FAIRMONT — The Buckhannon-Upshur Middle School Little Lady Bucs capped a successful season with a third-place finish in the Mid-Mountain 10 Conference Tournament last week.
The Little Lady Bucs, the tournament’s No. 3 seed, opened postseason play with a convincing 5-1 victory over sixth-seeded Bridgeport on Monday in Fairmont. They then dropped a hard-fought 1-0 decision to No. 2 East Fairmont in the semifinals Thursday in Grafton before rebounding to defeat No. 4 Lincoln, 2-1, in Saturday’s consolation game at Robert C. Byrd High School.
Buckhannon-Upshur controlled play from the outset against Bridgeport.
Ali Triplett scored twice in the opening half as the Little Lady Bucs built a 2-0 advantage at the break. Triplett completed her hat trick early in the second half to extend the lead to 3-0 before Lucy Kelley added a goal to make it 4-0.
Bridgeport spoiled the shutout with a goal in the final 15 minutes, but Lucy Kelley’s second goal of the match with 14 minutes remaining capped the scoring.
Buckhannon-Upshur dominated statistically, holding a 17-2 advantage in shots on goal and a 4-2 edge in corner kicks.
“The team looked really good against Bridgeport,” head coach John Kelley said. “I am very proud of how they played.”
The Little Lady Bucs’ tournament run nearly continued into the championship match, but East Fairmont converted a goal 13 minutes into the first half and made it stand in a 1-0 semifinal victory.
Buckhannon-Upshur generated scoring opportunities throughout the contest but was unable to break through against the East Fairmont defense.
In the third-place game against Lincoln, all three goals came during the opening half.
Just four minutes into the match, Lucy Kelley threaded a pass to Addi Perkins, who finished the chance to give the Little Lady Bucs a 1-0 lead.
Lincoln answered at the 12-minute mark to even the score, but Perkins struck again six minutes before halftime, finishing a pass from Caroline Kelley for what proved to be the game-winning goal.
Neither team found the back of the net in the second half as Buckhannon-Upshur secured the tournament’s third-place trophy.
The Little Lady Bucs finished with a 9-4 advantage in shots on goal, while Lincoln held a 3-1 edge in corner kicks.
Buckhannon-Upshur closed the season with an impressive 11-4 record.
“These girls have worked really hard,” John Kelley said. “It was a tough loss to East Fairmont, but these girls need to hold their heads high. The work they’ve put in is second to none, and they play good soccer.”
The boxscores:
Bridgeport 0 1 – 1
Buckhannon-Upshur 2 3 – 5
Buckhannon-Upshur goals – Ali Triplett 3; Lucy Kelley 2.
Buckhannon-Upshur 0 0 – 0
East Fairmont 1 0 – 1
Buckhannon-Upshur goals – None.
Lincoln 1 0 – 1
Buckhannon-Upshur 2 0 – 2
Buckhannon-Upshur goals – Addi Perkins 2.
Community Bulletin
"Traveling with Light," the WVWC Planetarium's public show at 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 7 in Christopher Hall, is an animated film about the importance of light in all areas of our lives, paired with a tour of the night sky. Read more →
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