PHS girls fall to George Washington in MSAC championship

CHARLESTON -- There wasn't a lot of scoring in Thursday's Mountain State Athletic Conference girls soccer championship game, but George Washington's defense made what was there count.

Ellie Pray's penalty kick just 4:34 into the contest put the host Patriots ahead 1-0, and George Washington made that stand through the remaining 75 minutes and 26 seconds to defeat Parkersburg and repeat as the MSAC champions.

GW (15-1-3) started with an aggressive attack and Parkersburg (12-4-3) was whistled for a tripping call, setting up the senior Pray for a short direct kick on goal. The shot on the left side of the net was just out of reach for Big Reds goalkeeper Amiya Powell who made a diving attempt to stop the ball.

The loss was the second this season for Parkersburg to GW after the Patriots won 1-0 on Sept. 22 at the Big Reds' home field.

"I think that was a tough call to make that early in the game," Parkersburg coach Jarric Hoskins said about the penalty call. "I didn't have the greatest view but to be honest I thought there was maybe a potential offside before it. I mean, those things happen."

Hoskins said a call and resulting goal for George Washington could also have led his team to allow more follow up points, but they held on. The 1-0 lead however held into halftime and survived the entire second half as Parkersburg struggled to get offensive shots off that could have tied the game.

"We stayed strong mentally, I thought we battled back well from that," Hoskins said. "I think whenever we played calmer tonight, we created a lot more opportunities for ourselves."

George Washington head coach Ali Sadeghian captured his third MSAC soccer title for the school, including last year's that came with two early goals from Pray and tough defense the rest of the way for a win over Hurricane.

"It was a great game for both teams," Sadeghian said. "You know, this time of year you expect both teams to play like that. We were fortunate enough to survive."

Pray said her teammate Greta Trethewey was the player tripped that drew the critical penalty call. Pray said she was confident when she was tabbed to take the kick.

"I always take the PKs," the right winger said. "I get in mindset and I just put the ball down, and I know where I'm going."

George Washington had other chances to extend the lead but couldn't find the net again. The Patriots outshot Parkersburg 15-4 in the match. The Big Reds only had one shot in the first half.

Hoskins' team had only two shots on goal through the entire match with Patriots goalkeeper Oriah Allen getting the clean sheet with a pair of saves.

Powell, under relentless pressure all night, finished with nine saves in the contest.

George Washington also had a 4-1 edge in corner kicks over the Big Reds.

The matchup was the second in three years for Parkersburg and George Washington in the MSAC girls title game with the Big Reds winning the championship in 2024. The Patriots also defeated Parkersburg in the Class AAAA, South Region final at Steve Edwards Sr Field to advance to the state tournament.

GW will host University on Oct. 17 in the regular season finale with region tournaments set to begin the week of Oct. 19.