ST. CLAIRSVILLE – There’s no truth to the rumor that the OVAC Class 5A boys’ soccer championship is being re-named the Wheeling Park Invitational. However, when looking over the past decade’s results, one would beg to differ.

For the fifth consecutive season and the ninth time in the last 10 years, the top-seeded Patriots (9-3) have claimed the top hardware, doing so Saturday afternoon at sun-baked Red Devil Stadium with a 2-0 blanking of No. 2 Steubenville.

The hard-fought victory marked the second time Wheeling Park has shutout Big Red (7-4-1) this season. The first time was 5-0.

“Steubenville played really well today. Their defense took us out of our game plan. We usually get good scoring opportunities but their defense played us tough,” Wheeling Park head coach Mario Julian said. “We were able to get a couple of bounces to go our way there, but it wasn’t easy. It was very difficult.”

Steubenville head coach Greg Bowers thought his team played well, but Wheeling Park was the better team.

“Their defense is really tough,” he said. “A lot of time you have a lot of time with the ball at your feet. That’s a credit to them. We did enough that we gave ourselves a shot. I’m proud of the kids.”

If there’s a silver lining for Big Red, their season isn’t over.

“We’ll use this as a learning lesson,” Bowers added. “If we play like this in the sectional and district, we’ll be a tough out.”

Aiden McCrosky gave Wheeling Park all the goals it would need when he scored in the 17th minute off an assist from Ike Aderholt. McCroskey’s blast from the right wing sailed past a diving JJ Lamantia and into the far corner of the net.

“Aiden’s not one of our leading scorers, but he is really good,” Julian added. “He’s starting to score in big games, though.”

Steubenville had a golden opportunity to draw even in the 55th minute, but Landon Bowers’ penalty from 12 yards out sailed wide right.

“That was pretty nerve-racking,” Wheeling Park senior goalkeeper Cooper Abraham said. “I’m just glad it worked out the way it did.”

Lamantia faced eight shots, recording four saves.

Six minutes later, Wilson Hanna lasered a penalty kick of his own into the back of the net to the right of Lamantia.

“It was nice to see Wilson get that goal to put us up 2-0,” Julian noted. “It didn’t make for an easy finish, but we were able to relax a little more and enjoy the last 5-6 minutes of the match.”

Steubenville finished with six shots on goal and Abraham was up to the task on each attempt, recording a pair of saves.

Julian was very happy for his seniors who have been OVAC champions every year of their career.

“I can’t say enough about our seniors. They are really competitive,” he praised. “They are really good players.”