BECKLEY, W.Va. — Wheeling Central used two first-half goals and added another in the second to capture the school’s first West Virginia state soccer championship with a 3-1 win over Lincoln High School Friday in the Class AA-A finals.

Central played a flawless first half. After 10 minutes of working and figuring out Lincoln’s defense, the Lady Maroon Knights went on the attack. Sophomore Loni Kusic struck a ball that hit off the post in the 11th minute. One minute later, freshman midfielder Elah Konkle drove a ball from the top of the box that went just over the goalkeeper’s fingertips for a 1-0 lead. Four minutes later Konkle struck again with another drive into the net for a 2-0 lead.

Central had several opportunities later in the first half and generally kept play in the Lincoln half. The Cougars generated a few opportunities late in the half but strong play by senior defender Gianna Konkle and freshman Maddie Steele kept Lincoln in check.

Central kept up the pressure in the second half. Sophomore Rylee Wright notched a goal five minutes in on an excellent feed from Loni Kusic to make the score 3-0. It would stay that way for the next 15 minutes until Lincoln finally cracked the scoreboard off a corner kick to make the score 3-1.