Parkersburg ends Huntington's socccer run

Oct 23, 2007 @ 11:59 PM

By JASON McCLURE

PARKERSBURG -- Huntington High's run in the boys soccer postseason ended Tuesday, but not without the Highlanders earning some respect.

Parkersburg edged Huntington High, 2-0, in the Region IV semifinals and the Big Reds had all they could handle. The Big Reds move into the regional finals Thursday at the Huntington High field with a 19-2-2 record. The Highlanders finished the season 12-9.

Huntington High made Parkersburg sweat it out for 80 full minutes and the Big Reds still might have walked off the field wondering if that was the same team they defeated 7-1 earlier in the season.

"I think we proved we belonged on the same field as Parkersburg tonight. The kids gave a tremendous effort," said HHS coach Jeff Kepler. "It was a game where we had an opportunity to win, but I think we showed just how improved we are."

At the start Parkersburg kept Huntington on the defensive by sending a barrage of shots at the Highlanders goal.

Parkersburg struck in the 13-minute when Ryan Grant scored off an assist by Cody Brown for a 1-0 lead.

Huntington High began driving the ball past midfield, and tested Parkersburg goalkeeper Brent McHee several times.

Matt Gray and Patrick Demoss kept the Big Reds off balance and gave Huntington High the chance to win. Several other players stepped up and delivered huge contributions.

With 30 minutes left in the game and score still 1-0, Huntington High envisioned a comeback win in the late stages.

But, it wasn't meant to be.

Parkersburg took a 2-0 lead on Kevin Wydri's powerful shot at the 51:00 mark.

The Big Reds didn't dominate from any standpoint. The teams were dead even at shots on goal with seven each.

Huntington goalkeeper Chris Owens had another stellar outing, notching five saves.

PARKERSBURG 1 1 -- 2

HUNTINGTON HIGH 0 0 -- 0

P-Ryan Grant (Cody Brown), 13:00

P-Kevin Wydri (unassisted), 51:00

Shots: HH 7, PHS 7. Saves: HH 5 (Chris Owens), PHS 5 (Brent McGee).