John Bruce, Staff Writer
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
LOGAN – For the second time in program history, Wheelersburg is adding a regional championship trophy to its case.
It was a familiar combination that helped carry the Pirates back to the Final 4 for the first time since the 2020 season — elite defense and the goal-scoring ability of Nick Sylvia.
Those two factors steered the Pirates to a 2-0 win over defending state champion River Valley in a Division IV regional final at Logan High School on Sunday.
CREDIT: Raymond Gleadle/SOSA
“It’s pure excitement right now,” Wheelersburg coach Jon Estep said. “When we started this thing back in February in the weight room, our focus was how to get back to this spot and a possible rematch [River View]. Getting stronger, developing our skill, whether we were in the gym or wherever it was when we were able to get outside. It was a lot of small group work, focusing on some areas that we needed to get better at, that River View exploited us on last year.”
The Pirates (18-0-2) started the contest off with the opening kick, which Sylvia nearly scored on, forcing River View’s Layton Massie to make an acrobatic save that pushed him into the post, leading to a corner kick opportunity within the first five seconds of the match.
From there, the Pirates kept the Black Bears on their heels over the next 20 minutes with outstanding midfield play from Evan Mitchell, Cody Evans, Cade Blackburn, Chase Blackburn, Gilberto Duarte, Mason Billiter and Coleton Schwamburger.
The constant rotation of the outside midfielders didn’t allow any break for the Black Bears while keeping the Pirates fresh with a high level of possession.
After the initial 20 of domination from Wheelersburg, River View (11-6-5) was able to pick up its pacing in the midfield, de-possessing the Pirates and forcing turnovers several times over the next few minutes of action, giving the Black Bears their best chances at the goal.
It would not matter, though, as Breyden Byrd made two quality saves on the best looks from River View of the half … and it turned out of the game as well.
“Breyden is extremely gifted as a keeper,” Estep said. “He made a name for himself at this field as a freshman against Grandview Heights. He kept us in that game, and now to cap it off for him to go win this thing and to keep a clean sheet and to get to this moment, he’s deserved every part of it.”
Once the Black Bears got a small taste of the penalty area, Wheelersburg’s defense shut off the water from the River View attack. Andrew Tabor, Kayson Whitt, Sean Bays and Clark Weller eliminated any and every scoring chance.
While the defense was playing at a high level, River View was as well. Massie made multiple outstanding saves on the rare chances the Pirates got in the first half.
However, the inevitable Nick Sylvia would not be contained for much longer, scoring with 1:23 left in the half to give the Pirates all of the momentum heading into the break.
The play started near midfield with Tabor intercepting a pass before connecting with Sylvia downfield. Sylvia collected the ball along the right side with defenders around him, dribbled back towards his left and, before a third defender could get in the area, ripped a low, left-footed shot into the far side of the goal to grab a 1-0 advantage.
“Andrew did an outstanding job of stepping in front of their striker to intercept that pass and to be able to connect that pass,” Estep said. “Finding Nick in that moment, and for him to find that backside [of the goal], him connecting on that cross field, backside, corner shot on the ground, that’s Nick being Nick. That goal sums him up on what he’s been able to do throughout his career and then puts an exclamation point on his season and career to date. I looked at him before the game and said, ‘This is the moment you are here for. Big-time players step up in big-time games and you’ve earned the right to do that. This is your time to shine and go be great.’ Fortunately, he did.”
River View exploded out of the break with energy, sending three shots away within the first four minutes of play. But due to the defensive effort of the Pirates, all came at a distance and were unable to bother Byrd.
PHOTOS: Images from Wheelersburg’s regional final win over River View
Following the quick start for the Black Bears, Wheelersburg settled back into what was working for them in the opening half — using ball control versus the long ball tactics of the Black Bears.
By playing into more of the short passing game, the Pirates had a more balanced attack, which paid off with a dagger goal from Sylvia shortly into the second stanza.
A nice combination in the midfield led to Schwamburger being led with a pass down the right flank that he sent back into the middle with a low cross. The cross took a lower bounce that the defender anticipated, which went to the worst spot for the Black Bears — the right foot of Sylvia.
As the ball came to his right foot, Sylvia calmly did what he’s done the other 170 times in his career, scoring with 26:02 to play to make it a 2-0 lead for the Pirates.
“I expressed to our guys this week to trust Nick in those moments,” Estep said. “You’ve got to trust him in those one-on-one situations to receive the ball, make his turn and to make the right read, whether it is playing it off or attacking the goal.”
Following the goal, Sylvia was able to drop back into the midfield to give the Pirates extra possession and defending, which was necessary with an even harder push forward from River View.
Wheelersburg still nearly added to the lead as Carson Estep continued to pester the Black Bear backline.
An additional goal would not be needed as Tabor and company held off several balls in the air and wiped out any low through balls as well.
As the seconds were counted down over the public address speaker, the Pirates began to celebrate as one of the greatest classes in Wheelersburg soccer history was able to put an exclamation point next to their accomplishments.
“It’s the most decorated senior class that we’ve ever had,” Estep said. “This group has won four conference championships, they’ve won four district championships, now a regional championship and a Final 4 appearance. Next week is to be determined. We talked about how there are eight days left in this season. How long do you want to extend it? They don’t want this to end. The togetherness, the bonding and the faith that this group has is truly a blessing to watch. It’s a true testament to our leadership and that’s where it’s at.”
The Pirates will next take on three-time state champion Worthington Christian. That will happen in a Division IV state semifinal at 7 p.m., Wednesday at Logan High School.
“We’ll celebrate it today,” Estep said. “Obviously, we will try to find some information on [Worthington Christian]. We know that they have had a really good year to date. They are constantly up this way, battling out of the Central. We’ve been to this part of the tournament in five of the last six years. How are we going to continue to press forward? We are excited to have the opportunity to attack it here.”
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