John Bruce, Editor
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by Holzer Health System.
JACKSON — After splitting their regular season meetings, Wheelersburg and Minford met in a Division IV regional semifinal match on Wednesday at Jackson’s Holzer Field.
Each team had earned a road victory against one another this season, with Minford claiming the Southern Ohio Conference II championship.
The third matchup saw both teams brave the elements, with rain throughout the contest.
But it didn’t appear to impact the Pirates (16-1-4) at all, as they sailed into their third consecutive regional championship match with a 3-1 win over the Falcons.
Minford (17-2-2) had the first real opportunity of the match, when a foul was called near the sideline in the early moments. But the Falcons opted to play the ball back instead of towards the net, eliminating an early chance.
Moments later, the Pirates pushed the tempo downfield and earned a throw-in just north of the Minford box.
CREDIT: Micah Strange/SOSA
On the throw-in, Tristan Dunham sent a laser to the six-yard box, which Coleton Schwamburger flicked off his head and into the back of the net to give the Pirates a 1-0 lead with 32:34 to play in the opening half.
“We talk about coming out fast and [Minford’s] defense has been really good over the last month,” Wheelersburg head coach Jon Estep said. “Our guys wanted to get on the board early and put some pressure on them. Coleton’s been really good at that play all year and it really energized our group.”
Minford didn’t appear to be shaken by the early goal as Colby Mullens, Ashton Reeder and Gavin Akers continued to push forward. Wheelersburg’s defense, led by seniors Chase Blackburn and Gil Duarte, stayed steady throughout, making life easier for Caleb Partin in goal.
While the Falcons continued to push forward for the equalizer, it left their backline open against a counter-attack, which the Pirates put together with perfection at the 20:16 mark in the half.
Following a defensive clearance, Cade Blackburn carried the ball through the midfield before playing a perfect ball to Corban Stratton. The sophomore collected the pass and coolly slotted his right-footed shot into the side netting to give Wheelersburg a 2-0 lead.
“Corban was able to sneak in behind their back line with a nice diagonal run,” Estep said of Stratton’s score. “And Cade was able to find him. Being able to find the space was big.”
The remainder of the half played out evenly, but Minford came out with a flurry to start the second stanza.
Multiple long throw attempts were played back wide by the Pirates, but one went over the end line to result in a corner for the Falcons. On the corner, a loose ball in the box ended up at the foot of sophomore Bryson Culbertson. Culbertson turned and easily found the back of the net for a huge momentum-swinging goal with just under 32 minutes to play.
Minford continued to push forward looking to draw even, but the Pirates’ backline was too strong to penetrate. With chances lacking and time running out, the Falcons pressed one more time, but it resulted in a back-breaking play from Wheelersburg.
A pass from the back for Wheelersburg found the feet of Carson Estep and the sophomore nearly made magic on his way to the third score for the Pirates. Estep raced up the left sideline before eventually cutting back towards the top corner of the box and ripped a shot towards the net.
Minford was able to parry the shot off of the crossbar, but freshman Zander Conn came from nowhere to head the rebound into the net with 3:53 to play and all but put the game away.
“That was a typical [Zander] goal,” Estep said of the final tally. “Carson made a nice run and had a heck of a shot, and you know, Z has been in the right spot at the right time all year long and kind of iced it right there.”
Last season, the Pirates finished 18-1-2 and fell in the Final 4.
That same group of Pirates featured 10 seniors, eight of which either started or played starter minutes. The Pirates really only had a small group of returners with a good bit of experience, yet, they will see themselves in the Elite 8 for a third consecutive season.
“We had a lot of challenges along the way, trying to figure out where guys best fit and where we gelled best,” Coach Estep said of the trip back to the regional championship game. “It took us a good bit of the summer, but we had an early win at Minford that gave us the belief that we could do it. We had some ups and downs throughout the year, but they showed a lot of grit. They showed a lot of fight and when we can put it all together, we like our chances.”
While the Falcons have several outstanding players returning, they will graduate a great senior class, led by two-time All-Ohioan Ashton Reeder.
For Wheelersburg, they’ll next take on the West Muskingum Tornadoes (16-2-3) at 1 p.m., Sunday at Logan High School.
“It’s a great accomplishment. We didn’t get the SOC, but we did get a district championship,” Coach Estep said of his team. “And maybe that starts to give a little more belief, like maybe we can make a run. We like to play soccer in November and now we get to extend that to the Elite 8. We’ll see what happens and when you get to this point, anything can happen.”
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