St. Clairsville Girls Capture First OVAC Soccer Title Since 2013
Red Devils Outlast Linsly In Penalty Kicks, 2-1
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WEIRTON - For the first time since 2013, St. Clairsville stands alone atop the OVAC Class 4A Girls Soccer field, but it took some time in doing so.
Saturday at sun-drenched Jimmy Carey Stadium on the Weir High campus, the top-seeded Lady Devils (12-2) scored the first and last goals in squeezing past No. 2 Linsly by a 2-1 margin in a penalty-kick shootout.
Knotted at 1, St. Clairsville went 4-for-4 on chances from the 12-yard line and goalkeeper Kiya Kyer gave up a goal on the first Cadets shot, then watched one sail wide before smothering the third to preserve the hard-earned and cherished victory.
"This has been a long time in coming. We've been in a lot of these (championship matches)," St. Clairsville head coach Wes Stoner said. "We haven't won one of these since my first year here, so it's a pretty nice feeling.
"This team has a lot of resiliency. Obviously, we played until late in the second overtime against Oak Glen in the semifinals and then went to penalty kicks today," he added. "I'm proud of them not getting tired and finishing. They stayed calm and placed the ball where they were supposed to."
St. Clairsville defeated Oak Glen, 6-5, late in double overtime in the semifinals on Monday night.
Prior to Kyer's heroics, freshman Molly Schultz put the nail in the coffin as the fourth Red Devil to tickle the twine, igniting a mass celebration on the artificial pitch. Before Schultz scored, Elizabeth Morgan, Isabella Cunningham and Ashlynn Lednik also found the net.
"I always go left. I look to the right and they go left," Schultz explained of her game-winner.
St. Clairsville didn't waste any time in getting on the scoreboard as Elizabeth Morgan one-timed a Schultz corner kick into the cage in the second minute.
Both teams had chances to score but Kyer and her Linsly counterpart, Nevaeh Ransom were equally up to the test.
Sophomore Makena Aiello drew Linsly even with a shot from deep in the right corner that somehow found its way into the top far corner of the net in the 28th minute.
"You could put a professional goalkeeper in there and they aren't going to stop that shot," Stoner remarked. "Unfortunately, we let a girl get behind us and they took advantage of it. But that was an outstanding shot."
Neither team could solve the opposing goalkeeper in the final 40 minutes of regulation and Kyer robbed Poppy Yendell in the 90-second mark of the first overtime. St. Clairsville's Emma Gasber had a chance to seal the deal from point blank range in the 84th minute, but the ball sailed over top of the net.
Following a lackluster second OT, Elizabeth and Morgan exchanged goals in the first round of the shootout, before the Red Devils secured the win.
"I'm so happy for this group of seniors. They've really worked to get here and to get this victory," Stoner said of Lednik, Gasber, Isabelle Morgan, Kaylee Shafer, Isabella Cunningham, Kyer and Abby Brocklehurst. Actually, they probably should've won one of two more as sophomores and juniors but it didn't work out. That's why I'm so happy for them today."
Kyer finished with seven saves.
"Kiya has played great all year," Stoner noted. "Today she made the big save when we needed her to."
Kyer said winning the championship is special.
"I kind of knew when I made that last stop that we had it. I knew our girls could finish it on OKs because they practice it a lot," Kyer said. "Us seniors have never won this. We finished second two years in a row and as freshman we didn't make it. This was a huge win for us today."