MORGANTOWN — What a difference a foot makes.
On a chilly but dry Wednesday night, the No. 3 seed Trinity boys’ soccer team came away with a goal in the 66th minute to hold off sixth-seeded South Harrison, 1-0, in the Region II Class AA/A quarterfinals in a tense, defensive struggle that saw each team inches away from a victory.
Austin Porta scored to propel Trinity to the hard-fought victory, one that sent the Warriors to the semifinals at 3 p.m. Saturday, where they will host Moorefield, which defeated Notre Dame 4-0.
Trinity scored three first-half goals to defeat South Harrison earlier in the season, but from the outset of the playoff matchup, it was clear that quality chances would be hard to come by for both teams. The Hawks regularly sagged back, surrendering the midfield, but played hard, physical, close-marking soccer, forcing the Warriors wide and clogging the middle. Trinity possessed the ball the vast majority of the match, and the calm, stout Trinity backline swept away nearly every South Harrison counterattack.
In other words, this was prototypical playoff soccer.
There were a few dangerous opportunities in the first half, all for the Warriors. In the 17th minute, Evan Knight fed Jonathan Sheffstall into space down the right side, but his shot rolled just wide of the far post.
Eight minutes later, Parker Hopkins booted a loose ball near the top of the box that bounced off a defender and past Hawks keeper Jon-Michael Radabaugh, but without quite enough steam, allowing a defender and Radabaugh to corral the ball just before it completely crossed the goal line. Parker had another chance shortly after, but his shot sailed just over the crossbar.
As the scoreless tension mounted in the second half, Trinity pressed early for the opening goal, but couldn’t find a quality finish on three separate chances in the first ten minutes. Then, after a tic-tac pass in the box couldn’t find the final toe, South Harrison quickly countered, and very nearly scored.
Open briefly from 30 yards out, Peyton Heckert lifted a drive that swooped over Hopkins (who had replaced Collin Friend between the pipes for Trinity in the second half) and thudded squarely on the crossbar and rebounded out. Energized by the narrow miss, the Hawks generated their best offensive thrust of the night, but no quality chances emerged.
The Warriors began to penetrate the South Harrison back line with wing runs and services into the 18, resulting in several corners and throw-ins deep in their attacking third, and it was on a throw-in that the Warriors finally broke through. In the 65th minute, Sheffstall arced a long throw that bounced free across the front of the penalty area, where it was gathered in by Porta lurking at the far post, who nudged a right-footed shot into the open net for a huge 1-0 Trinity advantage.
“I’ve had that kind of shot on my foot so many times,” he admitted with a sheepishly jubilant grin after the match, “but I was still pretty nervous as I saw it coming. This was one of those games where the first goal means everything, so I was glad I was able to put it in.”
Smartly, the Warriors continued to press their advantage, using long sideline clears and passes into space to run clock, possess, and force South Harrison to advance the entire length of the field. The Hawks were never able to penetrate the TC back wall, and Hopkins was able to punch away any long throws near the front – 15 minutes later, the Warriors had advanced.
“We knew they were going to give us this kind of game,” smiled Warriors coach Dan Lohmann. “They had improved so much since we first saw them, and I seeded them much higher than the other coaches did. They were very compact, disciplined, and solid, and we knew we had to be patient and maintain our composure, and to be ready when our opportunity came.
“We decided to put Parker in at keeper in the second half,” he continued, “because we were controlling the middle of the field, and we wanted to do everything we could to keep them off the board, because it really looked like it would be a one-goal game. He was a bit off his line on that shot, and I don’t know how this one goes if it goes in. But that’s soccer. We survived, we found a way to win, and we advanced, which is exactly what we’ve been building all season to be able to do. I’m proud of our team, and we’re happy to move on.”
