Nov 5, 2022 Parkersburg South’s Hadley Freshour (10) and George Washington’s Emma Cipoletti (18) battle for possession of the ball during a high school girls soccer state semifinal matchup Friday in Beckley. (Photo by Kerry Patrick) BECKLEY, W.Va. , Good things happen when the soccer ball touches Adi Altizer’s foot.
Friday night at the YMCA Paul Cline Memorial Youth Sports Complex, the Parkersburg South girls soccer team advanced to the W.Va.
State Class AAA title match after outlasting defending state champion George Washington, 2-1, in double overtime.
The second-seeded Patriots (19-4) advance to today’s final, scheduled for approximately 1 p.m. at Cline Field, against Morgantown (19-1-1).
The top-seeded Mohigans also needed double overtime to knock off Hedgesville, 1-0.
South’s game-winning goal occurred at the 8:56 mark of the second 10-minute overtime when Altizer ripped one of numerous shot attempts by the Patriot offense past sophomore keeper Shelby Tharp. “That was amazing,” Altizer said. “I don’t even know how many minutes we played.
My math is not very good right now.
But it was a lot.
It was incredible for the whole team.” Only a sophomore, Altizer scored her team-leading 19th goal and nearly had another during regulation which made a deep impact as South rallied from a 1-0 halftime deficit.
As the clock dipped under 10 minutes in regulation and the Patriots trailing 1-0, Altizer and a handful of her teammates battled for possession near the box.
Altizer’s managed to get the best shot attempt, but Tharp made a diving stop to her left.
Unfortunately for George Washington, the ball fell loose and South senior Ava Barton found a handle from right of the net and her rebound shot found the back of the net for a 1-1 tie.
Barton did return from an injury until regionals.
In two games, the senior has responded with a goal and an assist. “The whole team worked together and got that goal across,” Altizer said. “It was beautiful.” Similar to Altizer, George Washington relied on one of its top scorers to produce the team’s only goal.
Deryn Woanekpour scored the game’s first goal with 13:04 remaining before intermission.
The sophomore’s goal put her at the top of the George Washington’s list with 17 this season.
She later a leg injury midway through the second half which significantly hampered her ability to run and did not play either of the two overtimes.
Even with Woanekpour’s presence during regulation, South’s offense had a decisive advantage putting shot on frame.
For the match, South took 10 shots, while GW managed just three. “Our girls were never going to quit,” said South coach Ron Bucholtz, who was honored earlier the evening as the WVSSAC’s National Federation Coaches Association’s Coach of the Year for 2021-22. “In the second overtime, we obviously got the ball down here quickly off their kickoff.
Had a couple of throw-in.
I have to go back and look at the film because all of a sudden I see the ball come to Adi in the middle of the field “She made a beautiful move on the girl in the middle of the field and hit the shot.
It may have been just that good of a shot or the keeper just couldn’t get to or could get to because their keeper made some nice saves. “I thought when Adi hit it, I thought ‘Oh shoot!’ another save, but the ball went right on through.
South is seeking its second girls soccer state title in school history , the first since 2003.
The Patriots also placed runner-up in 2002 and again in 2020.
Morgantown has two state titles to its credit.
Friday’s win against Hedgesville was a rematch of the 2019 state championship match claimed by the Mohigans, 3-2.
Morgantown and South met once during the regular season in an OVAC championship match.
The Mohigans won, 2-0. “Our girls have been spectacular all season,” Bucholtz said. “We are playing some of our best soccer now.
Our first half today wasn’t the best, but a lot of that was George Washington putting as lot of pressure on us and really coming to play. “We settled in and started playing much better in the second half.
Honestly, I think that is the first time we have come from behind all season.” South’s scheduled start time for its semifinal match with George Washington was pushed back approximately one half-hour.
Morgantown didn’t secure the win the 6:12 mark of the second overtime when Gracie Brown scored the game-winner.
The junior is the daughter of West Virginia University women’s soccer coach, Nikki Izzo-Brown. “Our girls are hungry, obviously,” Bucholtz said. “It will be interesting Saturday because both teams had to play double overtime.
Anything is possible now.” Contact Kerry Patrick at kpatrick@newsandsentinel.com Today's breaking news and more in your inbox Tyler 24, St.
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