No. 6 PHS knocks off No. 5 Morgantown, 2-1
Trending
PARKERSBURG -- Austin Keyse has made throw-ins into an art form.
According to his coach, the senior from Parkersburg High School is a game-changer with both his accuracy and power.
Tuesday night at Stadium Field in a battle of boys soccer teams ranked in the top 6 in Class AAA, Keyse figured in on the assists for both Big Reds goals in a 2-1 win over Morgantown.
Quinton Wright and Landon Shedd made their first half goals stand up as PHS won its third straight match and improved to 15-3-1.
"Austin definitely put some time in the weight room and that is a dangerous weapon he has -- I am glad he is on our team," PHS coach Derrek Manner said. "I haven't seen anyone in the state that an throw it as far as he can -- not yet anyway.
"He is deadly accurate with his throws. I think he has either 12 or 13 assists now. And they were all off throw-ins."
Keyse left quite the impression with the opposition. Morgantown coach Samuel Snyder made it a special point to say a few words to Keyse after they exchanged handshakes following the PHS win.
"We watched film and knew it was coming," Snyder said. "It's just odd --we know it's a set piece but we didn't defend it like a set piece, which cost us. We let them front us rather than front them and they scored on two of them because of it."
Teammate and classmate Aiden Merritt faced a barrage of action at keeper. Especially for the majority of the second half. Merritt was up to the challenge minus one shot on goal.
Trailing 2-0, Morgantown (13-4-1) ruined any thoughts of a PHS shutout when Joel Beeson hit from close range barely four minutes after the halftime break. Another minute passed and Beeson nearly found the net a second time when he let fly a shot from some 35 yards with his left foot from the right hashmark. The ball sailed toward the far side of the post and began to curve back toward the center of the field when Merritt shut the door with save.
"In my mind, Aiden is the best goalie in the state," Manner said. "He hasn't had a lot of shots on him this year, but when he does he makes up for it and saves them. We wouldn't be here without him."
Morgantown, which had a first half goal negated because of an offsides call, continued the pressure until the final five minutes of the match. From that point forward, the Big Reds were in complete sync and maintained possession throughout as the Mohigans never had whiff for a shot on goal.
"I told the boys at halftime, they were going to come after us -- they did not make a liar out of me," Manner said. "They are a fantastic team and well-coached. I'm glad we won't see them again until the state tournament because they are tough."
PHS wraps up the regular season Thursday with senior night against the Warren Warriors. The ceremony recognizing the seniors won't be quick to say the least since the current roster lists eight players in their final high school season.
The postseason begins next week with sectionals. Hurricane is seeded No. 1 followed by PHS at No. 2.
"This is a huge win tonight," Manner said. "Coming in, Morgantown was No. 5 in the state and we were No. 6. We knew this match was going to be big. It's a huge for momentum going into the tournament."
Contact Kerry Patrick at kpatrick@newsandsentinel.com