photo by: Nick Henthorn

Photo by Nick Henthorn Wheeling Park’s Ike Aderholt races down the sideline during the Patriots’ playoff opener Saturday against Jefferson inside Wheeling Island Stadium.

WHEELING — Top-seeded Wheeling Park Patriots had won 12 straight going into their playoff game Saturday at Wheeling Island Stadium against No. 8. Jefferson, and against the Cougars, Park made it a bakers’ dozen with a 6-1 victory.

In the Patriots’ opening outing for the 2025 postseason, Wheeling Park senior Ike Aderholt put through four goals as Park dominated possession and racked up scores to advance through to the W.Va. Class AAAA North Regional semifinals. They will play the winner of No. 4 Musselman vs. No. 5 Martinsburg on Thursday, Oct. 30. As the top seed in the North Region, Park will host.

“I really liked the result,” Wheeling Park head coach Mario Julian said about his team’s victory. “Our guys played extremely hard. The anxiety was there a little bit at the beginning. I thought our quality could have been better, but they settled in and then started moving the ball really well. Ike had a great game. Wilson got us off to a fast start and, you know, we had some great quality goals with some good passing and finished really strong. Got a lot of guys in today, which is exciting.”

Wilson Hanna put Wheeling Park on the board for the first of his two goals, and Aderholt took a short pass from a corner kick and drove a shot through for a 2-0 lead in the 20th minute Saturday.

Hanna earned a penalty kick after Jefferson committed a penalty in the goalie box, and cashed in for a 3-0 lead in the 35th minute.

The game was close to halftime, but Park was not close to done.

Aderholt struck with goals in the 36th and 37th minute to clinch a lightning-quick hat trick, and Park went into the locker rooms ahead 5-0.

Out of halftime, Jefferson’s Keating Amos sunk a shot to put the Cougars on the board in the 49th minute, but Aderholt scored again to bring Park’s margin back up to five before the final buzzer.

“He is very competitive and, you know, when the games get bigger, it really brings out a little extra in his mental toughness,” Julian said of Aderholt. “He just came to play today. He wants to win. And, you know, he led the team by example, not only by scoring the goals, but also he’s just a good leader on the field.”

The winner of next Thursday’s outing will earn a trip to the WVSSAC state soccer championships, held Nov. 5-8 in Beckley.