Pocahontas County Warriors Soccer chopped down the Hive and speared the Yellow Jackets in doubleheader sweeping fashion.
Pocahontas County Girls Soccer commenced the match at Inskeep Field in Moorefield with a 5-1 victory over the Yellow Jackets.
Moorefield Boys Soccer was thwarted on attacks and kept battling through a scoreless first half, but the Warriors claimed a 1-nil win to complete the sweep on the road.
Moorefield Girls Soccer showed quickness from the start and had an early goal by Parvatee Snyder, who received a pass on the dime launched by Aeries Deetz across the pitch during a long run to charge forward to the goal for a 1-1 score.
Late in the first half, Moorefield Girls Soccer goalkeeper Grace Simmons executed a save on a Warriors corner kick and saved a one-on-one attack by Savana Sharp.
Pocahontas County Girls Soccer’s Alexis Arbogast netted a goal with under one minute remaining in the first half for a 3-1 edge.
Moorefield’s Kailynn Penkov cleared the ball up the field, but the ensuing shot went awry.
Simmons made another save to end the first half.
Sharp gave the Warriors a 4-1 lead with just a minute and change into the second half.
The Warriors were denied four times by Simmons over the next five minutes of action, while Snyder had a shot attempt skirt wide of the goal.
Snyder intercepted a pass and the Warriors defense challenged for a corner kick.
The Yellow Jackets executed a short kick, but Pocahontas County overpowered the play and cleared the ball away on a boot by Abby Bauserman.
Simmons made a brilliant kick save, then the Warriors had two shots sail wide.
Snyder got momentum off a pass from Kennedy Kuh, but the Warriors stepped up sliding for a huge collision to save a potential score.
Moorefield’s Limney Alarado-Melendez found a seam and cut down the pitch, but was denied a shot by the Warriors goalie.
Simmons made five saves in the closing nine minutes.
Allison Jackson and the Yellow Jackets put some pressure on Pocahontas County, but the Warriors defense stood strong.
Aeries Deetz, Jackson and Snyder kept applying attacks, but thwarted down the stretch.
Moorefield’s Emily Parisi and Riley Strawderman had another push in the final minute, but no pay dirt.
Pocahontas County Girls Soccer’s Zoe Guamis Alikakos iced the match on a goal with just eight seconds remaining to secure a 5-1 win over the Yellow Jackets.
“Overall, defensively it was a high scoring game. We just had too many turnovers on the top. We have to utilize our wings more. Kennedy Kuh and Chloe Leroux played well for us. Parvatee’s greatest weapon is her speed. Allison Jackson and Bedal did their job. We need to know we can score more than one goal. We can get on the board now, which is great. We need to be more aggressive and keep the intensity going in the whole match,” Moorefield Girls Soccer coach Jessica Markwood said.
Pocahontas County Boys Soccer was on heightened alert knowing the Yellow Jackets have been stinging a plethora of goals this early in the season and came on the warpath defensively.
The Warriors met every challenge as Karis Lewis and Stryker Gregory did a great job keeping the box clear.
Moorefield was without superstar striker Javier Acosta due to a suspension and couldn’t create the same scoring magic, despite attacks coming from Austin Arbaugh, Danny Guifarro, Chernet Ansani and Zackary Harvey.
Moorefield Boys Soccer goalkeeper Teagan Eversole had some help on defense from Jordan Fields, Jake Baldwin, Edgar Cambero and Chris Baldwin.
The Warriors’ game-winning goal came in the second half at the 29:48 mark by Luke Taylor.
“We usually win games like this, but Moorefield has a really good team this year. We saw the scores from their first couple games and thought they would give us some trouble. I had my guys prepare like this Moorefield team was ready to come and play. They gave us the hardest game we have had to date. That was a really good team and gave us a challenge, but we stuck it out. It was a hard fought match. Our guys were able to sneak out a 1-0 victory, barely. Our two center backs are freshman and can match with most strikers in the state. They did really well tracking down and clearing the ball. The passing in our midfield looked really good today. We have struggled with penalty kicks lately and that might have been due to our footing on the surface,” Pocahontas County Boys Soccer coach Owen Vogelsong stated.
Karis Lowe intercepted a pass by Ansani, but lost the ball out of play moments later.
Moorefield’s Vance Simmons created an amazing sliding block on an attack by Pocahontas County’s Tyler Friel.
Arbaugh had several challenges in the box, but the Warriors prevented a finish.
Moorefield couldn’t find a consistent rhythm as Pocahontas County disrupted advances on the pitch.
Ansani was assessed a yellow card in the final minute as the Warriors’ Quincy Sharp came into the box and was tripped.
Sharp’s penalty kick sailed high above the goal, while he simultaneously crashed to the ground.
One final attack by the Warriors hit the top cross bar of the goal as Eversole breathed a sigh of relief lying on the ground at the buzzer.
“We played their game and not our own game. We were very sloppy with our passes. We moved the ball down the field, but couldn’t finish. Our guys didn’t step up without Javier Acosta, but rather a step back. We just didn’t have the same passion as previous matches. We have to do a better job of finishing our plays,” Moorefield Boys coach Larry Foster commented.
Moorefield Soccer looks to get back on track moving forward this season.
