Wheeling Park Boys Again Class Of 5A With Sixth-Straight OVAC Championship
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ST. CLAIRSVILLE -- The celebration was on Saturday after Wheeling Park's 6-2 victory over Beaver Local in the OVAC 5A boys soccer championship, but with the Patriots' history of success atop the conference, medals and photo ops are becoming commonplace.
Saturday made for a remarkable six consecutive OVAC championships for Wheeling Park's boys soccer squad, who can once again check off a goal of theirs for the season, now past its midway point.
"They just show up in June and July, start getting ready for the season, and once August turns around, their focus is really, really good," Wheeling Park head coach Mario Julian said. "They set these expectations themselves, and we play hard and we try to get them."
"Us seniors, it’s four in a row for us, so the work we put into practice, everyone just battles every day," Wheeling Park's Graham Loy said. "We work hard, and it really shows out on the field. They [Beaver Local] were a good team, but I feel like we just outworked them."
Loy helped Wheeling Park in a major way, putting through a brace of goals on the Patriots' way to a decisive victory over the Beavers inside St. Clairsville's Red Devil Stadium.
Wheeling Park led 5-0 at the half.
"My teammates around me, they just played tremendously," Loy said of his performance. "They found me top of the box and I just hit it, but they put so much work in, they worked hard to get me that, so it’s all of us, it’s not just me."
Chase Smith also scored two goals for the Patriots, while Brayden Hedges and Isaac Welling each scored to reach Park's final total.
Aiden McCroskey finished with two assists for the victors, and Miles Rockey also tallied an assist.
Jake Robinson had five saves in-goal, and he was relieved late in the second half by Mason Hastings, who had two saves.
After conquering the conference yet again, Wheeling Park-- now 11-0-2 on the season-- has a handful of regular season game yet to come, starting with a trip to Trinity (Washington, Pa.) on Tuesday.
"It’s a goal," Julian said of the OVAC title. "Every year we set out to be OVAC champions, and we’ve got a good group of seniors that really enjoy playing with each other. I thought we were relaxed, I thought we possessed the ball really well. Multiple guys had really good games, and we were able to get our passing how we wanted it."