Wright, Swartz Power Wheeling Park Girls Soccer To 2-0 Victory Over Washington High
Patriots face George Washington Friday for girls' state soccer championship
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BECKLEY — On Wednesday, Wheeling Park High School midfielder Riley Wright did everything right to help lead the Lady Patriots to a state soccer championship game.
In the state semifinal matchup against Washington High School at windy Paul Cline Stadium, Wright took charge against the Washington Lady Patriots, scoring a goal and creating several chances for her team in Wheeling Park’s 2-0 victory. She also was tenacious on defense, thwarting Washington’s attack on several occasions and dominating the midfield.
The first half ended scorelesss, with both teams having a strong scoring opportunity. Washington had the first chance when Lillian Carter struck a hard shot from 18 yards out that went just over the outstretched fingers of Park goalie Madeline Kirchner, hit the post, and was then cleared.
Wheeling Park’s best chance in the first 40 minutes came when junior Brenna Tipton hit a blast from the top of the box that also clipped the post before being cleared.
Wheeling Park gained momentum early in the second half, creating two scoring opportunities early that were turned away. The Wheeling Patriots finally got on the board with 21 minutes remaining when Wright, after gathering a deflection from defender Lily Tennant, hit a low, spinning shot from about 20 yards out that corkscrewed into goalkeeper Emery Willingham. The ball bounced off her outstretched hands and carried into the goal for a 1-0 lead.
“I was so excited for that goal,” Wright, a transfer this season from Wheeling Central Catholic High School, said following the match. “All my friends were there to support me, and I’m just so happy with how well we worked as a team. We had a lot of game left so it was good to get a second goal. We just kept going as hard as we could all game.”
Wheeling Park nearly secured that second goal just three minutes later. Tipton, with the ball deep in Washington’s end, sent a cross that found striker Reagan Ricker. She struck a header soundly but Willingham made an incredible save to keep the score 1-0.
Park’s second goal came with five minutes remaining, as Tipton’s free kick from the right corner found the leg of midfielder Aria Swartz, who buried the ball in the right-hand corner and put the game out of reach.
The victory lands Wheeling Park in Friday’s championship match, where the Patriots will face George Washington High, which defeated Parkersburg High 4-0 earlier Wednesday.
Park coach Tom Smith said he was pleased with his team’s effort and looks forward to Friday’s match. Park and George Washington faced off in the season opener in Charleston, which ended in a 3-3 tie.
“We didn’t have our best passing attack today, so we have to make some adjustments. The wind also played a bigger factor than I thought it would. Going forward, we just need to continue playing strongly as a team, making quick decisions on the ball and, basically, trusting ourselves. If we do that we’ll have a good chance,” Smith said.
Washington coach Tim Michael praised his girls for a strong season, noting Wednesday’s performance was not his team’s best.
“We’ve definitely played better. There were spots during the game that we just looked sluggish. We weren’t first to the ball. Wheeling Park is a really good team; they were first to too many of those balls. But those are the trials of playing with a young team,” he said.
“I’m really happy with our season. We have a young group, and I’m looking forward to next year. I think we’ll have a pretty good team.”