Boys varsity soccer streak snapped

by Jamie Harris
For the last few years, the Berkeley Springs Indians Boys Varsity Soccer Team has been a constant competitor in the West Virginia State Soccer Tournament. However, like all streaks in sports they have to end. Unfortunately for Berkeley Springs their streak was snapped by former AAA member Phillip Barbour who dropped down to AA this season.

Battling weather conditions, a rough home crowd, and the #1 seed Colts, Phillip Barbour easily dispatched the Indians with a 9-3 victory in the sectional championship game. With the loss, it also means the end of the high school soccer career of seniors Zach Wise, Kirk Speilman, Tyler Odell, and Colin Donadieu. Berkeley Springs finished the season 10-10-1.

The Indians advanced to the finals with a 9-3 win over Frankfort. Wise fired off two direct free kicks from more than 30 yards out and found the back of the net, with both, part of a hat trick with two assists to give the Tribe a 9-3 victory in a semifinal match of the Class AA, Region II, Section 1 tournament.

Both the Indians and Falcons exchanged goals early in the first half.

In the second minute, a few players from both Berkeley Springs and Frankfort were jumbling and jockeying for the ball when Brandon McCumbee fired off a shot. After bouncing off a pair of Falcon defenders, the ball found the back of the net for an own goal to give the Tribe an early lead.

Frankfort responded with a pair of goals in the span of four minutes on a Robbie Yarbrough goal over the hands of goalkeeper Brandon Krawczyk in the third minute and a Nolan Holshey goal past a sliding Krawczyk to give the Falcons the 2-1 advantage.

The Indians found an equalizer in the 19th minute with a Jared Levi goal as a result of a Cain Ooten pass before Frankfort responded with a goal by Adam Greaser to regain the lead.

"We hadn't been scoring, and the only goal at that point was an own goal," Levi said. "It's up to Brandon (McCumbee), who is the center, and Zach (Wise) as the offensive powerhouse to run things. They started sending through balls. Cain (Ooten) heard me, so he sent it up to me, but it was all Brandon and Zach."

"We started out slow and had a bad touch as the first goal was sloppy, but we'll take what we can get," McCumbee said. "Over time, we started to gel and our passes got better."

Following a foul in the penalty box by Frankfort (6-5), Levi fired the tying penalty kick to the left side of the net to knot the match at three.

Wise found a go-ahead goal with a minute remaining in the half to give the Tribe a 4-3 lead.

However, Berkeley Springs Coach Carl Wise had some changes and motivation up his sleeve to trigger a surge from the Tribe offense for the second half.

"We were starting to take them lightly, and we can't do that. We weren't into the game in the first half," Wise said. "We woke up in the second half and played like we can."

Wise found the back of the net with 35:41 to play in the second half on his first of two direct free kicks, and Ooten hit the net on a header from a Wise free kick 55 seconds later to give the Tribe a three-goal advantage.

Levi earned an assist to go along with his pair of goals on a corner kick that found McCumbee for a header in the 49th minute to make the score 7-3. Wise completed his hat trick with his second direct free kick goal with 22:53 left to play.

The Indians (10-9-1) capped its scoring with a Jake Truax goal, receiving a corner kick from Wise to give the Indians their six goal advantage.