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NEW MANCHESTER -- Wheeling Central boys soccer coach Brian Komorowski couldn't help but reflect on how far his group of nine seniors have came in the last four years.
Their run as Maroon Knights came to a heart-breaking end Tuesday night in the Class A/AA Region 1 final at Oak Glen when Fairmont Senior's Isaac Branch scored 1:11 into overtime to lift the Polar Bears to a thrilling 4-3 decision.
"It was a game that went back and forth -- momentum went both ways," Komorowski said. "It was really exciting. I hate to lose. When you get to golden goal, you know there is going to be something that is going to be special. It's just tough.
"I took over four years ago with this group of seniors coming in as freshmen and were not very good at that point. To take a team in the regional finals into golden goal, I could not be prouder of this group."
The Maroon Knights, who close the season at 13-6-4, trailed twice in the late portions of the second half, overcoming both deficits to force the extra period. That resilience was no surprise to Komorowski.
"They didn't quit, and that is all I ask," he said. "All year they didn't quit. We got into tough situations, and they did really well."
With the Polar Bears (16-3-5) leading 2-1 on an early second-half goal by Jonas Branch, Central's Jacob Estep tied the score with 10:10 remaining on the clock.
Not even 30 seconds later, Fairmont's Bubby Towns answered to put the Polar Bears back on top, 3-2, but once again the Maroon Knights had an answer. With 5:11 to go in the game, Andrew Komorowski connected on a corner kick to again even the score.
Central had several quality chances in the final five minutes, including a free kick and an additional two corners, but could not get another bounce.
Isaac Branch then sped through a couple defenders and ended the game, which was a big sigh of relief for his coach.
"I told them when you guys get that chance, you have to bury it because, if we give them an opportunity, we might not get that chance back," Fairmont Senior coach Darrin Paul said. "When that last (Wheeling Central goal) went in, I got a little nervous. This team has been through adversity all year.
"We battled hard. Their heart is why we are moving on."
After surviving some early Fairmont chances, Central opened the scoring with a Sonny Peluchette goal with 12:55 remaining in the opening half. The Polar Bears answered with a penalty kick goal from Towns before the break.
Maroon Knight keeper Giulio Gentile finished with 12 saves, several of which were on quality Fairmont chances.
"Giulio has played well all year," Komorowski said. "He has made big, big saves. Our whole back four played great."
SENIOR FARWELL
The Maroon Knight seniors were Estep, Thomas Minor, Peluchette, Cole Saseen, Isaac Smith, Jacob Prager, Alex Magruder, Brendan Smith, and Ian McGrew.
"It's a tough group to lose," Komorowski said.
UP NEXT
Wheeling Central: Season concludes.
Fairmont Senior: Advances to next week's state tournament in Beckley.
(Grimm can be reached at agrimm@heraldstaronline.com)