#3 Riley Nett and #19 Samuel Squires fight for the ball. UHS VS BUHS 10-28-20 GH 
#19 Garret Scardina and #16 Julien Larcher fight for the ball. UHS VS BUHS 10-28-20 GH 
#19 Garret Scardina and #25 Bryer Ketterman fight for the ball. UHS VS BUHS 10-28-20 GH 
#2 Pierce Spain moves the ball forward with #20 Jared Brandish attempting to steal. UHS VS BUHS 10-28-20 GH 
#3 Riley Nett moves the ball forward against BUHS. UHS VS BUHS 10-28-20 GH 
#3 Riley Nett moves the ball forward against Also in frame is #19 Samuel Squires and #25 Bryer Ketterman. BUHS. UHS VS BUHS 10-28-20 GH 
#4 John Jones moves the ball forward with #19 Samuel Squires attempting to steal. UHS VS BUHS 10-28-20 GH 
#4 John Jones moves the ball forward against BUHS. UHS VS BUHS 10-28-20 GH 
#14 Chandler Wagoner eyes up the ball. UHS VS BUHS 10-28-20 GH
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The weather was warmer and a bit drier Wednesday night at Mylan Pharmaceuticals Stadium than it was during Monday’s Class AAA Region I, Section 2 semifinal match — a comfortable 6-0 University win against Preston.
While Wednesday’s championship match was contested at a decidedly more intense level against a fit, deep and talented Buckhannon-Upshur team, the ultimate goal, survive and advance, was just as successful for the Hawks, who prevailed to capture the sectional title with a 1-0 win.
University (8-2-1) began by employing its usual ball pressure in the midfield to dominate possession, and added patient field switching, precision passing and long balls to probe the B-U defensive back line. Its relentless attack eventually produced several dangerous situations in the early going, yet the opening goal came suddenly in the 18th minute, and from a familiar source. Hawks senior striker Riley Nett gathered a ball along the left sideline, then slithered between two defenders in a diagonal move toward the hashmarks before unleashing his patented right-footed shot that zipped into the top corner of the goal.
While Nett nearly tallied a second goal a minute later with a flick over the keeper that caromed off the goalpost, it was Buckhannon (7-6-1) that emerged as the better side in the second portion of the half, perhaps due to fresher legs from B-U’s liberal substitutions. The Buccaneers speedy forward Ryan Hurst — the school’s all-time leading scorer — generated a pair of chances late in the half, but the steady UHS defense kept its shape and cleared away the threats.
The second half began with a continuation of the flipped script, as the Bucs dominated possession, used pressure to force turnovers and cut the field in half. Yet, it was the Hawks’ potent counter attack that nearly led to a safety net-goal for UHS in the 48th minute. Nett turned in a nearly identical move to his scoring effort, and ticketed another booming shot toward the far corner, but B-U keeper Dalton Auvil flashed to his left to tip the shot just barely wide.
The remainder of the match became a battle of wills between the B-U pressure and midfield control, and the Hawks’ stout defensive posture. UHS was particularly adept at keeping the Bucs from penetrating inside the 18, and while Buckhannon-Upshur’s midfield build-up was disconcertingly steady to UHS fans, the Hawks rarely gave up any quality chances other than a pair of dicey B-U corner kicks that had to be punched out of danger by senior keeper Timmy Bailey.
Pulling out all stops in the match’s final moments, B-U earned two corner kicks, and on the second, the ball remained unsecured in the box for several anxious seconds before finally getting cleared.
When the final seconds finally wound off the clock, the Hawks’ bench erupted with joy, knowing their hard-fought victory earned them a title and a chance to play more soccer.
“This was a beautifully played defensive game of high school soccer,” UHS coach Michael Smith said. “We were definitely a little tired at the end of the first half, mostly because B-U is one of the few teams that can keep up with us from a fitness level standpoint. And I told our kids to get ready for their pressure in the second half. They brought it big time, and I’m so proud of our entire team for adjusting our game, playing a safer, more careful style when we needed to and finding a way to keep our sheet clean.”
Smith was understandably quick to praise all of his seniors, including forwards Nett, J.M. Jones and Diego Medellin, and back-up keeper Dayne Gibson, he was insistent that his seniors on defense, starting with Bailey and featuring Isaac Lewis, Jacob Rechter and Drew Williams, were responsible for this one.
“Isaac, Jacob and Drew have been playing together for so long, and they are just rock-solid back there,” he said. “We feel very comfortable in this kind of match, because these guys never panic, never dive and just play a fundamentally sound, tough brand of defense. We needed them to come up big tonight, and they did the job — just like we expected them to.”
The Hawks look to secure the Region I title and earn a berth into the state tournament against Brooke at Brooke on Saturday.
