Semifinal win over Northwood takes Clarksburg boys soccer into its first 2A West regional final

‘‘Sometimes we need to be woken up a little,” said Spoales. ‘‘They need to hear this could be their last 40 minutes.”

After a hard-fought first half that left the game scoreless, Clarksburg (9-4-1 record) opened the second half with Julio Arjona chipping the opening kickoff into the Northwood 18-yard box. Peabo Doue chased the ball into the zone, where Northwood junior goalie Evan Swarth attempted to field the bouncing kick. Swarth bobbled the ball, Doue stole it, dribbled it further into the box and drilled it into the back of the net for the first goal.

‘‘As soon as the second half started, we just came out ready,” said Doue.

The play worked to perfection, thanks to Doue’s stick-to-itiveness. He said he noticed the keeper make similar plays in the first half, which led him to not give up on the play.

‘‘I just knew just to keep running, coach always says follow the ball,” said Doue. ‘‘Eventually he just dropped it.”

Both programs were playing in their first region semifinals, having just begun varsity play a year ago. This season turned into a drastic improvement for both programs.

Last season, Clarksburg managed just a 4-10 record. Spoales credited the team’s dedication for this season’s turnaround.

‘‘This year they did the off-season stuff they had to do, they hit the weight room, they were running,” said Spoales. ‘‘They came together. They just realized what it took to be a successful program and they did that.”

Northwood (7-7-1) only won one game last year. This year, they won seven games and upset the top team in the tournament, Frederick County’s Walkersville, 2-1, in the opening round. Head coach Kurt Logsdon said he was proud of his team’s effort this season.

‘‘We already made it to this far in the tournament, beat two teams and knocked off the No. 1 seed,” he said. ‘‘So, I look at that as a successful season right there.”

Both teams had a few scoring opportunities in the first half, but the game intensified in the second half, even after Clarksburg took the lead. Emotions ran high on both sides, with red cards assessed to Northwood junior Alfredo Solano and Arjona for jostling with one another before a Clarksburg corner kick.

Northwood sophomore Bush Yormie and senior Enzo Floreno were assessed yellow cards. Doue also received a yellow card.

‘‘Both teams wanted to win so much, heads started clashing, people started losing control,” said Arjona.

Clarksburg broke the game open on another goal from Doue, seven minutes into the second half. This time, he dribbled the ball to the left of the goal and buried a shot in the lower right corner for the 2-0 lead.

Clarksburg would add one more goal when Nelson Escobar took advantage of another rebound opportunity to give his team a 3-0 lead with 25 minutes remaining in the contest.

Northwood’s best opportunities came off free kicks in the first half. Senior Jahir Ramirez had two free kicks from 20 yards, but one sailed just over the net, and the other was on target but was saved. With 11 minutes remaining in the opening half, Ramirez took another kick from 22 yards out that had to be punched over the net by the Clarksburg goalkeeper.

Logsdon said his team just lost steam in the second half.

‘‘We just got beat, we were just exhausted,” he said.

Clarksburg faces Liberty in the regional finals and the team will be without Arjona, one of its captains. Because of the red card he is forced to sit out the next game. Even though he won’t be playing, Arjona still understands the significance of the game.

‘‘Now, we’re regional finalists already, I’m just happy,” said Arjona. ‘‘We worked so hard this year, I think we deserve it.”

Note: The regional final was completed too late to be included in this edition of The Gazette.