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Wheeling Central girls boot Red Riders

WHEELING — Motivation was in abundance at Bishop Schmitt Field on the campus of Wheeling Jesuit University Tuesday afternoon.

Wheeling Central’s girls’ soccer team made its season debut with a sharp 4-2 win over Weir.

The victory was extra sweet for the Lady Knights as they avenged a tough sectional setback at the hands of the Lady Red Riders last season. Weir went on to become the eventual state runner-up.

“We have been talking about this game all summer long,” said elated Wheeling Central coach Cicley Powell. “We had all the motivation you need heading into this game. We had a bitter taste in our mouth after last year’s sectional loss.”

Sophomore dandy Kenadee Wayt keyed the Lady Knights’ victory with two goals and some stellar all-around play. Central goalie Maria Murphy was also strong in front of the net.

The game unfolded somewhat sluggishly as both teams had trouble scoring, failing to capitalize on several quality opportunities.

Weir drew first blood on a goal by junior Taylor Quickle at the 27:44 mark of the first half. The Lady Knights drew even on a net-finder from junior Maria Dzmura with less than five minutes remaining in the opening half.

Central took a lead it would never relinquish on Wayt’s first goal just 1:26 into the second half. Powell’s squad gave itself some much-needed breathing room on a goal from senior Hannah Diffenbaugher with 31 minutes remaining, making it a 3-1 Maroon advantage. Her rebound goal come off a shot by Wayt.

Weir, under first-year coach Joe Jimboy, made matters interesting on the strength of a Paulayna Zias goal at the 27:44 juncture.

The Lady Knights applied the clincher on Wayt’s second score with 24 minutes to play. Powell subsequently put her troops in a defensive mode to seal the decision.

“We started a little slowly but when we got our feet underneath us we played pretty well for our first game,” Powell said. “We started working well from the back and things started clicking much better. It is a sweet win.”

Central is scheduled to return to action Thursday, hosting Beaver Local at Mount de Chantal.

Weir dropped to 0-2. The Lady Riders fell to Elkins in their opener.

“We didn’t take advantage of a couple early scoring chances. It could have been a different story if we got a second goal early on,” Jimboy said. “We lost to two good teams. We are a work in progress but we have some quality players back from last year.”

Weir has another acid test as it faces Madonna Thursday for the city championship.

Murphy was solid all night long in goal for the winners. She recorded nine saves.

Weir employed two goalkeepers — Lexey Brenneman and Cassidy Champ. They teamed for eight stops.

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