photo by: John McCabe

Wheeling Central freshman defender Maddox Ochap heads the ball out of danger during the first half of Friday’s West Virginia Secondary Schools Activities Commission Class A-AA championship match against St. Joseph Central High School.

For the Wheeling Central boys, Friday’s Class A-AA West Virginia Secondary Schools Activities Commission State Soccer Championship match against St. Joseph Central came down to what could have been.

Two solid scoring opportunities in the first half just missed the mark. Numerous shots on goal couldn’t find the back of the bet. And St. Joseph Central, when it had opportunities, cashed in.

In the end, it led to a 4-0 final that saw Wheeling Central’s boys finish as runner-up in the state title tilt.

Central’s first-half chances came early. In the seventh minute, junior forward Mason Smith had a solid strike from the top of the box that just went high over the crossbar. Just a few minutes later, off a throw-in deep in St. Joseph territory, the ball took a favorable Wheeling Central bounce and junior forward Luke Magruder had a shot attempt from deep in the box that bounded off a defender and out of harms’ way.

Following that opening 12 minutes, Wheeling Central struggled to find offense, while St. Joseph slowly established control in the midfield.

Wheeling Central’s defense played a solid first half, keeping St. Joseph’s attack at bay with solid defense.

A Wheeling Central foul in the 38th minute gave the Irish a free kick from about 25 yards out. St. Joseph’s Brier Wagner hit a curling strike that just slipped past the outstretched fingers of Maroon Knight keeper Tino Sperlazza, bouncing off the far post and ricocheting into the goal. The score would remain 1-0 until the half.

The first 13 minutes of the second half played much the same, with the Fighting Irish controlling the pace of play. However, with 27 minutes remaining, Wheeling Central got a man advantage after a St. Joseph player received his second yellow card. This forced the Fighting Irish to play a man down for the final 27 minutes.

Down a man and with Wheeling Central having the momentum, St. Joseph’s Liam Templeton went to work. Instead of sitting back and holding on, St. Joseph’s attacked on a turnover, with quick passing leading to Templeton breaking free in front of Sperlazza and depositing the ball into the net for a 2-0 score. St. Joseph’s Wagner added another goal with 12 minutes remaining to make the score 3-0. That goal came with another red card for the Fighting Irish, meaning the final 12 minutes they played two men down.

Wheeling Central had several good opportunities late, but St. Joseph’s Templeton netted his second goal with seven minutes remaining — Sperlazza was up in an attempt to generate offense — to finish out the scoring.

Wheeling Central head coach Brian Komorowski couldn’t say enough of his boys’ performance.

“I mean, we had 19 wins, the best season in team history. We made it to the state championship game. It’s been a fantastic run and I can’t say enough about our team,” he said.

“We played really strong today. Their first goal with two minutes to go in the half was kind of a kick in the gut. The best player in the state took a shot (St. Joseph’s Wagner), and the best goalie in the state (Sperlazza) got a finger on it but it went in. Once they went a man down, we knew — we had already shifted a little bit formation wise. Once they went a man down, we shifted even more to get pressure. And I mean, when you look at the score sheet and see how many shots we had on net and then the final score, it doesn’t make sense.”

Komorowski also noted he’s looking forward to the group returning next year. “We have a group of eight seniors who all are contributing factors to the team. They’re all going to be missed, they’re all loved, but we have a team of 27 so the good thing is, the cupboard’s not empty. The expectation is to be right back here next year, and we won’t settle for mediocrity. That’s one of the great things about sports that we play in.”

Wheeling Central finished the season 19-4-1, with two of those losses coming to St. Joseph.