By Carl Holcomb
Moorefield Examiner
Moorefield Boys Soccer entered the first round of the Class AA-A Region II Tournament playoffs in its inaugural season and made a statement victory ousting Berkeley Springs 2-1.
It was the third meeting against the Indians with the Yellow Jackets winning all three contests this year.
“It’s great. It is all coming together. Javi is an amazing player. He helped turn this team around. He brought the level of this game up. We need to lock in a little more on defense, but I am still really proud of our defense. They came ready to play tonight. They were really good. We look to keep rolling in the playoffs,” Moorefield Boys Soccer coach Larry Foster remarked.
The Yellow Jackets built on that momentum buzzing into the second round and upset second ranked Notre Dame in Clarksburg 4-nil.
In Moorefield’s second round win over the Irish, Javier Acosta and Alexander Perez netted two goals apiece.
The epic first season continued as Moorefield (5-10-1) left it all on the line in the regional semifinals battling to the very end before being edged out by Trinity Christian 2-1.
The Warriors advanced to the Class AA-A Region II Championship against Frankfort.
The Falcons were the first opponent for the Yellow Jackets this year and it would have been an amazing rematch for a chance to punch a ticket to the state tournament.
Taking a closer look at the Class AA-A Region II Tournament first round playoff contest between Moorefield and Berkeley Springs, the Yellow Jackets dominated the pitch with the match being held in Petersburg and a plethora of fans showing support.
The Yellow Jackets were led by Javier Acosta with two goals in the victory over the Indians.
“It was very exciting and I wish I could have scored on the other occasions I had, but two went in. We won the game, so I am happy. Honestly, this is amazing. We have been trying to get a program for so long and we finally got it. We started off pretty slow, but now we are in the playoffs. We advance, so now we just have to play hard in the next game. We hope to keep advancing. This is our time to shine,” Moorefield junior Javier Acosta commented.
Moorefield took a plethora of shots towards the goal and according to one fan, the team must have missed 50 chances and more importantly two landed in the net for the win.
Acosta gave the Yellow Jackets their initial goal at the 19:06 mark for a 1-nil lead in the first half launching the ball from the top of the box avoiding the sliding attempt by the Berkeley Springs goalkeeper charging forward.
Moments later, Acosta swiped the ball and nearly had another goal with a shot going just awry.
A yellow card was given to Moorefield coach Larry Foster as one of his players was still wearing an earring during the match and at this point it was more than halfway through the first half.
Moorefield goalkeeper Chris Baldwin dashed out towards the top of the box to defend, then realized the net was left unattended and raced back just in time to see an Indians attempt sail wide.
Baldwin made serval goals over the next few minutes, just like the Indians goalie.
There was a hand ball on the Yellow Jackets, then Baldwin made a save on the free kick.
Moorefield defenders Edgar Cambero and Jesus DeSilva made a couple key plays in the box clearing the danger away.
Moorefield’s Alexander Perez left the pressure on Berkeley Springs goalie, while Bereket Tamiru and Austin Arbaugh provided assistance moving across the pitch.
A penalty kick pass by the Indians was cleared out of the box by Moorefield’s Eduardo Elisas Escobar.
Berkeley Springs’ Kyle Bland swiped the ball and hit the goal post, then teammate Wes Kutkat-Tonkin collected the ricochet and scored the tying goal at the 6:16 mark.
Moorefield’s Chernet Ansani passed to Tamiru who connected with Acosta slicing into the box, but the shot went askew.
Ansani chased down the ball in the corner, but it was cleared away by Berkeley Springs’ Andrew Bland.
The Yellow Jackets had several offsides slowing the momentum, but would get back on track with pressure on the pitch.
Acosta had a shot saved with just under three minutes remaining in the first half.
Cambero cleared the next attack by the Indians and Tamiru located Acosta, who drilled the game-winning goal with 48 seconds to go in the first half as the Yellow Jackets went up 2-1.
Acosta had one more attempt at the goal before the buzzer sounded for halftime.
The goalies had to remain vigilant in the second half as attacks were coming constantly and saves mounted just as frequently as errant attempts sprayed across the field.
The Yellow Jackets had one corner shot with a header by Teagan Eversole that sailed just over the crossbar and showed a frustrating smile shaking his head.
Baldwin was tested on two attacks moments later and came up with big saves.
Acosta and Perez had shots in the box blocked by Berkeley Springs’ Landon Litten and Gavin Rucker.
After an Indians penalty, Acosta was open for a pass from Ansani and looked to fire on the goal, but Jacob Morgan leapt in for a block forcing a corner kick.
Litten cleared out the corner kick attempt, then Perez tracked down the ball and narrowly missed the goal.
Cambero defended in the box creating a corner kick and Berkeley Springs came up empty Yaziel Torres cleared the ball.
Acosta made a pass to Perez and the ball was swiped by Litten before it was taken back by Perez.
Perez dished to Tamiru, but the ensuing shot was off the mark.
Moorefield had a corner kick go wide, then Acosta got the ball and charged to the goal, but a sliding save was made as Acosta and Rucker hurdled over the Indians goalie.
Escobar and Acosta made some crisp passes and Ansani got into the action deep on the pitch, but the Yellow Jackets didn’t capitalize on the momentum.
Cambero cleared the box and Ansani fed Tamiru, but offsides was called as the shot was collected by the goalie.
Moorefield kept the pressure on that side of the field with Acosta making several shot attempts.
In the waning minutes, Moorefield’s Pedro Mucu-Mo kept the box clear from attacks.
Berkeley Springs missed one final shot attempt with one minute remaining.
The Yellow Jackets held on for the 2-1 first round playoff victory and would advance all the way to the regional semifinals in their inaugural season.
