New Albany, Bexley, Grandview Heights win OHSAA boys soccer regional titles

Division I

New Albany 1, Olentangy Liberty 0

Ethan Cohen’s goal in the first 10 minutes was all the Eagles needed to beat Liberty on Nov. 5 at Marysville to earn their third regional championship.

New Albany improved to 15-1-3, advancing to a state semifinal against Cincinnati Moeller on Nov. 9 at Springfield.

“We wanted to come out fast and catch them off guard,” Cohen said. “We had a lot of chances and we got a well-deserved goal.”

The Eagles are in the state tournament for the second time in three seasons, finishing as runners-up in 2020 with a 4-1 loss to Cleveland St. Ignatius.

“We (felt like) no one saw us coming because we lost so many seniors (from last season),” Cohen said. “We wanted to prove everyone wrong. It means a lot to us.”

New Albany had a handful of chances in the first few minutes, but couldn’t cash in until Cohen’s goal.

Gabe Anthony broke free on the right side, winning a race to the box before centering to Cohen, who tapped it in to an open goal with 31 minutes, 45 seconds remaining in the half.

“We knew that we weren’t going to be able to sustain (that pace),” New Albany coach Johnny Ulry said. “We thought (Liberty) would get comfortable because they’re extremely talented and well-coached by Adam (Gatton). We knew if we could get something in that first 10 (minutes), we could settle in and bend, but not break. Thankfully, we got one in the five or six opportunities we had.”

Winds of around 40 mph played a factor throughout the game. The Eagles played with the wind at their backs in the first half, which was on purpose, Ulry said.

“The wind affected everything that happened – everything that happened today,” he said. “That’s why we (went with) the wind in the first half. (Playing) with the wind makes you faster and you can pull the trigger from further out with some speed on it. When (the Patriots) were hitting the ball (into the wind) in the first half, they had to mentally adjust to having it in the second half. We knew the wind was going to be hard for us and we were OK with that.”

The Patriots' best chance to tie came in the 60th minute when Wil Hornbaker’s corner from the right bounced off the left corner of the goal.

“(The wind) was a factor, but it was a factor for both teams,” said Gatton, whose team finished 14-5-4. “We couldn’t get things going into the wind (in the first half). We had possession most of the second half, which we knew we would. But we just couldn’t find any really, really good opportunities.”

—Michael Rich

Division II

Bexley 5, Steubenville 0

The Lions had five players score in their rout of Steubenville in a regional final at Zanesville.

Bexley (17-3-1) advanced to its first state semifinal since 2012 and will play Cincinnati Wyoming (16-2-2) on Nov. 9 at Bellbrook.

Ethan Nguyen scored with 31:54 left in the first half, and Eli Rosen added a goal with 6:31 to play before halftime to make it 2-0.

“It was important to get the goal from Ethan because we had five or six chances we should have put in earlier,” coach Jason Goggins said. “We got some confidence from that.

“From a goal-scoring standpoint, we struggled against (Gallipolis) Gallia (Academy) in the (1-0 regional semifinal win). We have been working hard in practice on finishing some scoring chances. We figured it out today.”

Michael Brenner, Grayson Fletcher and Emilio Guerra Parra all scored in the second half in support of goalie Drew Martin.

The Big Red finished 15-3-2.

—Scott Hennen

Cincinnati Wyoming 6, Columbus Academy 0

Academy saw its season end in a regional final at Beavercreek.

Wyoming opened the scoring at the three-minute mark and led 1-0 at halftime before pulling away.

“I’m extremely proud,” said Academy coach Jaden Lunger, whose team finished 13-6, “We kept telling the boys that they weren’t overachieving, they were where they were supposed to be. They worked their butts off and they 100 percent deserved to be here. ... This progress is just a sign of where we’re going as a program. We’re really excited and we’re really proud of the boys.”

—Frank DiRenna

Division III

Grandview Heights 2, Wheelersburg 0

Danny Claypool scored on a penalty kick with 16:21 left in the first half at Logan to help lead the Bobcats to their second consecutive regional championship.

Grandview, the defending state champion, improved to 13-7-1 and will play Yellow Springs on Nov. 9 in a state semifinal at Marysville. The Bulldogs (20-1-2) defeated Troy Christian 2-0 in their regional final.

“I usually go left and I knew they watch film so I went right this time,” Claypool said. “Maybe next time I will go left again.

”We needed that goal. It feels a lot better to have the lead than going into halftime at 0-0.”

Jayden Brown extended the lead with 20:32 left in the second half. Goalie Beck Bockbrader had three saves, only one in the closing seconds of the game.

“Our whole team kind of plays defense, and not just the midfield but the forwards as well,” said Grandview coach James Gerdes, whose team outshot Wheelersburg 15-3. “We worked all week on teams actually getting out and creating shots, so that helps.

“The wind, the weather made things a little bit tricky for both teams. ... We knew we had to be very, very careful and we knew they would be hitting the ball long and carrying over the goal.”

Goalie Breyden Byrd had 13 saves for the Pirates, who finished 17-2-2.

—Scott Hennen

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This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: New Albany, Bexley, Grandview win boys soccer regional titles