×

Yellowjacket booters edge WCC, 2-1

Williamstown’s Baylor Haught (11) and Wood County Christian’s Hadden Thibault (33) race for the soccer ball Tuesday in match won 2-1 by the host Yellowjackets. Photo by Steve Hemmelgarn.

WILLIAMSTOWN — In a boys soccer in-town rivalry game Tuesday evening, host Williamstown edged Wood County Christian 2-1 with the Yellowjackets notching both their goals before the Wildcats scored.

Williamstown, finishing its regular season at 8-11, will start sectional-tournament play Monday, probably at Point Pleasant, while WCC, now 7-8, will travel to Hurricane Thursday for a match.

But on Tuesday, even after Ethan Thibault’s goal for the ‘Cats with 15:51 to play, ‘Jacket keeper Joseph James still had to make a leaping save with just 6:53 remaining to preserve the winning one-score margin.

WCC keeper Cody Tuley made a save on a close-in, dead-on shot on goal in the very first minute of the game at the 39:06 mark.

Williamstown, though, tallied 10 minutes into play, as Grant Bobbitt took advantage of a WCC handball call to take a penalty kick from 15 yards out in the box right in front of the goal and he booted the ball into the net at 30:42 for a 1-0 lead.

The ‘Jackets later on several — at least three — times in first half sort of just didn’t move the ball at all when goalie James got possession of it with play pretty much coming to a halt each occasion, mostly for about two minutes at a time.

To which WCC head coach Caleb Frink told his players, “If they want to do that, let them do it.” But Williamstown didn’t use that same ploy in the second half at all.

In the second half, three major Tuley saves kept the Yellowjackets off the board again until Boston Caruthers kicked the ball in from 20 to 25 yards out midway through the 40 minutes at 20:04.

WCC almost scored with 17:46 to play, but James skied to knock away a shot seemingly going above him and into the net just two minutes before Thibault’s goal.

“I think that was the worst game I’ve seen in my life,” said Williamstown head coach Telma Poole. “We held the ball in a defensive position and they didn’t attack. We waited for more than two minutes. I’ve never seen anything like that. But that was really a defensive game.”

Poole admitted that “we’ve had a little problem this season, and it’s called goals. That’s what I need to work on more next season with the kids, that’s for sure. That (deficiency) has hurt our team because we’ve had so many chances, but were not able, like today, to score very much.”

Frink said he “wouldn’t have done it (holding the ball) the same way. But my players have got to be disciplined if they’re going to charge up there and give ’em more space in the midfield.

“Williamstown’s a well-coached team. At a goal up, they can play patient and that’s fine. For me though, it would have been just a little early to do it. But I have no problem there.”

Frink thought “we played much, much better in the second half. The first half, Williamstown wanted it more than we did. They were outhustling us, beating us to every ball. We weren’t ready for them in the first half. The second half was an even game.”

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *

Starting at $4.62/week.

Subscribe Today