Gallia’s magnificent season comes to close with tight loss to Bexley

Brock Netter, Staff Writer

Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.

LOGAN — As the final buzzer sounded and Wednesday’s game was officially over, Gallia Academy’s Keagen Daniels dropped to the turf and just sat there.

The emotions were written all over his face. 

Sadness. Heartbreak. Reflection. Gratefulness. Gratitude. 

It turned out that Wednesday was his last day as a member of Gallia Academy’s soccer program as his Blue Devils suffered a 1-0 loss to Bexley in a Division II regional semifinal. 

“We knew this was going to be a tough game, and Bexley is a really good team,” Gallia Academy coach Cory Camden said. “They have a tradition unlike any other and the teams they play that are surrounding, you already know they’re going to be good. We held it together for as long as we could, and had some opportunities late, but just missed and that’s how it goes sometimes.” 

Bexley’s aggressive style and speed was on full display. It lined up three shots early, but one veered to the right, another ricocheted off a player while the other chance missed by mere inches within the opening 10 minutes. 

The Lions (16-3-1) controlled much of the first half with ball control, precise passing and quality shots that were just missing by the smallest of margins. 

Then, they finally got the breakthrough they were looking for.

After the ball bounced around multiple players in the box, it eventually landed at the feet of John Westman and he finished his chance in the back of the net to put them ahead 1-0 at halftime. 

It was now a race against the clock to equalize, but the Blue Devils (18-2-2) couldn’t maintain ball possession long enough to give them a chance. 

In the final 15 minutes, they turned up aggression and managed to fire off shots.

In particular, they had one great chance off a free kick and had a header, but Bexley’s keeper jumped and reached as high as he possibly could to make the save and tip the ball over the net. 

“Our defense really held in and dug in, but when you’re bombarded that much on one side of the ball, eventually you’re going to break,” Camden said. “I felt like things really began to swing our way towards the end of the game and some chances began to open up, but we just missed on a couple set pieces as well that could have really changed things for us.”

Gallia Academy’s season ends after the most successful campaign in its history, winning OVC and sectional titles, as well as its first-ever district title in program history. 

The senior class finishes their four-year careers with a mark of 62-11-6. 

Gallia Academy says goodbye to six seniors: Daniels, Bryce Hains, Brayden Bruns, Carson Wamsley and Maddux Camden. 

“Easily this is the greatest and winningest senior class in the soccer program’s history. They are the ones who put Gallia Academy soccer on the map,” Camden said. “We’ve been in the last three district championships, and this was the first time we’d ever won a district crown. These guys have helped win 62 games and did it with being leaders on the field and better students off the field. It’ll be incredibly tough to replace them, but we have guys returning and we’ll keep this thing going.” 

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