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PHS boys soccer falls to Linsly, 4-1

By Kerry Patrick 3 min read

PARKERSBURG - An hour in standstill traffic on the interstate prior to Saturday afternoon's boys soccer match with Parkersburg didn't slow down Linsly.

Behind a pair of goals from Lucca Curry, the Cadets defeated the Big Reds 4-1. Coming off their first of the season Thursday night against South Charleston, the Big Reds fell behind 4-0 before a pair of non-starters played a hand in the team's only goal late in the second half.

PHS slips to 1-3-1, while Linsly improves to 2-0-0.

"This is a great team we just played," PHS coach Ben Jones said. "We are young, we are tough and we are going to keep fighting. We won't see another group like that."

The start of the match was delayed 30 minutes due to a semi truck which had jack-knifed and closed the interstate with Linsly's bus en route to Parkersburg.

"Yeah, we were stuck in traffic for about an hour - we didn't move an inch," Linsly coach Greg Martin said. "It kind of just threw us off and put everything behind. But the people in Parkersburg were great hosts and very accommodating. They were fantastic."

Bartely eight minutes into the first half, Curry's first goal put Linsly in front 1-0. PHS defenders received a workout for the first 20 minutes and eventually the Cadets broke through for another goal just before intermission.

Jinyoung Noh scored at 5:49 to increase the Linsly lead to 2-0.

"We have some highly technical players out there who can keep possession," Martin said. "That's the real strength of this team. There are a lot of new faces, so we are still trying to come together as a team.

"It's our second match, so it's still early in the season."

The PHS attack began to emerge during the back half of the first half and for the entire second half. A mere two minutes after intermission, Big Reds' Jack Hoye created some momentum when he intercepted a pass inside the Linsly box. His chip shot sailed just over the crossbar.

After a goal from Linsly's Marcops Vaqueriza with 33:50 remaining in regulation, Parkersburg's Tanner Conley began making his presence felt. His header close to the goal was fumbled then eventually gathered in by the Linsly keeper.

Moments later, another save was made on a Conley header from close-in. Currey continued to apply pressure. At the 26th minute, he received a pass at close range and let a shot fly that nearly crossed by the goal line before getting stopped.

Conley was finally rewarded for his hard work with 11 minutes left in the match. Despite another shot on goal getting saved, teammate Sam Hoye gathered the rebound off the free kick and added an attempt as well before a third try during the sequence - this one by Big Reds' Jason Shahid found the back of the net and cut the deficit to 4-1.

"We played great Thursday and we played today, too," Jones said. "Every game, we have gotten better. Our seniors have given us great leadership. We just keep fighting."

High School Boys Soccer

At Stadium Field

Linsly 4, Parkersburg 1

Linsly (2-0-0) 2 2 - 4

PHS (1-3-1) 0 1 - 1

First Half

L: Lucca Curry, 32:12

L: Jinyoung Noh, 5:49

Second Half

L: Marcos Vaqueriza, 33:40

L: Curry (Matheus Pratlai assist), 18:53

PHS: Jason Shahid, 10:41

Starting at /week.