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PHS boys soccer succumbs to Woodrow

By Jay W. Bennett 4 min read

PARKERSBURG -- Ali Farghaly had a hand in Woodrow Wilson's first five goals here Saturday at Stadium Field as the Flying Eagles of head coach Steve Laraba remained unbeaten following an 8-1 Mountain State Athletic Conference victory versus Parkersburg.

By the time the 27th minute of action was complete the now 3-8-4 Big Reds of head man Ben Jones trailed 4-0.

After Vince Umberger assisted on Farghaly's first tally in the 8th minute, Farghaly assisted on Kasey Johnson's goal just 49 seconds later for a quick 2-0 edge.

In the 13th minute, the Big Reds fell behind 3-0 when Farghaly's shot beat keeper Daniel Braniff, who had 11 saves, as Hagen Hall collected his first assist.

With 27 seconds remaining in the 27th minute Farghaly picked up his hat trick to make it 4-0. Prior to the goal, the visitors played a cross into the box, but Big Red Cole Anderson managed to head it out.

The Flying Eagles, who improved to 14-0-2 and return to action Thursday in a yet to be determined MSAC matchup, added two more goals to take a commanding 6-0 advantage into halftime.

Farghaly's second assist of the match came in the 33rd minute when he got the ball to Dylan Basconi, who added another goal with just five seconds left in the half thanks to a feed by Johnson.

Parkersburg, which has a 6 p.m. Tuesday match at Morgantown, was unable to get a shot on goal against keeper Lincoln Cavanaugh in the first half.

The Big Reds had a pair of deep throw-ins in the 17th minute by Sam Hoye along with a 25-yard direct kick from Kohen Jones in the 20th minute, but it hit the Flying Eagles' wall. Tanner Conley also had a good look in the 31st minute from 25 yards away, but it went wide.

"It's our homecoming week so it's been a long week with everything going on. I thought we played well," said Laraba. "We had something like 14, 15 shots on goal in the first half.

"I would've liked to be a little more efficient when we first came on in the second half, but you’re bound to have some letdowns when you’re winning by six. We got some young guys on and got them some minutes. I'm happy with the performance and the week as a whole."

The Big Reds were able to avoid the shutout when Jones assisted on Kellan Villareal's tally in the 51st minute.

However, Hall's second assist came in the 54th minute when Teagan Kelly found the back of the net to make it 7-1 and then Hall capped the scoring with a 25-yard direct kick 2:37 later.

The Flying Eagles nearly scored in the 47th minute when Umberger played a cross into the box that was headed just off frame by Hall.

Woodrow Wilson, which also got saves from Cavanaugh against Villarreal, Jack Hoye and a 29-yard free kick in the 45th minute by Kingston James, also had a good look in the 64th minute by Logan May, but his 29-yard direct kick was gobbled up by Braniff.

Contact Jay Bennett at jbennett@newsandsentinel.com

At Stadium Field

Woodrow Wilson boys 8, Parkersburg 1

WWHS (14-0-2) 6 2 – 8

PHS (3-8-4) 0 1 – 1

WW: Ali Farghaly (assist Vince Umberger) 8th minute

WW: Kasey Johnson (assist Farghaly) 9th minute

WW: Farghaly (assist Hagen Hall) 13th minute

WW: Farghaly (unassisted) 27th minute

WW: Dylan Basconi (assist Farghaly) 33rd minute

WW: Basconi (assist Johnson) 40th minute

PHS: Kellan Villarreal (assist Kohen Jones) 51st minute

WW: Teagan Kelly (assist Hall) 54th minute

WW: Hall (unassisted) 56th minute

Team stats

Shots on goal: WW 19, PHS 4; Corner kicks: WW 6, PHS 1; Keeper saves: WW 3 (Lincoln Cavanaugh), PHS 11 (Daniel Braniff)

Next matches: PHS at Morgantown, 6 p.m. Tuesday; Woodrow Wilson in MSAC on Thursday (TBD).

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