WHEELING — The typical footwear of soccer players is, of course, cleats. A pair of galoshes might have been more appropriate given the conditions at Wheeling Island Stadium Saturday, where three OVAC Boys Soccer Championships were held in a steady downpour throughout the morning and afternoon.

In the first of three soggy matches on the day, the Wheeling Park Patriots, playing in their home stadium, collected the Class 5A trophy with a 3-0 win over University.

“We knew coming in that it was going to rain (Saturday) and we prepared for it mentally,” Park coach Mario Julian said. “You could tell guys were a little sluggish out there. You’d rather not be playing in the rain and your mind wanders a little bit but at the end of the day, both teams had to play in it.”

Park’s win put a stop to University’s cinderella run to the championship. The Hawks had just a 3-6-3 record but made it into the tournament as the sixth and final seed because three teams ahead of them in the standings are not participating in this year’s playoffs. University upset No. 3 Brooke in the quarterfinal round and then took down top-seeded Steubenville on penalty kicks in the semifinal.

“Both teams from Morgantown are always tough, we knew that going in,” Julian said. “But I thought we controlled the game from start to finish and possessed the ball well.”

Wilson Hanna got the scoring started at the halfway point of the first half, finding the back of the net on an assist from Brody Wall at the 20:04 mark. That was the only score of the half as Park led 1-0 at the break.

Wall netted one himself five minutes into the second half on a pass from Matteo Gatesco to double the advantage to 2-0.

“Brody’s a senior and a four-year starter,” Julian said. “His leadership has really come to the forefront this year and he’s done such a nice job of calming the guys down in the middle. This is his third OVAC championship and he’s been helping the young guys along.”

The Patriots dominated play throughout the second half, but University goalie Connor Montgomery stood tall, making a dozen saves in the contest.

With four seconds left to play, Park striker Tresz McLeod scored on an assist from Hanna for the 3-0 final score.

“We’ve played exceptionally well two games in a row,” Julian said. “I don’t think our players complained about the weather at all today, they had the right attitude.

“Getting the trophy makes it better for sure.”

Class 1A-3A

The middle match featured a rematch from last season between the Linsly Cadets and Trinity Warriors. Trinity took last year’s title by way of penalty kicks after two overtimes, and Saturday’s contest was just as close, ending in a 1-0 Linsly win where the only goal came on a free kick less than two minutes into the game.

“We preached the first 20 minutes of this match were going to be vital,” Linsly coach Greg Martin said. “A fast start was essential and proved to be the game-winner.”

Stefan Mihajlovic was awarded a free kick inside Trinity’s box and buried the shot with 38:45 showing on the clock in the first quarter.

That early break proved vital for the Cadets for two reasons. First, Trinity goalkeeper Ben Lohmann played exceptional Saturday to never let in another goal in the remainder of the contest. Second, the condition of the artificial surface at Wheeling Island Stadium had become so waterlogged by the second half that the ball would barely roll a few feet before coming to a stop.

“That field was almost unplayable it felt like in the second half,” Martin said. “We just had to change what we were doing. We’re a team that likes to knock the ball around and keep possession and that was virtually impossible today. We just kind of had to adjust on the fly and roll with it.”

At no point was the condition of the field more apparent than at the 11:30 mark of the second half. Trinity got the ball out on a breakaway and the Warriors’ player beat Linsly’s goalkeeper at about the 15-yard line. He got a shot around the goalie that would have simply rolled into the net unabated under virtually any other circumstances.

Due to the condition of the field, however, the ball slowed and came to a complete stop five yards into the endzone and the Cadets were able to harmlessly kick it away.

That was the best chance at an equalizer Trinity had all game as the Cadets hung on to win 1-0.

“A lot of credit to Trinity and that coaching staff and players,” Martin said. “(Trinity coach) Dan (Lohmann), since he took over there, has just done a phenomenal job. I can’t say enough kind things about him and his program.”