MORGANTOWN — The Linsly Cadets are one step away from their first WVSLA state championship in their school’s history.

The Cadets are set to face the Morgantown Mohigans for the WVSLA D-1 Boys Championship on Saturday on the grounds of University High School. Linsly reached the title bout by defeating the defending state champions, George Washington, on the road on Thursday, 14-13 in overtime.

“They’re fired up, definitely,” Linsly head coach Austin Good said of his team. “We were saying it on the sidelines quite a bit in our overtime win against George Washington down in Charleston– it seems like a new team right now. They’re fighting for everything, they’re putting their bodies on the line all the time, there’s absolutely no quit in them in any facet of the game. They’re unrelenting, whether it’s on defense on the ride, offense, ground balls, everything. They’re ready to go, they’re excited to fight for it.”

Linsly also defeated rival Wheeling Central in the quarterfinals, 18-6.

The Mohigans are three-time state champions, most recently in 2023. Linsly was state runner-ups in 2012, but have not yet captured gold since beginning their program in 2006.

The two teams met once in the regular season, in late April, where Morgantown won 19-7. Linsly is 9-6 on the season, while Morgantown is 14-2.

“There’s a chip on a lot of the guys’ shoulders– we actually have some kids from the Morgantown area,” Good said. “There’s some of that there. They’re kind of a fan of being the underdogs right now. Nobody who wasn’t on the team expected us to pull off the win this past Wednesday. It was a great win for the boys, and it seems like they really embrace that [underdog] role. They are definitely going down there aware that people expect the state champion to be Morgantown, and they’re excited to try and prove that notion wrong.”

Linsly’s top scorer is senior Seve Smathers, who has totaled 41 goals, as well as 28 assists, good for second-highest on the squad. Tops in assists is senior Carter Remp with 29. Remp also has 33 goals. Darrian Bertram, also a senior, has 34 goals.

Senior Nathan Clifford leads the way with 163 ground balls. Griffin Kernick has 27 takeaways to lead the team.

Sophomore Will Riesbeck has 99 saves at goalie.

Morgantown is led by Ayden Shepard on offense and a defense that has not allowed opponents to crack double-figure scoring in over a month.

“They’re always a very strong program,” Good said of the Mohigans. “They definitely have a lot of depth to them. One of their attackmen, [Shepard], he’s an outstanding player. He has something north of 70 goals this season, I think that was far away the state leader. They have a high-powered offense, very physical on defense, and a very good coaching staff.”

Saturday’s championship game is set for 7 p.m.