Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
THE PLAINS — Behind Hunter Barnard’s golden goal in the 89th minute, and a sparkling defensive effort, the South Webster Jeeps are back in a regional championship game.
“Hunter’s been the guy who has been getting in there and going for it, and it has paid off,” South Webster coach Corey Claxon said of his sophomore standout. “He knows when it’s going to come in and he makes a break for it.”
The golden goal came in the first overtime period, but to get to that point, the Jeeps (16-3-2) needed to contain one of the most dynamic offensive attacks in the state.
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
To try and control Wheelersburg’s offense, South Webster used two of their three seniors as man-markers on Max Hagans and Nick Sylvia. Kody Mantle and Bryson Hanley, along with substitute Beau Stephens, had the monumental task of slowing Hagans and Sylvia.
And, by having two individuals focusing on Hagans and Sylvia, it cleared the rest of the defense, led by senior Tyler Sommer, to just concentrate on their own jobs.
“Everybody knows that you have to stop Max Hagans, so we assigned a man to try to neutralize him,” Claxon said of the defensive strategy. “And also on Sylvia, since he’s the setup guy. So we held tight to those guys and tried to get the opportunity to knock one in and it worked out.”
In the previous meeting between the teams, Wheelersburg beat the Jeeps by a 6-0 tally behind five goals from Hagans. That game was on Sept. 19. In their 12 matches since, the Jeeps have only given up eight goals while compiling a 10-0-2 mark.
While their defense held solid, the Jeeps still needed a golden goal in overtime. To get it, they rang up a familiar play.
Sommer to Barnard, from the right side, to the top of the six-yard box with 6:37 to play in overtime.
Jeeps 1, Pirates 0.
“It feels great,” Barnard said. “I dream of moments like this. In the district final, Tyler put two balls over the top for me in the exact same spot. He played it to me tonight. I saw him and I knew he was going to play it over. It came over, I settled it and I just put it right over the keeper. I knew it’d come eventually. It just came really late.”
Another hero on the night came from a late-season change.
Danish exchange student Sam Odegaard was a major player in the midfield for the Jeeps. But he’s switched to goalkeeper for the last two games.
Two games, two shutouts.
“Sam played in the midfield all year and did a great job,” Claxon said of his goalie. “He has given us a spark and has come up big. It was a pretty big ace in the hole for us.”
For the Pirates, they finish their season as district champions for the fourth straight year and with a record of 18-2-1. Graduating are Hagans, Wheelersburg’s all-time leading goal scorer at 130 goals, and Connor Estep, who missed the last few weeks due to a season-ending injury.
South Webster now advances to its fourth regional championship game at 1 p.m., Saturday at Logan, where the Jeeps will be looking to earn their first regional title against the Worthington Christian Warriors (16-2-3).
The Warriors won their regional semifinal, 7-0, over Berlin Hiland.
“We’ve seen Worthington Christian on film and each player is good, explosive and fast,” Claxon said of Saturday’s opponents. “We will come up with a game plan and try to stretch them out a bit.”
SPONSORED BY GLOCKNER FAMILY OF DEALERSHIPS
