REGION 2D SOCCER: It'll be Wise County Central vs. Gate City (girls), Graham vs. Gate City (boys) in finals (copy)
Richlands' Mary Reyn Buchanan sends the ball down field against Central.
Central celebrates during their Region 2D girls soccer semifinal win over Richlands Tuesday at East River Soccer Complex.
Central defeated Richlands girls soccer in the Region 2D Semifinals Tuesday at East River Soccer Complex.
Richlands Emery Queen battles for the ball against Central on Tuesday afternoon.
Richlands Casey Addison dribbles around a Central player during the Region 2D Semifinals.
BLUEFIELD, W.Va. – Wise County Central’s girls and Gate City’s boys picked up wins in the daytime session of the Region 2D soccer tournament at East River Mountain Soccer Complex on Tuesday.
Gate City’s girls and Graham’s boys won the final two games of the marathon day.
The Wise County Central Warriors bested Richlands 2-0 to earn a fourth straight trip to the VHSL Class 2 girls state tournament.
Gate City scored three times in the second half to beat Marion 3-1 and advanced to the regional boys finals for the second straight year.
GIRLS
Wise County Central 2, Richlands 0
Patience and defense were the keys to victory in the opener as Central and Richlands battled to keep their season alive. Sophomore forward Nazariah Duty’s goal at the eight-minute mark of the first half was all the Warriors needed.
Isabella Newberry’s goal at the 35-minute mark of the second half relieved the pressure on the Warrior defense. The goal was No. 115 of Newberry’s storied career.
“It is win or go home and you have to play your best every week. I am pleased with how the girls did. I felt like we controlled the game,” said Central coach Matt Mullins. “We took opportunities when we had them and played under control to finish it out.”
A young Richlands team dealt with 19 shots on goal from Central’s offensive attack.
Richlands Coach Nick Harrison said it was the first time in three years that the Blue Tornado advanced to the regional semifinal round. Richlands had just one senior on the roster.
“To go from last year only winning five games to winning 13 this year is a good improvement in the right direction,’ Harrison said.
He credited Wise County Central’s defense with a solid effort and said his team just couldn’t relieve the pressure.
The Warriors will face Mountain 7 District rival Gate City in Thursday’s title game.
Gate City 2, Graham 1
Isabella Hartsock had a goal and doled out an assist as the Gate City Blue Devils edged defending Region 2D champion Graham in the other semifinal.
“This win was huge for our program,” said Gate City coach Chris Mann.
Allie Sexton also found the back of the net, Ava Mullins tallied an assist, defender Madison Cox was relentless and goalkeeper Avery Elam made 14 clutch saves in the win.
“The girls really stepped it up today,” said Gate City coach Chris Mann. “We knew this team was built different than in year’s past. We knew Graham had some great players and it’s always hard to cover all of them but everyone played big tonight.”
BOYS
Gate City 3, Marion 1
A familiar name paced Gate City to victory in the first boys semifinal matchup.
Senior Walker Hillman scored two goals to lead the Blue Devils to the win. Hilman headed the ball into the net at 10 minutes of the second half to break a 1-1 tie and scored again with six minutes left to ice the game.
The other Blue Devil score was an own goal in the opening minutes of the second half.
“These last few weeks in practice we have been focused on making sure we get a good touch on set pieces,” Hillman said. “The header presented itself. I thought the keeper was going to come out on it, he didn’t I saw the ball take a good bounce and it was just right there.”
As for his game-clinching goal.
“The adrenaline was pumping and the clock was counting down,” Hillman said. “It was an amazing free ball that was played and I was able to get a really good touch on it.”
The Devils trailed 1-0 at the half but dominated over the final 40 minutes.
“The coaches just told us to settle in and play our game in the second half,” Hillman said.
The win upped the Blue Devils’ record to 19-1 for the season. while Marion closed the year at 13-4-1.
Bryson Smith recorded four saves for Gate City, while sophomore Joseh Arrington and Max Taylor also played well.
Marion’s only goal came from freshman Micah Owens.
Gate City plays Graham on Thursday in Bluefield in what will be a rematch of last year’s title game in which the Blue Devils prevailed.
Graham 3, Tazewell 0
Rhys Aiello, Easton Webb and Jordan Kegley scored as the Graham G-Men trumped Tazewell in the other Region 2D semifinal match.
