SMILING FOR SIX — The Oak Glen girls soccer team celebrates its shootout win over Weir High in Saturday’s OVAC Class 4A championship match at St. Clairsville’s Red Devil Stadium. The Golden Bears’ win gave them their sixth-consecutive conference championship. -- Andrew Grimm

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — In the break between the end of regulation and the start of overtime, Oak Glen head coach Bill Watts told his team someone had a chance to leave Red Devil Stadium as a hero.

That someone ended up being a pretty unlikely hero, too, as freshman Macy Hartung’s shot into the back of the net ended up being the only goal in the five-round shootout, lifting the Golden Bears to a sixth-consecutive OVAC Class 4A title with a victory over rival Weir High.

“I told the girls this is what we talked about, a chance to win an OVAC championship,” Watts said. “We’ve won six as a program, but a lot of these girls were starting in their first OVAC championship. I told them this is your chance to be a hero, and it turns out it was the freshmen that ends up being the hero after a couple of our seniors unfortunately missed. You never know who it’s going to be.

“Congratulations to Weir, they’ve had a great season and this was a great game. We’ve played them twice and both times have been tough.”

That pep went to the ears of a dejected group, too, as the Golden Bears saw a 1-0 lead get away in the final minute in gut-wrenching fashion as Weir High’s Olivia Baker fired a cross that tipped off an Oak Glen defender and in to even the score and force overtime just 39 seconds before the Bears thought they would start the celebration.

Standout Kami Ward’s first half goal on an assist from Maeghan Fisher ended up being the Golden Bears’ (11-0-2) lone tally. Alexus Greenlief, the Bears standout keeper, seemed poised to make it stand up until the fortuitous bounce for the Red Riders (10-1-3).

Greenlief, however, made a couple of stops in overtime and then did not allow any of Weir’s five shooters to score in the shootout.

“I really want to give a lot of credit to our defense,” Watts said. “We’ve played great team defense all year … but without Lex back there we’re not where we’re at right now. She came up with stop after stop at the end of the game. There was nothing she could do about the goal at the end of regulation, and in the shootout, I’ve been around soccer a long time and I’ve never seen a goalie not give up a goal in a shootout.”

For the Red Riders, who carried much of the play in the second half and had several chances to score in both regulation and overtime, what goes down on the official record as a tie was a tough one to take after tying the game and seeming to have the momentum.

“It was a good game, we battled and had our opportunities,” Weir head coach Jeremy Angelo said. “When it goes to PKs. anything can happen. They’re high school kids … We hit good balls, (Greenlief) made two good saves and we just didn’t put the ball in the corners. We’ve worked on them, it just didn’t happen for us.

“I’m proud of them, to play in these conditions and go to OT and PKs with that team, they worked hard and left it all out there.”

The Red Riders only regulation loss of the season was also to Oak Glen in a close game early in the season.

Both teams had to battle the conditions as well as each other as the game was played in a driving rain storm.

“It was hard conditions for everybody,” Watts said. “The rain, the wind, it had an effect.”

UP NEXT

Weir High: Travels to Linsly on Tuesday.

Oak Glen: Travels to Wheeling Central on Tuesday.