South girls fall to Oak Hill, 1-0
Parkersburg South's Marie Silvis changes direction while being guarded by Oak Hill's Serenity Bourgord during Saturday afternoon's match at Erickson All-Sports Facility. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)
Parkersburg South's Cate McLain and Oak Hill's Aubrey Conley battle for possession during Saturday afternoon's match at Erickson All-Sports Facility. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)
Parkersburg South's Marie Silvis changes direction while being guarded by Oak Hill's Serenity Bourgord during Saturday afternoon's match at Erickson All-Sports Facility. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)
Parkersburg South's Cate McLain and Oak Hill's Aubrey Conley battle for possession during Saturday afternoon's match at Erickson All-Sports Facility. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)
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PARKERSBURG – In a Class AAAA South Region showdown here Saturday afternoon inside Erickson All-Sports Facility visiting Oak Hill watched an Aubrey Conley cross turn into the lone goal of the match with 13 seconds remaining in the 79th minute when Bella Holly headed it home as the Red Devils edged Parkersburg South, 1-0.
Patriot keeper Alivia Goff, who made seven saves, nearly stopped what turned out to be Holly's 34th goal of the campaign, but after initially deflecting the header with a leaping one-handed save chance the ball bounced off her side and went in.
"Great, great game. Parkersburg South is well coached and they play tough. We just couldn't find the net," said Oak Hill head coach Gerald Wilburn of his now 14-4-1 program. "We've had that. That crossbar has been like a 12th defender there on the field all year long, but I mean it was a good effort by both teams.
"They both played hard. They are physical and that gives us a problem sometimes. It was a little rough, but we played until the last whistle. We ended up getting a ball in off the header from Aubrey to Bella and we'll take it, especially with the regional coming up and seeding."
Parkersburg South (12-4-3) had shots on goal in the first half from Payton Sellers, Mack Moles and two by Gwen Silvis, but keeper Lilly Hrabosky saved them and worked a clean sheet after turning four more away in the second half.
Marie Silvis had a chance in the 46th minute, Sellers in the 49th, Camryn McClain in the 53rd and then Averee Cross in the 78th, but the Patriots couldn't get one past Hrabosky, who had a long free kick she put on frame in the 62nd minute.
The only corner kick of the match came in the fourth minute and was taken by Oak Hill's Emma Curtis. That led to a shot on goal by Gracie Bennett and then one from Curtis, who then followed up with a laser that hit the crossbar.
In the 65th minute, Holly sent a cross into the box to Serenity Bourgord, but her shot rattled the crossbar as well.
"She got a hand on it," PSHS head coach Ron Bucholtz said of Goff's near save in the 79th. "Bottom line, yes that was a great game both ways. Both teams played well. Both teams played hard. Both teams created chances. I was really pleased with the way we played that whole game. Braylin (Byrd) did an outstanding job marking probably, certainly one of the top players in the state. She got some help when she needed it, but I thought she did a brilliant job.
"She's upset with what happened right there at the end. The bottom line is we can't play 78 ½ minutes of soccer and then fall asleep at the wheel. They get a cross all the way across the field and these girls know when a ball is clearly going out of bounds, especially your end of the field, you shepherd it out of bounds and take your own throw-in. Don't try to save a ball and potentially turn it over to the other team and that's exactly what we did."
Goff also made saves in the first half on Makynlee Lewis and Gracie Bennett while stopping scoring attempts after intermission by Holly and Conley.
"We just made an egregious error in the final minute and a half," added Bucholtz, whose team heads for a 6:30 p.m. Tuesday match at Williamstown. "That's the kind of mistakes in the playoffs that can end your season. We have to be focused for 80 minutes.
"We played a brilliant 78 ½ minutes containing her and their team. We created some chances. All of our girls played their hearts out. We had a big mishap right at the end and we just got to not do that going forward."
Oak Hill concludes its regular season at 6 p.m. Thursday when Midland Trail comes to town.
Contact Jay Bennett at jbennett@newssandsentinel.com
At Erickson All-Sports Facility
Oak Hill girls 1, Parkersburg South 0
OHHS (14-4-1) 0 1 – 1
PSHS (12-4-3) 0 0 – 0
OH: Bella Holly (assist Aubrey Conley) 79th minute
Shots on goal: OH 8, PS 8; Corner kicks: OH 1, PS 0; Keeper saves: OH 8 (Lilly Hrabosky), PS 7 (Alivia Goff)
Next matches: Midland Trail at Oak Hill, 6 p.m. Thursday; Parkersburg South at Williamstown, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.