When it comes to state tournament experience, Oak Hill and George Washington are certainly on opposite ends of the spectrum.
GW is playing among the final four for the eighth straight season. The Patriots were the rulers of Class AAA Region 3, up until this year’s reclassification. Moving up to Class AAAA did nothing to slow their momentum. They were the No. 1 South Region seed and won one of the two co-finals.
Oak Hill, meanwhile, also made the move up to Class AAAA. The Red Devils were No. 2 in the South Region and earned the second state tournament berth.
The difference between the two programs is this is Oak Hill’s first-ever appearance in the state tournament. A lot of the reason for that is because the Patriots posed a roadblock for the Red Devils and for their fellow Section 1 teams.
On Saturday, Oak Hill and George Washington will meet again, this time with even higher stakes. The Class AAAA girls state championship will close out the tournament at 1 p.m. on Cline Stadium at the YMCA Paul Cline Memorial Sports Complex.
Both teams go in with records of 20-2-1.
GW, a state finalist last season, will be playing in its seventh state title game. Its only championship came in 2021.
Oak Hill, of course, is looking to plant its flag at the top of the mountain for the first time. It started with a corner-turning 3-1 victory over Hurricane in a South Region co-final last week in Fayette County.
The Red Devils then made it clear on Thursday night that just playing in the state tournament was not the goal.
Oak Hill had a 3-1 lead over Wheeling Park in their state semifinal before the Patriots started to rally. Goals by Molly Bradshaw and Julia Dunaway tied the game with 6:13 to play in regulation.
Rather than crumble amid the adversity, the Red Devils responded.
Less than four minutes into overtime, sophomore Bella Holly took a long pass from Jada Wilburn. She was being closely challenged by a Wheeling Park defender, who fell. Holly made a move to her left to shake off another defender and was in a faceoff with the Patriots keeper.
She got herself in position and rolled the ball between the keeper’s feet and into the net, continuing what has been a trend for the Red Devils, who have answered the bell throughout the postseason.
They fell behind 1-0 midway through the first half against Huntington in a region semifinal. But Holly scored the equalizer just 18 seconds later. It stayed that way until sophomore Emma Curtis scored the go-ahead goal with 12:31 to play and freshman keeper Lilly Hrabosky added a rare goal on a free kick with about five minutes left.
In the co-final against Hurricane, the Red Devils were down 1-0 at halftime and couldn’t get much going offensively. But the defense kept it there until the second half, when freshmen Kenzie Allen and Aubrey Conley scored off set pieces from Wilburn to put Oak Hill ahead 2-1 late. Less than a minute later, Holly took a pass from sophomore Serenity Bourgord and made it a two-goal game.
It’s been a breakout season for Holly, whose hat trick in the win over Wheeling Park increased her season total to 54. That tied her for second in the state with Lily Larnerd of East Fairmont, which will be playing Nitro for the Class AAA state championship Saturday at 9:30 p.m.
Wilburn, a senior, has been the experienced leader. She has 15 goals and 23 assists.
Junior Gracie Bennett has seven goals and four assists, Bourgord nine and seven and Conley six and two.
Leading George Washington is senior Mia Lough, a Charleston Catholic transfer. She has 33 goals and 17 assists on the season. Ellie Pray has 20 goals and 15 assists.
