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SPORTS
Local teams win a few in stiff competition
West Virginia Soccer Club Elite forward Thomas Trupo vies with a defender during a match Friday, July 3, 2009, at the Barboursville Soccer Complex and Scott Orthopedic Soccer Complex at the YMCA Kennedy Center. Trupo scored shortly after.
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BARBOURSVILLE -- The brand new fields at the Barboursville Soccer Complex proved to be unkind to West Virginia teams Friday in pool play at the US Youth Soccer Region I Championships.
All three of the Mountain State's victories on the first day came at the Scott Orthopedic Soccer Complex, located at the Huntington YMCA Kennedy Center, while several teams played well, but settled for draws in Barboursville.
The biggest win was in one of the day's final games as the Morgantown-based West Virginia United Soccer Club Vision U-18 girls team defeated Seacoast United Maine, 5-0.
Earlier in the day, West Virginia teams got their only other victories by sweeping the matches in the U-12 girls 8-on-8 matchups.
West Virginia Soccer Club Arsenal earned the first win of the tournament for the state by defeating Rhode Island's Rays Sting, 2-0, in a 9:15 a.m. match.
Hannah Myers notched a goal and an assist while Carlee Dabney got the other goal in the victory.
"It was amazing. I felt so proud," Myers said. "I was at the top of the box and I hit it and it went in. I don't even remember what foot I hit it with. I was just excited that it went in."
Also in the U-12 girls division, the Charleston-based West Virginia Chaos followed suit with a 3-0 win over Maine Coast United. The Chaos made the tournament as West Virginia's lone wild-card team and is taking full advantage of the opportunity.
At the Barboursville Soccer Complex, the best performance by a West Virginia squad belonged to Marshall University men's coach Bob Gray's WVSC Elite U-15 boys team.
Taking on the Herndon (Va.) Futbol Club, which is ranked No. 7 nationally, the Elite took a 1-0 lead in the first half on a goal by Thomas Trupo.
The Elite held tight to its slim lead throughout the match, averting penalty kicks and several opportunities for Herndon until the final minutes when a ball took a hard bounce in the box and got past goalkeeper Kiefer Kirk to end the match in a 1-1 tie.
It was an especially dejected end to a revenge match for the Elite, who played tough but fell to Herndon in last year's tourney.
Although it was a disappointing finish to the match, Gray was pleased with his team's performance
"I thought that could be the big upset of the tournament," Gray said. "Two or three minutes left, they get a bad bounce and equalize. They are happy for the tie and we are disappointed with a loss. Still, that's a turnaround for us."
The WV Lady Stingers U-15 girls of Bridgeport had a 2-2 tie with Kirkwood Freedom (Del.), but left a little disappointed after owning a 2-1 lead in the match. Stingers' Coach Florin Marton, who also coaches at WVU Tech, saw a defensive breakdown doom his team after a failed clearance midway through the second half.
Marton was not completely disappointed with the performance, considering his team spans the entire state and has only been together for four months.
"Each time out, we have continued to get better," Marton said.
In one of the day's first matches, the WVSC Rowdies U-14 Girls drew a 1-1 tie against New Jersey's PDA Celtic. Once again, the Rowdies jumped out to a 1-0 lead, only to see the opposition score the equalizer.
Squandered opportunities weren't just limited to the ties, however.
Charleston Futbol Club Elite's U-18 boys team went toe-to-toe with eastern Pennsylvania's Spirit United, but a late goal and missed scoring opportunities in the final 10 minutes doomed Elite.
The same could be said for the U-17 WVSC Goal Girls, who dictated play in the first half of a match with Delaware's CDSA Power, only to fall 1-0.
"We definitely held them in the first half," Jessica Beihl of the Goal Girls said. "I don't know what happened. It is like we zoned out in the first half. We just need to pick it up for (today)."
In other action, Huntington High's Molly Harrington recorded a goal in the River Valley Soccer Club Shock's 5-2 loss to the New Hampshire-based Seacoast United Premier.
The WVSC Elite U-19 boys team also dropped a 1-0 decision late against Vermont's Nordic Soccer Club after having a player sent off for unsporting behavior in the second half.
Teams return to the field starting at 8 a.m. today for the second day of pool play at both the Barboursville Soccer Complex and the Scott Orthopedic Soccer Complex at the Huntington YMCA Kennedy Center. The last games of the day are scheduled to start at 4:45 p.m.
In noted action from around the tournament, reigning Region I champions went 5-1-3 on the afternoon. The lone loss belonged to Maryland's Bethesda Freedom, who fell to Virginia's VSA Heat, 3-1.
Of the three returning boys champions, only the U-14 Dix Hills Thunder of eastern New York emerged victorious with a 3-2 win over Connecticut's Beachside squad. The U-17 team of Lower Merion Velez from eastern Pennsylvania and the U-19 squad of McLean MPS of Virginia each earned a draw on the first day.
In the U-15 girls bracket FC Stars of Massachusetts defeated Rhode Island's Jamestown Fortuna, 8-1, to begin defense of its 2008 title.
