For more than two years, almost nobody could beat East Fairmont. Then Greenbrier East went to Beckley and did it on the biggest stage in the state.
The Spartans won the West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission Class AAA girls soccer championship 1-0, claiming the first state title in program history and ending the Bees' 68-game winning streak. East Fairmont came in as the two-time defending champion, looking for a three-peat, and had not lost a match since the opening weeks of the 2024 season.
Senior Ava Workman scored the game's only goal in the 42nd minute, her 26th of the year, and that was all Greenbrier East needed.
The first half ended scoreless, even as East Fairmont twice rang the crossbar. After the break, Workman found the net and the Spartans spent the rest of the afternoon protecting a one-goal lead.
Sophomore goalkeeper Adeline Vickers finished with six saves in the shutout, including two late stops on East Fairmont's Annabelle Skidmore. The Bees outshot Greenbrier East 16-11 and put six shots on goal to the Spartans' five, but they could not get one past Vickers.
Greenbrier East coach Mike Dotson said the win showed a kind of grit that never shows up in a box score. "They brought it today and I am real proud of them," Dotson said.
The championship was the latest tight tournament result for the Spartans, who also beat Bridgeport 1-0 on the way to the final. Seeded second, they knocked off the top-seeded Bees in a defensive battle between two of the state's best programs.
Greenbrier East finishes 21-3-1. East Fairmont finishes 23-1-0, a remarkable run that included those back-to-back state titles and a winning streak that stretched across two-plus seasons.
For a Greenbrier East senior class that wanted to take care of business in its last year, and for the underclassmen who helped them do it, Saturday in Beckley will be the day the Spartans finally put a state championship on the mantel. The whole Mountain State can be proud of a final that came down to one goal, one keeper, and a team that refused to blink.