Snyder knew his Mohigans (8-3) had to out-possess the Hawks and do well on the transition. 

“If we lose it we want to get behind it and get it back,” Snyder said. “We’ve taken a lot of steps in the right direction up to tonight, so we’re excited to see where we are and what our character is like tonight. See if all that hard work has paid off.”

As soon as the first half kicked off, both groups were on the attack. With fouls flying faster than moths to the halogens overlooking Pony Lewis Field, University picked up a penalty just shy of the 18-yard line giving the tandem of Ahmad Mikky and Caden Carpenter a chance at a free kick in the 5th minute. 

Carpenter charged the ball, but changed up at the last second on a fake out as Mikky sent a shot between Tim Bailey and the right post. Bailey batted it away, but Azain Uqailey was there for an uncontested rebound shot into the back of the net. 

Mikky takes the kick saved by Tim Bailey, but Azain Uqailey is there for the rebound goal in the 5th minute. MHS 1, UHS 0. #wvprepsoccer pic.twitter.com/zOUhoiYqCk

— Andrew Spellman (@andrewspellman_) September 20, 2019

The intensity picked up where it left off as neither team would find luck on the ensuing attacks. Sophomore Carter Cave was prolific at the net for Morgantown, saving multiple shots in his third start of the year. 

“Ben (Myer) did everything right, Carter was just injured and didn’t get back until early September,” Snyder said. “The difference with Carter is that he’s the leader of the backline. He does his job. He brings a lot of stability to our backline, and that’s where he’s been great from the get-go.”

The second half was equally as chippy, but after a tough possession battle with multiple Hawks’ breakaway shots soaring over the net or wide of the vertical post Morgantown came away with the win. 

That hard work Snyder mentioned prior to the 80-minute showdown certainly paid off, and thanks to Cave the Hawks shutout will propel the Mohigans into the remaining half of their season – especially the OVAC tournament next week. 

“They’re so good (with possession),” Snyder said of his cross-town counterpart. “We’ve done a lot of transition games were it quickly turns from offense to defense with the whole goal being to counter and finish, and today, if we did one thing really well, it was (transitioning). We didn’t park the bus, but we made it hard for them to make space.” 

That lack of space would lead to multiple fouls on both teams, although most of them came down on the Hawks. 

“As much as they frustrated us, we frustrated them. I don’t think either team looked great – that was a derby. It just came down to the ball going in our favor,” Snyder continued. “Both teams put in an equal effort,  both teams squashed chances, and both teams had little to operate with so it came down to us getting a lucky bounce and a good finish.

“I told them beforehand, you can have a reputation, but that’s what other people think. Your character is who you are, and they showed their character and resolve tonight to see a game out even though we weren’t playing necessarily well.”

“I felt like we could have had a bigger portion of the possession,” Smith said. “We picked the wrong day to have our least disciplined game of the year formation wise. I don’t know if it was the magnitude of the game, but as disciplined as we were Saturday (against Washington) I think there were a lot of things to work on tonight.

“We’re going to have to get the defense shored up. At the beginning of the season, that was our biggest strength. Tonight we didn’t deal with pressure very well. In the midfield we didn’t use the width of the field like we should have or exploit our speed down the wings like we should have. When we found our groove in the second half – I shoulder some blame for this – I made a sub that I think kind of killed our momentum.” 

Up next

“If you can win ugly, that bodes well moving into an OVAC Tournament next week,” Snyder said. 

And even though the Mohigans face Stuebenville Central (Ohio) on Saturday, Snyder’s thoughts are already in that tournament. Three wins would give Morgantown the conference crown, which would be a big push for the remainder of the season. 

The Hawks are gearing up for a big Saturday match before the OVAC Tournament, however, taking on No. 1 George Washington. 

“It’s an opportunity, but we have to understand it doesn’t effect OVACs, sectionals or regionals. This is more of a test to see where we are,” Smith said. “GW will be a litmus test and (to) see how we bounce back. Seeing how a team deals with adversity is huge.”

Injury update

J.M. Jones, who had not played since University’s game at Spring Mills on Sept. 7 due to a high ankle sprain, checked in during the final minutes of the first half. He didn’t start in the second half, but he rotated in shortly after the first few minutes. It was a good sight for UHS after nearly two weeks off rehabbing the injury. 

“He’s back awfully quick,” Smith said. “I didn’t want to play him a lot to see how it feels, but those athletic trainers are doing a great job. He feels pretty good.”  

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