MHS boys’ soccer team passes by rival UHS, 2-0
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MORGANTOWN - There are subtle nuances to the game of soccer.
Such as when is a pass a shot and vice versa?
On Thursday night, Morgantown High's Taylor Beard learned the answer to that question. Apparently, the answer is whether said pass/shot ends up in the back of the net.
With 30 minutes left in the contest, Beard raced down the right side with the ball at his feet and placed what many thought was a beautiful crossing pass.
That "pass" ended up in the back of the net.
"I was looking for my teammates and I didn't see them, so I thought 'why not?'" Beard said. "I thought why not just have a go from outside of the (penalty) box."
Beard's shot looped over the outstretched hands of University High's goalkeeper and helped lead the Mohigans to a 2-0 win over the Hawks.
Morgantown (3-2-1) has not lost to UHS (1-4) since October of 2019.
"We know these guys are our rivals, and we want to show up for our school," Beard said of the contest. "We always try and give our team 110 percent effort every single game. It's just an awesome feeling playing for our school."
Beard's goal put to rest any hope of a UHS comeback despite several scoring chances for the Hawks in the final 30 minutes. MHS controlled the game much of the first half, but UHS head coach Brian Shannon said he was much happier with the second-half effort.
"We had some opportunities down there at the end, but they just didn't fall," Shannon said. "Sometimes you get the ball to bounce your way and sometimes you don't. I really commend our guys because we had a couple of rough games recently, but we played hard the whole time. I think this is a game we can build off going forward."
UHS keeper Parker Smith was especially solid between the pipes as he finished with 15 saves in the contest against a barrage of shots from the MHS offense. Morgantown outshot UHS 30-6 in the contest.
Morgantown first-year head coach Brian Shirak was especially happy with Beard's goal and said he hopes to see more of it.
"We've been trying to get him down the line all year," Shirak said. "He's been playing defense for the past three years, so this is his first taste of playing offense. He made that cross and it got in."
Even Shirak thought it was a pass while Beard still claims it was a shot.
"100 percent it was a cross," Shirak said with a laugh.
Nuh Firegoun added the first goal for the Mohigans as he collected a carom off the keeper on the left side of the box and drove the ball home into the top right corner of the net. Guizeppe Thorn had five saves in goal for MHS while Isaac Mallett played the final minute between the pipes to finish off the clean sheet.
Morgantown returns to action on Thursday, when it hosts Wheeling Park at 6 p.m. University hosts Robert C Byrd at 10 a.m. on Saturday.