Photo by Kim North Wheeling Central’s Seneca Heller (22) goes up to play the ball as Williamstown goalkeeper Madelyn Jones also leaps high for possession during action Saturday morning on the artificial pitch at the J.B. Chambers Memorial Recreation Park in East Wheeling. Heller had two goals and a pair of assists as Wheeling Central debuted with an 8-0 blanking of the Yellowjackets. Also pictured are Wheeling Central's Elah Konkle (1) and Williamstown’s Haley Perkins (22).

EAST WHEELING – Coming off a fine 18-3-1 season in 2024, the Wheeling Central girls’ soccer team has high expectations for the 2025 campaign. So far, so good.

Saturday morning on the sun-splashed artificial pitch at the J.B. Chambers Memorial Recreation Park, the Maroon Knights made a successful debut with a dominating 8-0 blanking of visiting Williamstown (1-1). Five different Maroon Knights found the back of the net, and five others charted assists in the blowout.

However, as lop-sided as the play was – the Yellowjackets mustered just one shot on goal – Maroon Knights head coach Ashley Winters saw some things her talented squad can improve upon.

“Not bad. We came out a little slow in the first 40 minutes,” Winters said. “I guess I can’t complain. The score was 3-0 but we had 25 shots on goal.”

Wheeling Central, the West Virginia Class A/AA Region I runners-up last fall to Weir, led 3-0 at the half before some minor adjustments led to a 5-goal outburst early in the second 40 minutes.

“We talked to the girls about what they needed to do, but they know what they need to do,” Winters added. “We came out in the first 15 minutes of the second half and were a different team.

“We have to capitalize on those offensive opportunities. We spent the whole first half down in their end, but we weren’t capitalizing on our shots. That’s what wins games,” she stressed. “We gave them that talk at halftime and they came out and got the job done early in the second half.”

Wheeling Central put half of its 10 second-half shots into the back of the net in pulling away.

Senior Seneca Heller scored two goals and assisted on a pair of others, while sophomore Rylee Wright lit the goal lamp twice and recorded a trio of helpers. Elizabeth Steele also had a pair of tallies. Loni Kusic had the other.

All told, the Maroon Knights logged 14 assists as freshman Elah Konkle had three to go with a goal, and senior Mariah Ratcliffe had two assists. Seniors Monti Smith, Addie Payton, Sara Zende and sophomore Maddie Kirchner all had one assist.

The Maroon Knights peppered Williamstown goalkeeper Madelyn Jones with 35 shots. The junior kept the Yellowjackets close for a while before Wheeling Central’s aggressiveness on offense paid off. Jones finished with 27 saves, with some being of the acrobatic nature.

Defensively, the Maroon Knights kept the pressure on up front and only allowed Williamstown across midfield a handful of times. The Yellowjackets were limited to just the one shot, it coming from Kadence Bandy in the 55th minute.

Winters was also pleased with the fact that all the players saw action.

“We got everyone in the game,” she said. “We wanted to get some of them playing time in the second half, and we ended up getting everyone in the game.”

Junior goaltender Bella Fitzsimmons was up to the task on the shot for her only work defensively. She did handle the ball a few times when it was played back to her by a teammate.

Wheeling Central hosts Brooke Tuesday night.