photo by: Kim North

Pictured are members of the Wheeling Park girls soccer team after they claimed the W.Va. Class AAAA North Region Upper Bracket Championship Thursday night over University, 2-0, at rainy Wheeling Island Stadium.

WHEELING – While the third time was definitely a charm for Wheeling Park, it was more of the same in another way.

After losing to Morgantown in last year’s regional championship game, the top-seeded Patriots had one goal in mind this season – getting back to Beckley and the state tournament.

Wheeling Park (17-2-2) advanced to the W.Va. Class AAAA state semifinals Thursday night on the artificial pitch at rain-soaked Wheeling Island Stadium with a 2-0 blanking of No. 4 University (14-3-4) in the North Region Upper Bracket Championship match.

The victory was the third in as many tries against the Hawks, with the Patriots holding an 11-0 scoring advantage. They won 4-0 in the regular season and 5-0 in the OVAC Class 5A finals.

“It feels pretty good and, as you can tell, the girls are pretty happy about it,” Wheeling Park head coach Tom Smith said amidst a joyous celebration. “These girls remember the sting of losing to Morgantown. It was definitely a motivating factor.”

Brenna Tipton, who has one of the top times in Class AAAA state cross country meet scheduled for Saturday in Ona, scored both goals for the Patriots, who have won state titles in 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2020.

“Brenna does what Brenna does,” Smith said. “The entire team played great. Give University credit. They are a good team and they played hard, too.”

The pair of net-finders give Tipton 13 on the season.

“I’m really excited because we’ve been dreaming about this all season,” the sophomore said. “It’s going to be incredible to experience this together.”

She said the loss to Morgantown last year was so sad.

“I had just qualified for the state meet and was in a good mood. I was so excited for that game, but they got the best of us,” she recalled. “But we’re going down this year.”

Tipton scored what turned out to be the only goal Wheeling Park needed in the fifth minute. She pounded a shot from the middle of the box that zipped past University goalkeeper MacKenzie Morris.

The Patriots had a flurry of activity in front of Morris in the 34th minute, but came up empty as several shots were blocked on their way to the net.

Tipton gave Wheeling Park some breathing room in the 45th minute as she dribbled down the right wing before sending a rocket to the far corner that Morris had no chance of stopping.

Although senior goalkeeper Riley Perry didn’t face a shot on goal, Smith praised her play all season. She only touched the ball once – that coming in the 70th minute on a ball from long range.

“When she’s called upon, she’s more than capable. I’m happy for her and our other two seniors, Hailey (Hastings) and Julia (Dunaway) for being able to go to Beckley and play at the highest level possible.”

Morris finished with 10 saves.

Morgantown won the North Region Lower Bracket, while George Washington and Oak Hill were the South Region Upper and Lower bracket winners, respectively.

The state semifinals will be played on Thursday, Nov. 6. The teams will be seeded (No. 1 vs. No. 4) at 5 p.m, with the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds playing 30 minutes after the completion of the first match. All the action will be held at the YMCA Paul Cline Memorial Sports Complex.