Frankfort Routs Philip Barbour 7-0 to Claim Regional Soccer Title
Short Gap, W.Va. — Last autumn, the Frankfort boys soccer team had to survive a nerve-wracking penalty-kick shootout just to capture the regional crown. This Thursday night at the Frankfort Soccer Complex, the top-ranked Falcons kept things considerably less stressful, dismantling Philip Barbour 7-0 to secure their Class AA-Region 2 championship.
The tone for the evening was set just 16 seconds into the match. Noah Weaver capitalized on a long ball off the opening kickoff, heading it past the Colts’ defense to immediately put the Falcons on the board.
Early Strike and First-Half Hat Trick Propel Falcons
That lightning-fast goal opened the floodgates for Frankfort. Six minutes later, Dominic Musgrove delivered an on-target corner kick that Liam Orndorff headed home to double the lead at the 33:10 mark.
Mason Jones then ripped a shot into the back of the net, before Weaver converted a low shot to push the lead to 4-0 with just 3:34 left in the first half. Before the halftime whistle blew, Weaver struck again from 30 yards out on the left wing, sending a cross into the top corner of the net for his third goal of the night.
“Whenever I had the ball, I was taking it down and I see Liam,” Weaver said. “He was waving his hand, and I was like, ‘O.K., I’m gonna cross it.’ So I crossed it, and it went up and it started to come down, and I’m like, ‘Oh my God, there’s no way that’s going in!’ I see the keeper backing up, and I’m like, ‘Oh my God.’ And that was probably the best goal I’ve scored out of all of four years.”
Following the hat trick, Weaver celebrated with a backflip. Frankfort coach Jason Vaughn praised the opening sequence, noting that the team had practiced long balls off the kickoff all season without immediate results until Thursday night.
Controlling the Pitch and Sealing the Victory
The second half brought more of the same dominance. Orndorff netted his second goal of the match with a defender draped tightly over him, triggering a running clock as the score stretched to 6-0 with 26:30 remaining. Jones capped the scoring approximately ten minutes later, tucking away his second goal of the night off an assist from Weaver.
When the final whistle blew, Frankfort held a commanding 31-to-6 advantage in total shots. Falcons goalkeeper Jesús Perdeh faced little pressure throughout the evening, yet he remained positioned correctly to save all six shots on goal fired by Philip Barbour.
Falcons Return to State Semifinals After Historic Season
Thursday’s victory solidifies an impressive campaign for the Falcons. Frankfort’s lone loss this season came via a 2-1 result against Allegany on Sept. 26. It tied Wheeling Central Catholic and Pocahontas County. Altogether, the Falcons have outscored their opponents 136-13 this year.
Individually, Orndorff leads the squad with 36 goals, while Weaver sits second with 26. Jones has contributed nine goals to the attack.
The win sends Frankfort back to the state semifinals for the second year in a row after qualifying for states for the first time in program history last season. Last year, the Falcons outlasted Trinity Christian 6-6 in PKs before being knocked out of the state playoffs by Wheeling Central.
Next Steps in Beckley
The Falcons will now transition from their grass field in Short Gap to the turf at the YMCA Paul Cline Memorial Sports Complex in Beckley for the state tournament.
“It was good to be down there and understand the process because there’s a lot of structure to the event,” Vaughn said. “These boys that played in this game, most of them played in last year’s regional championship. Now most of them will go down and play in Beckley. I think the nerves will be mute. I think they’ll be comfortable. They’ll understand where they’re at and they’ll play better.”
