Sun and clouds mixed. High near 85F. Winds light and variable..
A few passing clouds. Low 62F. Winds light and variable.
Sun and clouds mixed. High near 85F. Winds light and variable..
A few passing clouds. Low 62F. Winds light and variable.
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ONA — Rain on Tuesday may have ruined Cabell Midland girls soccer head coach Andy Wilson’s best chance at defeating George Washington in their scheduled matchup at the Knights’ home field.
The muddy conditions following the early precipitation left the grass soccer field unplayable, so the contest was moved to the artificial surface of the school’s football field, but that move seemed to play right into the feet of the Patriots.
A team already adept at skillfully moving the ball and with speed to burn, GW easily handled Cabell Midland, defeating the Knights 6-1 in a battle of undefeated Mountain State Athletic Conference teams.
“They were going to mow (the soccer field) and I told them not until after Tuesday,” Wilson joked. “It wouldn’t have made any difference.”
GW (6-0 overall, 3-0 MSAC) used the faster artificial turf to its advantage early as it pressed the ball down the field into Cabell Midland territory. Liza Westerman took a pass from Ava Trethewey on the right side of the Knights’ goal and knocked in a soft shot that gained momentum on the smooth surface and rolled past goalkeeper Maddie Osburn for a 1-0 GW lead.
Trinity Hodge added a goal and Deryn Doamekpor scored the first of two on the night as the Patriots rolled to a 3-0 lead at halftime.
GW outshot Cabell Midland in the first half 9-3 though it called off the pressure in the second half.
“We’re good on the turf,” GW head coach Ali Sadeghian said, adding that his team practices and has artificial turf on its home pitch as well.
“It was a good game, it was a statement,” Sadeghian said.
Cabell Midland (3-1, 2-1) tried a new defensive alignment with Olivia Charles playing at fullback along with a few other players as well, Wilson said. It was a move that came at the players’ suggestion to stop GW, but the coach said the team would return to its normal positions when it faces the Parkersburg Big Reds on Thursday.
The Patriots added a goal by Kensy Thomas on free kick to open the second half. Doamekpor added her second score followed by one from Madison Rothwell, whose kick with 17 minutes remaining gave her a goal along with two assists.
Before Rothwell’s goal, Charles got the Knights on the scoreboard with a shot at 56:01 to pull Cabell Midland within 5-1.
“We were all excited to play on the turf,” Charles said. “We wanted to connect passes and play as a team but we also know that GW is a skilled team and that they would benefit from being on the turf.”
GW will be on its home turf on Thursday to meet Spring Valley.
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