MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — After upsetting top-seeded Wheeling Park 1-0 on Saturday in Wheeling, University boys’ soccer coach Michael Smith had a lot to talk about, specifically his junior forward Riley Nett.
As his name suggests, Nett finds nothing but net.
“He has manufactured goals out of nothing all season,” Smith said to the Wheeling Intelligencer’s Josh Strope after the regional. “When I talk about heart, there is probably not one bigger on this team than him. He wants the ball more and he gets the ball more because of that. It is amazing. He has had an outstanding year ever since we moved him out front.”
Heading into the state semifinals against Cabell Midland (14-4-2) at 10 a.m. Friday in Beckley, Nett has 28 goals out of 50 shots on goal, five assists and 61 points this season.
“A lot of team goals, I’ve been lucky to just be the person putting it in the back,” Nett said. “I just go out there and play as hard as I can every time.”
Nett is backed up by senior Justin Parsons (8 goals, 10 assists and 26 points) and fellow junior Drew Kemper (5 goals, 10 points).
Aside from the offense, a lot can be said about the Hawks’ defensive progression throughout the season. With stud goalkeeper Tim Bailey between the crossbars, the backline’s advancement through the year helped him maintain a low 18 goals allowed through 97 opponent shots on goal — a solid .800 goals against average.
That defensive evolution is a major factor moving into the semifinals for the Hawks because even with Nett and Bailey, UHS (17-5-1) can’t hang its hat on just one star player like last year when Joseph Biafora was aggravating keepers into the postseason.
“Joseph definitely knew how to put the ball in the back of the net,” Nett said. “I try to imitate his play-style, some his moves and [it’s worked out] pretty good.”
Nett noted that the team is going to keep that defensive mentality going forward while maintaining a strong offensive front — it already beat the best team in the state, so what’s stopping them?
“I thought, ‘This is crazy, we just knocked off the best team in the state,’ ” Nett said. “We can do this.”
Cabell Midland hosts one of the strongest four-man threats with senior Omar Baryun leading the way. Baryun has 24 goals and five assists (53 points), while Ryan Holmes (13), Joseph Shiels (13) and Simon Anton (12) combined for a season total of 38 goals and 90 points. All three pepper goalkeepers, too, with Shiels and Anton each putting 19 shots on goal and Holmes logging 35 shots on. The Knights also feature senior keeper Cameron Grobe who has played 17 games and has faced 48 opponent shots on goal while allowing 11.
Cabell Midland claimed Region IV with a 1-0 win over Parkersburg last Saturday. The winner of Friday’s game will move on to face the winner of Hedgesville-George Washington on Saturday at 10:30 a.m.
