IN ACTION — Catholic Central’s Delaney Dankert challenges for the ball. – Mike Hughes

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — When Wheeling Central and Catholic Central met previously this season, the Maroon Knights handed the Crusaders their first defeat with a 3-0 final score.

All three of those goals came off penalty kicks as Central Catholic took advantage of set-piece opportunities.

Those opportunities presented themselves again Saturday and, once again, the Maroon Knights banged home a few en route to an impressive 8-0 win against the Crusaders in the finals of the OVAC Class 1A-3A championship.

It snaps a two-game conference final losing streak for the Maroon Knights and gives the Maroon and Gold its first title since beating Linsly 2-1 in 2018

“We knew what to expect coming in here,” Maroon Knights head coach Ashley Winters said. “This is our third year in a row in this game. The last two didn’t go our way, but we’ve been preparing the girls and getting them ready.

“Catholic Central, I give them a tremendous amount of credit. We played each other earlier and beat them 3-0, so we are familiar with each other. We know what each other can do.

“They did not let up at all and didn’t quit, but I’m so proud of our girls.”

Gianna Konkle and Seneca Heller each tallied two goals, while Mariah Ratcliffe, Elizabeth Steele, Rylee Wright and Loni Kusic each scored once.

In short, Central controlled the field and the tempo.

Led by a trio of ninth-grade midfielders who play beyond their years, the Knights prevented Catholic Central from ever managing to mount a legitimate threat against goalkeeper Bella Fitsmmons, who needed only four saves for the shutout.

“They are a good team and have three midfielders that are freshman who will be tough to deal with the next three years,” Crusaders head coach Jonathan Hoover noted.

Catholic Central was denied its first OVAC championship since winning back-to-back during the 2008 and 2009 seasons.

Leading 4-0 at the break, Kusic, Heller, Ratcliffe and Konkle all scored after the break, with Konkle’s coming via a penalty kick.

“All of our goals the last time we played came off penalty kicks, so we knew that’d be a strength for us in this game,” Winters noted. “But we also wanted to mix it up and capitalize on opportunities on the field as well.

“Our core is young, which is great for us. The next few years after this will be great for Central girls’ soccer.”

Kusic added a pair of assists, while Wright and Ratcliffe had one helper apiece for the victors.\

Josey Urbanczyk finished with 10 saves after facing a flurry of shots for the Crusaders, who will take on OVAC Class 4A runner-up St. Clairsville on Monday at home before facing Ridgewood on Wednesday.

Wheeling Central turns its attention to postseason preparation with a match against Oak Glen on Monday.