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Weir gets past Madonna in Class AA/A sectional semifinal

LOOKING UP — Weir High’s Taylor Quickle, left, and Emma Burns of Madonna chase after a loose ball in the first half of Wednesday’s sectional match. The Red Riders beat the Blue Dons, 3-1. (Matthew Peaslee)

WELLSBURG — The city championship may not have been on the line, but a trip to the sectional final was at stake.

For the second time this season, the Weir and Madonna girls’ soccer teams met on the field with something large at stake, and for the second time this season the Red Riders came away with the win.

The Blue Dons struck first to take the lead less than 15 minutes into the game, but the Red Riders responded and recorded three unanswered goals en route a 3-1 victory in an West Virginia Class AA/A Region 1 Section 1 Semifinal Wednesday night on the grass field at Brooke.

“When you come to see Madonna and Weir play, it is going to be very emotional and a very-physical game,” first-year Weir (12-5-4) head coach Joe Jimboy said. “They were able to strike first, but it was great to see the girls keep their composure as soon as the ball went in. It was nice to see. I am really proud of the girls. That is something we have really been working on.”

After falling behind 1-0, the Red and Black took control of the game.

“We got that first goal on a great shot by MaKayla (Virden),” Madonna (15-5-1) head coach Bob Kolanko said. “I thought we were really on to something, but then they shut us down after that. Defensively, they played very well. They limited us to just a few scoring chances. We limited them to just a few as well, but unfortunately they capitalized on their chances.”

Madonna’s 15 wins this season is the most in school history.

With the win, Weir will now play in the sectional final at 3 p.m. Saturday on the turf field inside Brooke Memorial Stadium. The Red Riders will take on Wheeling Central after the Maroon Knights defeated Oak Glen in the other sectional semifinal.

The Red Riders recorded one goal in the first half and two in the second half.

“Effort,” Jimboy said asked what made the difference in the game. “The effort was there by everyone who stepped onto the field. This may have been the hardest I have seen them work since I met them. They never quit. We were up 3-1, but the way we were playing you would have thought we were down 3-1. I am really, really proud of the girls.

Julia Gianni netted two goals to lead the way offensively for Weir, while Francesca Farran finished with one.

“She does make a difference for them,” Kolanko said about Farran, who did not play in the City Championship Game. “Kali Krynicki, one of our freshmen, we pulled her back from the attack and put her on defense. She was on Fran, and she did a fantastic job on her. I am proud of the way she played. Fran takes the game to a whole new level.”

Also for the victors, Meghan Hawthorne collected an assist on the goal by Farran. Both goals by Gianni were unassisted.

Lexey Brenneman made three saves in goal for the Red Riders.

For Madonna, Virden’s goal was unassisted.

Kasey Canei made six saves in goal for the Blue Dons.

Earlier this season, Weir defeated Madonna, 1-0, back on Aug. 25 at Jimmy Carey Stadium to win the city championship on a second-half goal by Gianni.

“Madonna played more physical and a lot tougher than I remember,” Jimboy said about the difference between the two games between the two city rivals. “That comes with the two teams from Weirton playing against each other. They definitely wanted it.”

Kolanko said with Weir having Farran back in the fold for this game, the Red Riders changed up how did things on offense.

“With her in the lineup, they play a lot more long ball and have her go get it,” he said. “She forces the play. The first time we played them, they had a lot more connecting passes, and if you look, two of their goals came as a result of connecting passes up top and not from the long ball.

“We knew we had to mark her like we have the last couple of years. The difference today was we had Kali mark her because Sam Parris was injured. We had to prepare her for the speed and control she plays with as well as the intensity she plays with.”

Weir outshot Madonna, 14-6, in the game, and the girls in black took nine shots on goal, while the girls in white took four.

The Blue Dons took 12 goal kicks in the game, while Weir took seven. Both teams took four corner kicks in the game.

After the City Championship Game, Kolanko said his team gave the game away. He did not think the same way after this game.

“I did think we gave the first game away,” he said. “This time, I truly believe Weir earned the win. They controlled the middle of the field. They controlled the ball on our defensive half of the field. They earned this.”

The game was scoreless for almost 15 minutes before Virden put the Blue Dons on the scoreboard on a shot from the outside giving Madonna a 1-0 lead with 25:11 left to play in the first half. The ball bounced off Brenneman’s hands before going into the net.

The Blue and White held the lead for more than 18 minutes before the Red Riders found the back of the net for the first time with a little more than seven minutes to play before halftime.

Hawthorne had the ball, and she sent a pass to Farran, who beat Canei with her shot tying the game at 1-1 with 7:04 showing on the scoreboard clock.

The game remained tied at 1-all until there was almost nine minutes gone in the second half.

This time, Gianni took advantage of a Madonna misplay in the back, and she found the back of the net to give Weir a 2-1 advantage with 31:16 left to play in the game.

Trailing for the first time in the game, the Blue Dons pushed forward in hopes of scoring the equalizer, but it was not to be on this night.

Gianni capped the scoring with a goal on a shot from a tough angle that hit off the far post before going into the net enabling the Red Riders to extend their advantage to 3-1 with 14:50 remaining to be played.

After going 12 straight games without a loss dating back to a 4-1 victory over Wheeling Central in the Bishop’s Cup, the Blue Dons lost their last two games of the season.

“What I told the seniors was you can not let one game define your whole season,” Kolanko said. “To be able to win 15 games at a small school like we are with 14 players on the roster is a big accomplishment. Our five losses were dogfights every step of the way. With a different bounce here or there we could have had 17 or 18 wins this season. With this group of girls, coming from a small school, I could not be more proud of pleased with them.

“I love coaching at Madonna. I would not want to coach anywhere else. I love the girls. I love my assistant coaches. I love our medical staff. We have a great group of parents and a great administration. What else can a coach ask for?”

Weir not only won the city championship this season, but the Red Riders also won the OVAC Class 4A Tournament title, and now they have a chance to go for their third championship of the season Saturday afternoon.

The game was the final one for Madonna’s six seniors – Hayley Timko, Emma Chartier, Emma Burns, Gianna Antinone, Ericka Fonner and Parris.

“I told Hayley Timko that they changed the dynamics of soccer at Madonna,” Kolanko said. “They played at a different level and with a different intensity than what we have seen at Madonna, and they were able to bring the rest of the girls up with them. I hope and pray that are underclassmen learn from them. They have carved out a foundation making Madonna soccer special.”

Though the loss of the seniors will be tough for Madonna, the cupboard is not bare for the Blue Dons going into next season.

“We pretty much have our entire defense back,” Kolanko said. “We do lose Sam Parris. What is going to hurt us is we are going to lose a lot of of our offensive attack with Emma Chartier, Emma Burns, Gianna Antinone and Hayley Timko. We are going to be hurting on offense. Losing Ericka Fonner is going to be another hard spot to fill. The girls we have got coming back and the girls we have coming up, it is going to be there time to step up and continue the roll we are on.”

Weir advanced to the semifinals by defeating Magnolia, 10-2, Tuesday night at home.

“We are fortunate we get to practice again,” Jimboy said. “We get to practice and we get to play another game.”

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