Another Gem in the Valley

We once again want to share with you our thoughts on one of the hidden gems we have here in the Ohio Valley. If you do not know we have a high-level amateur soccer team right here in Wheeling, WV.

The WV Highlanders play their matches at the Highlands Sports Complex and compete in the Ohio Valley Premier League. The OVPL league matches are played in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky. The Highlanders will be the first ever club team in Wheeling that is US Open Cup eligible.

Yesterday, the Wheeling Highlanders got their third victory of the season with a 2-1 win over Sporting Columbus at the Highlands Sports Complex. They now are 3-1-1 on the season and sit atop of the OVPL Valley Conference standings (albeit having played more matches than other teams).

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Despite having the bulk of ball possession against an athletic Sporting team, Highlanders failed to take their numerous first half chances leaving it 0-0 at half time.

They started fast in the second half but within 10 minutes went down 0-1 to a well taken goal by Sporting Columbus.

The Highlanders were quick to fight back when Keagan Daniels'(6) dribbling led to his pinpoint cross to Marco Kramer(8) who tucked in the equalizing goal at the back post. The score was leveled at 1-1.

Shortly after Vitor Otsuka’s(2) neat work found Kramer(8) unmarked again who slotted the ball in with his left foot from 20 yards making the score now 2-1 in the Highlanders favor.

The 2-1 score held up throughout the rest of the second half of play as Sporting Columbus made several nice attempts to tie the score. This gave the Highlands a 2-1 victory on the day.

We want to make a point to say the defense played strong on the day as well holding Sporting to just a single goal on Saturday. In particular, we would like to mention goaltender Mark McMillan(01). His stellar play and leadership clearly made the difference on the day. His demeanor and communication with the team will definitely make him a fan favorite with the crowd.

The Highlanders travel to Youngstown on Wednesday evening to take on Project24. On June 24^th they return home to play at the Highlands Sports Complex when they host Ohio Premier at 1:00 pm.

The goal of the Highlanders, pun intended, is to provide a competitive program to college-aged athletes to enhance their skills and grow the game of soccer.

This is high-level soccer. From a former player and coach, I will tell you the ball control these teams and players possess make it a very fun game to watch. They pick the ball out of the air and drop it right at their feet. Their passes and shots are on point. These guys are the best the Valley has to offer. You will see from the roster below that they made up of players from Colleges and Universities all around the Valley and more.

You should really try to make it to one of their matches this season. You will not be disappointed.

The Highlanders Roster is made up of both local home-grown talent and even some international flair.

The roster with Wheeling area players denoted and flags for nationalities:

Mark McMillan 01 Goalkeeper. Former player and now Assistant Coach at University of Northwestern Ohio, NAIA.