ELKINS, W.Va. — Lane Tenney and Dawson Carpenter connected for a pair of goals to give the Buckhannon-Upshur High School boys soccer team a lead they would not relinquish in their regular season finale at Elkins on Thursday.
Carpenter notched both early goals — one on a through ball down the middle from Tenney, another on a 1-2 combination — to set the tone in the 4-1 win.
“Between being down a few players and the field conditions, we had a lot of factors going against us tonight,” Buckhannon-Upshur head coach Mike Donato remarked. “I commend the team for overcoming those obstacles and having one of the most complete games I’ve seen them play all season.”
Devin Fletcher would score the only goal for Elkins in the 30th minute, but Caden Andrick won the ball inside the penalty and finished near post to give the Bucs a commanding 3-1 lead heading into halftime.
Bryer Ketterman had the only goal of the second half shortly after intermission, scoring on a deflection in the 46th minute. The remainder of the game was scoreless, thanks in part to some nifty work from B-U keeper Logan Kelley, who was called into action to make 12 saves.
“Our midfield moved the ball with pace and purpose, strikers played all over the pitch, the back line stood tall and made really smart plays, and our keeper made great saves and smart decisions,” Donato said.
The Tigers actually had a slight 13-12 edge in shots, while corner kicks were even at five apiece.
The Bucs will now take things game-by-game as postseason play begins.