Wheeling Park Boys Fall In AAA Semifinals
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BECKLEY - It was the last thing Wheeling Park coach Mario Julian wanted to see late in the Patriots Class AAA state tournament semifinal game against Greenbrier East Friday morning in Beckley.
But there was the Spartans' Adam Seams, one of the state's premier players, free behind his defense.
Seams dribbled the ball left, inside the box, Wheeling Park's Hayden Barbour hot on his tail, and the Patriots' Matteo Gattesco efforting to cut him off in front. Seams redirected the ball causing Gattesco and keeper Gavin Border to guess left and Seams directed it into the right back of the net for a 2-1 game winner in the 77th minute.
"He got behind the defense," Julian said "It was a 50-50 ball in the middle of the field, and we looked at each other and didn't play it really well. Once he got past our center-mids, it put us under great pressure. A player like Seams only needs one great shot to win a game and that is what he got. It was a great goal."
"I'm going to give all the glory to God on this goal," Seams, a senior standout, said of his goal. "Three minutes before (the goal) happened, I just took a moment, closed my eyes, and I was like, 'Please God, I'll do anything for you, I know you're going to give me a goal right here. And He came through just like He always does."
Park dominated the first half by possessing the ball allowing them more scoring opportunities.
The only one they got was an equalizer by Wilson Hanna less than three minutes after Chase Mizia had given the Spartans a 1-0 lead on a penalty kick.
"I saw two teams battling hard, and neither team wanted to give an inch," Julian said. "It was an even game for 77 minutes and their best player got behind our (defense) and got a great goal. You have to give credit where credit is due. No shame in the way we played. I thought we were outstanding, and they were equally up to the task."
First half opportunities ended up being lost after Greenbrier East took a more aggressive approach in the second half.
"It seemed like in the first half we won the midfield, got some attack and then in the second half it flipped," Julian said. "I don't know what the factors were in that. Maybe they were a little anxious in the first half. Maybe they needed that half to settle down.
"Our game plan in the second half was to keep doing the same thing. I didn't think we needed to change much because we were possessing the ball, getting good shots and were in control of our game and the way we were playing."
For Greenbrier East it was about change. And that change made a difference.
"They dominated in the first half because of the system we tried to employ," Spartans head coach Lucas Lemine said. "I won't say it wouldn't have worked if we had done it right. We didn't quite do it right. We were lacking in a couple of areas. But we made the change to forget that and go back to how we had been playing and we were able to put more pressure on their backs, which led to us being able to pressure more."
An in-game adjustment by Seams and Mizia made a significant difference too and likely decided the game.
They switched spots, Seams moving to the front line and Mizia going to the defensive line without about 15 minutes remaining in the game.
"It just came down to Adam Seams (scoring the winner)" Greenbrier East coach Lemine said. "But I can't overstate Chase Mizia's ability to be humble enough to go back and play in the back line. That is on them. It's something we've discussed that they have to understand that if Adam goes (to attack), Chase has to sit (on defense). They have total license to do what they want as long as it's communicated. We saw early in the season lots of things were not communicated and there were lots of gaps." The only gap Seams found Friday was the one he scored the winner through with 3:42 remaining.
Greenbrier East keeper Joe Cochran, who had 14 shutouts this season, was clean in the second half, as the Spartans were able to shut out the always attacking Tresz McLeod, who always seemed just inches from breaking the tie in the second half.
"(Cochran) took one when the game was still tied, when we got loose on the side there and Tresz beat the goalie. I didn't realize that their goalie tipped it wide. That was a heck of a save there. It didn't turn out to be a game saver, but it took a shot that kept the game even and gave them a shot there at the end to win it," Julian said.
McLeod, who had 35 goals this season, had several opportunities.
"I flat-out went and found Tresz and told him our game plan was 100 percent on him," Lemine said. "We understand they have a couple of other guys who can do some things, but Tresz is flat-out the dude and we had to stop him. He did not get it in the back of the net but it wasn't for the lack of trying. He's going to be a player in the state the next couple of years and he's going to get his when he wants to get his.""
"You know what, they played GW and GW is great, and they have players equal to what Tresz is, and (Greenbrier East) was comfortable with their defense and how they were going to double team him," Julian said. "No shame in Tresz's game out there, he had three or four real good scoring chances and the goalie made saves."
For Park, it won't have to do much to reload for next season, with the bulk of the key players back in McLeod, Hanna and Border, who at times seemed an impenetrable border, returning.
"We played a competitive schedule, and we were able to get out of that schedule (16-5-4) and we were feeling confident about our game," Julian said. "We were on a 10-game win streak until today. These kids showed up and they worked their tails off. I couldn't be prouder of my kids. It was a great season. It's disappointing right now but when we look back and reflect on it, this is going to go down as one of my best seasons. We got really good as the season went on."
Greenbrier East (21-2) plays Spring Mills in the state championship game at 10:30 a.m. Saturday.