Adi Altizer’s goal propels South past Wheeling Central

Parkersburg South’s Adi Altizer eludes a tackle from a Wheeling Central defender during Saturday’s high school girls soccer match at Erickson All-Sports Facility in Parkersburg. Altizer scored the only goal in the match as South won, 1-0.
(Photo by Kerry Patrick)

PARKERSBURG — Opportunity upon opportunity presented itself to the Parkersburg South girls soccer team during Saturday afternoon’s match with Wheeling Central Catholic.

The Maroon Knights behind the presence of sophomore keeper Bella Fitzsimmons managed to fend off all comers except one. Patriot senior Adi Altizer scored an unassisted goal at the 22:49 mark of the first half and South made that one goal stand up for a 1-0 victory at Erickson All-Sports Facility.

South capped off the opening week of the season with a pair of shutout victories.

“I like what we did probably a little more in our first match – we finished more of our chances,” South coach Ron Bucholtz said. “But even then we missed a lot of scoring opportunities. Same thing today. We are creating chances. We have some good weapons up top – we just have to finish those chances.

“The difference today, Wheeling Central had a strong goalkeeper. She made some very nice saves. There were a couple of rebounds we weren’t there as quick as we should have been. I like the fact we are creating the chances. We just have to finish.”

Parkersburg South’s Camryn McLain, left, and Wheeling Central’s Mariah Ratcliffe chase down a loose ball during Saturday’s high school girls soccer match at Erickson All-Sports Facility in Parkersburg.
(Photo by Kerry Patrick)

Junior keeper Emilee Owens was spot on for South while putting herself out of the net amongst her teammates on several Wheeling Central corner kicks.

“Wheeling Central had two good chances – one in the first half and again in the second half that just went wide,” Bucholtz said. “Emilee is making good decisions. She knows if she can get to the ball on those corner kicks, that’s her ball to claim. Anything near or around the six, if they can claim it they should go claim it.”

As part of its season-opener, Wheeling Central saw its share of attacks deep in the South zone only to have the Patriot defenders keep shots on goal to a minimum.

“We had some good looks up top offensively – we just couldn’t find the back of the net,” Wheeling Central coach Ashley Winters said. “Our girls did extremely well. We have been prepping for this match all week. We knew what type of team Parkersburg South was. We know they are a tough (OVAC 5A) school. We are single-A. People may have thought it might have been a disadvantage.

“The girls had the dogfight in them. They didn’t give up.”

Parkersburg South’s Jozy Barton (28) gets a step ahead of Wheeling Central’s Gianna Konkle (7) during Saturday’s high school girls soccer match at Erickson All-Sports Facility in Parkersburg.
(Photo by Kerry Patrick)

Altizer nearly created a second goal for South during the latter portion of the second half. Her shot from the left side of the field zeroed in toward the Wheeling Center keeper.. Before Fitzsimmons could get her hands on it, a Maroon Knight defender stepped in front and deflected the ball nearly backwards into the net.

“Bella has made drastic changes from last year to this year – for the better,” Winters said. “She has become more aggressive in the net. She makes better decisions. I couldn’t ask anything better from Bella from this game.”

The match was played under extreme hot conditions, with water breaks allowed in each half. Still, those pauses in play couldn’t prevent senior midfielder Regan Shockey from experiencing a painful cramp in her left calf late in the second half. After a stoppage in play for an injury timeout, Regan limped off the field and sat for the final four minutes of the match.

“When you are playing a tough schedule, there is wear and tear on your players,” Bucholtz said. “If we would have finished a few more of those chances then you are more inclined to make some changes. We are making Regan work too hard. We have to find a way to involve a few more players so Regan doesn’t have to do the lion’s share of the work.”

Contact Kerry Patrick at kpatrick@newsandsentinel.com