Devils, Defenders battle to 2-2 tie

CENTENARY — It ended in a tie, but Tuesday night’s soccer contest between Ohio Valley Christian and host Gallia Academy also ended with an asterisk.

Both the Blue Devils and the Defenders battled through a 2-2 tie at the end of regulation, but this was no ordinary regular season contest between the pair of Gallipolis-based schools. This was for the Holzer Cup.

After ending the contest knotted up after 80 minutes of play, the squads went to a penalty kick shootout to determine which team would hoist the cup this fall. And, by a 4-3 margin, the 2009 Holzer Cup worked its way into the halls of Ohio Valley Christian.

The visiting Defenders stormed out to a 1-0 advantage after a weird goal in the 17th minute. GAHS goalkeeper Allie Troester went to receive a backward pass from a teammate, stopping the ball by putting her foot on top of it.

The Defenders’ Richard Bowman — almost at the same time as Troester stopped the pass — gave a kick at the ball under her foot, jarring the ball loose and straight into the goal for a 1-0 OVCS advantage with 23 minutes left before the half.

The score stayed that way until the second half, when the Devils made their big charge of the night. Corey Eberhard tied the contest at one with a goal, but Alex Haddad followed shortly afterward with a goal to recapture the lead for OVCS at 2-1

Josh Jackson tied the game up at two with a penalty kick, making it a 2-all contest.

The score ended that way after the regulation horn sounded. High school games do not have overtime of shootouts, so the final was 2-2. However, since the Holzer Cup was at stake, the two schools went to a shootout to determine the winner — which went to the Defenders by a 4-3 margin.

The Blue Devils outshot the guests 23-8 in the contest, but were unable to take advantage of that huge discrepancy. It was also the final home game for GAHS this fall, which now takes the road for five straight contests.

The Defenders, with the tie, avenged an earlier 3-0 setback to Gallia Academy earlier in the season.

Gallia Academy travels to Jackson on Thursday, while OVCS hosts South Point on Thursday.

Knights battle Jackets to scoreless tie

POINT PLEASANT — The Point Pleasant boys soccer team battled for 80 minutes with visiting Williamstown on Tuesday night, but neither squad was able to gain an advantage during a 0-0 tie in a non-conference matchup in Mason County.

The Black Knights (2-8-4) and Yellow Jackets (3-12-1) played a very even contest against one another, as PPHS won the shots on goal total by a 9-8 margin. Both teams had four shots on goal in the second half, while the hosts won the first half by a 5-4 margin.

Matt Lewis made eight saves in goal for Point Pleasant, while Garret Butler made nine saves for WHS.

Point Pleasant returns to action Monday when it hosts Gallia Academy in a non-conference matchup at 7 p.m. GAHS won the previous contest between the two schools by a 2-1 margin earlier this fall.

Lady Knights blanked by Ravenswood

POINT PLEASANT — The Point Pleasant girls soccer team had little luck against visiting Ravenswood on Tuesday night, dropping a 4-0 decision in a non-conference contest in Mason County.

The Red Devilettes (11-1-1) received a hat trick from Hannah Gurtis and got another score from Sarah Cobb, as the guests stormed out to a 3-0 advantage at the intermission.

The Lady Knights (4-7-2) also became the 12th consecutive opponent this fall to not be able to hand Ravenswood a loss. RHS loss its first game of the year and has not looked back since.

The Lady Knights return to action Saturday when they host Cross Lanes Christian at 3 p.m.