IN POSSESSION — Weir’s Eduardo Souza looks to get past Harrison’s Kayden Dunkle during Wednesday’s OVAC semifinal. – Mike Hughes
CADIZ — Weir’s second trek to Cadiz in a week proved far more fruitful than its first.
The Red Riders overcame a 1-0 deficit at halftime to storm back and defeat No. 2 seeded Harrison Central 2-1 in a boys’ OVAC Class 4A soccer semifinal.
The win advances the Riders to Saturday’s 4A finale opposite Beaver Local. That match will get underway at 2 p.m. at Wheeling Island Stadium. The top-ranked Beavers advanced via a 6-0 shutout of St. Clairsville.
Last week, Harrison and Weir met on the turf in Cadiz, with the Huskies coming away with a narrow 1-0 victory.
Shot attempts at Harrison keeper Brady McAfee were few and far between in that match, as McAfee needed only four saves to keep his sheet clean.
It appeared this match may be similar during the early goings.
Harrison took the early lead when Ocean Rogers struck a bouncing pass in midair past a diving Ben Howard on his left side near the post for the first score.
That came with 33:18 left in the first half.
Weir wasn’t generating many scoring opportunities early as Harrison controlled the field.
Midway through the first half, however, that started to shift.
Utilizing crisp passes and team speed, Weir started to spend more and more time in the host’s end of the pitch.
No goals were scored, but McAfee had to scramble on more than one occasion to keep the ball out of the net.
Tests aimed at the Huskies keeper were becoming more frequent. Meanwhile, Weir did a better job keeping Harrison on the defensive.
Having Howard back in net was beneficial as Red Riders defenders played the ball back to the keeper, who booted it down the field averting any potential runs.
The second half saw Weir finally get on the board.
Rowan Stevens took a pass near the right-side front fo the net, dribbled around a defender, got past McAfee and slipped a shot into the right corer at 34:36 to knot the score.
Harrison had a prime opportunity to retake the lead at 48:47 when Noah Thaxton’s direct kick lofted in perfect position for Kayne Dunkel to aim a header at the net. Dunkel got solid contact, but Howard was able to leap up and make the save.
The score remained tied until with less than eight minutes to go, the visitors found an opening.
Caiden Lamp rushed the left-side of the net, managed to slip a defender reversing field and send a well-placed cross into the middle of the box.
Kalen Kuhns received the pass cleanly and booted it past McAfee for the 2-1 reading.
Howard finished with 10 saves for Weir while McAfee totaled nine in the loss.
Weir will now try to slow down a Beavers’ squad that features the Ohio Valley’s scoring leader in Ethan Wood. The Beavers previously bested Weir 4-0 earlier this season.
