John Bruce, Staff Writer
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
GALLIPOLIS — Prior to Wednesday night, the Gallia Academy Blue Devils had never won four consecutive sectional titles.
CREDIT: John Bruce/SOSA
By using an early offensive onslaught and a dominant defensive performance, that accomplishment came to fruition with a 2-0 victory over Zane Trace in a Division II sectional final.
A team that’s built off experience up top got off to an ideal start when senior Keagan Daniels dribbled down the left wing before moving towards the goal and neatly putting a shot into the side netting for his 32nd goal of the year, giving Gallia (16-1-2) and a 1-0 lead exactly ten minutes into the game.
“It always feels good to get the other team on their heels,” Daniels said. “It makes it ten times harder for them. Getting the high energy stuff early really helps move the game along. This is something we’ve had to work for after losing a lot of quality players last year. So it’s good. These guys have came in and really lit it up. We’re synced.”
Only forty seconds later, fellow senior Carson Wamsley took a pass from freshman Beckett Camden at the top of the box, made one move and finished in the back of the net to give the Blue Devils a 2-0 lead.
Following the explosive start, the Pioneers began to settle with central defenders Landon Robinson and Jordan Harrington turning away the Blue Devils’ considerable attacks. Wamsley, Daniels, and Maddux Camden put pressure on the Pioneers’ backline, but were unable to break through again, thanks to multiple outstanding saves by Judah Hanks in goal to keep the Pioneers (14-5) in the game.
Zane Trace began to mount an attack, but were unable to make a dent on the scoreboard, thanks in part to the Blue Devils’ defense of Brayden Burris, Wes Saunders, Braidy Duncan and Logan Drummond.
That quartet has been rock solid all season for the Blue Devils, allowing just 10 goals in 19 matches. They were better than rock solid on Wednesday, only allowing one shot on goal and two shots overall in their 12th shutout of the year.
“When you have the first two goals of the game, it’s really hard for the other team to get back in,” Wamsley said. “We didn’t just necessarily play defense through the rest of the game but it really helped that we had those two goals early.”
Throughout the second half, the Pioneers’ trio of Rece Allen, Marco Chavez and Ivan Chavez began to possess the ball at a greater clip, but weren’t able to break through. All three of those names will return next season, bringing with them 73 goals and 59 assists.
The Blue Devils continued to push forward, but were unable to extend their lead. But it didn’t matter in the end as they took home a 2-0 victory to extend their season into district tournament action.
Hanks finished his season with an excellent nine-save performance, including several spectacular diving stops throughout the second half.
Gallia Academy now advances to a fourth consecutive district semifinal and will take on Unioto (17-1) at Logan High School on Wednesday.
“Four straight years and all four years we’ve been here,” Wamsley said. “I really think we have a great team this year. We can go far.”
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