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PHS girls soccer headed to state for 1st time since 2015

By Jay W. Bennett 5 min read

PARKERSBURG -- Defending Class AAAA state champion Oak Hill kept searching for an answer here Thursday night in a South Region co-final at Stadium Field, but the Red Devils never found the back of the net as second-seeded Parkersburg ousted the No. 3 seed, 1-0, and punched its ticket to the state tournament for the first time since 2015.

Although the Big Reds of head coach Jarric Hoskins had shots on goal in the fifth minute by Faithlyn Butcher and in the eighth by Emma Morris, it was an Aelissa Stavrakis feed to Reagan Ashley which resulted in the only goal with 32:24 left in the opening half.

"The emotions are crazy. I'm so proud of everybody on this team," said Ashley, who tallied her team-high 17th goal while Stavrakis picked up her eighth assist. "I'm so thankful that Aelissa gave me the opportunity to score that goal. I mean I wouldn't be here without them. It's all praise to them.

"I just remember looking up and seeing Aelissa about 10 yards across the field. I'm hooping and hollering for that ball. I got the ball on my left foot and put my head up and put it in the left corner. It's truly a blessing to be where we are right now. I wouldn't be able to do it without my teammates."

Parkersburg, which improved to 14-5-3 while the Red Devils of head man Gerald Wilburn finished the campaign at 16-5-1, now head to the state semifinals on Wednesday at Beckley's YMCA Paul Cline Memorial Complex.

"Their team is a little bit different from last year, but a lot of their core players were back," said Hoskins, who watched keeper Addi Mosso record a clean sheet with eight saves. "We knew it was going to be a tough game. We went up there this year and played them (2-1 win).

"It was a dog fight. They play extremely hard. Both teams played extremely hard. I mean we had to play defensive a lot in the second half, but I thought in the first half we did really good offensively. We pressured the back line and got one through, and that's all it took tonight."

Aside from another Butcher shot on goal in the 16th minute and one more in the 38th by Layla Hill, the Big Reds didn't have any others as Oak Hill held an 8-5 advantage in shots on goal while having a 7-1 edge in corner kicks.

"They are resilient," Hoskins added of his squad. "It starts in the summer. We have practices at 6 a.m., so they understand that that's the standard. They've been resilient all year. We've had players step up and fill roles for injuries. Lilly Pfeifer was our starting keeper at Oak Hill and she played a heck of a game.

"I mean without that win, I don't know if you'd be hosting right now. To get up early on a Saturday morning, go over there and come away with a victory to turn around and kind of be the deciding factor and you get to host the regional final. It's huge for us."

The Red Devils, who lost the services of senior Gracie Bennett due to injury with 24:20 remaining in the first half, had a pair of shots on goal apiece in the opening 40 by Emma Curtis and Bella Holly.

Oak Hill keeper Lilly Hrabosky, who finished with a trio of saves, had one of four shots on goal for the Red Devils after intermission. Holly, Serenity Bourgord and Kenzie Allen, who took six of the corners, also were denied by Mosso.

"Overwhelming. I could not express how overwhelmed I was, and scared and nervous. I was stressed because I didn't know how I was going to do, but I'm so glad we won," admitted Mosso, who noted of the goal "I saw nothing.

"I couldn’t see it all. I heard the whistle and I just jumped up for joy. It means the world to me. I am so glad I could help my seniors to get to states their last year. I love my team and I could not ask for anyone better."

Parkersburg, which received its lone corner in the 35th minute from Hailey Warman, finished state runner-up to Winfield back in 2015.

"It was tough. This little narrow field really hurts, too. I mean you can jump from out of bounds to the 18," said Wilburn, whose team graduated six players last year. "That hurts us a little bit. We had more corners and out shot them, but the ball just didn't roll our way very good tonight. I think we had the personnel to make it, but I mean they played well tonight.

"Hats off to Parkersburg. I'm not taking anything from them. It was a good game. Just come up short sometimes. That happens. I'm just proud of my kids. They played their hearts out and we just got to try and get better. All in all, we had a great year. I just hate that it has to end like this. It hurt losing her (Bennett). She's a senior, too, so it's kind of tough."

Contact Jay Bennett at jbennett@newsandsentinel.com

At Stadium Field

Class AAAA, South Region

Parkersburg girls 1, Oak Hill 0

#3 OHHS (16-5-1) 0 0 – 0

#2 PHS (14-5-3) 1 0 – 1

P: Reagan Ashley (assist Aelissa Stavrakis) 8th minute

Shots on goal: O 8, P 5; Corner kicks: O 7, P 1; Keeper saves: O 4 (Team 1, Lilly Hrabosky 3), P 8 (Addi Mosso 8)

Notes: Ashley recorded her team-high 17th goal and Stavarkis had her eighth assist.

Next match: Parkersburg advances to the state tournament on Wednesday at Beckley's YMCA Paul Cline Memorial Complex vs. TBD.

Starting at /week.