Park Boys Fall 1-0 To Hurricane In State Soccer Semifinals
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BECKLEY — Wheeling Park High School’s boys soccer team dominated much of the action Wednesday against Hurricane High School in the West Virginia Secondary Schools Activities Commission State Soccer semifinals. However, a goal in the sixth minute by Hurricane provided all the cushion the Redskins needed in capturing an extremely hard-fought, 1-0 win over the Patriots.
Early in the game, Hurricane’s Kenshin Tanaka’s took a cross from Matthew Kerrigan and buried it in the back of the net for the only score in the match. Wheeling Park had several excellent scoring opportunities throughout the game but couldn’t put the ball on net.
Park’s best chance in the first half came in the 27th minute, when senior striker Isaac Welling worked the ball deep into Hurricane’s end. Welling used excellent footwork to gain a step on the defender while approaching the goal. He sent a quick pass to junior Aiden McCroskey in front of the net, but McCroskey just missed striking the ball solidly into the open net.
Hurricane controlled the game for the first 12 minutes of the second half. Park, though, asserted itself and controlled the midfield, leading to several free kicks. A corner kick with nine minutes remaining offered Wheeling Park its best chance to score, as the ball bounced off several players in front of the net before being cleared.
The game was physical throughout, resulting in several yellow cards and a red card in the final minute.
Hurricane defeated Wheeling Park in last year’s semifinal match as well.
“I’m so proud of my team,” Park head coach Mario Julian said. “We knew it was going to be a test today, and we had a game plan and our execution was perfect. We possessed the ball, switched the ball, and took shots when we had the opportunity. I just wish a couple more of those shots were on net, particularly with the wet ground, that might have given us a couple more scoring chances.”
Julian also noted that for his seniors, Wednesday marked their third trip to states. “They’re such a great group of kids. They were battle-tested, and I thought we put one of our best games on the pitch tonight. We didn’t get the result we wanted, but I think we played strong as a team, we did everything we wanted to, but unfortunately we just couldn’t get the ball to go in.”
Hurricane will face top-seed Woodrow Wilson High School in the finals on Friday evening. Woodrow Wilson defeated Morgantown, 7-0, in the other semifinal.