Photos by Heather Belcher
Friday night the unthinkable happened at the Class AAA Boys State Soccer Tournament at Paul Cline Stadium in Beckley.
The incredible run of three-time defending state champion and No. 1 seed George Washington came to a screeching halt off the foot of Washington striker Jack Walker.
With six minutes remaining in the second overtime period, Walker found himself one-on-one with the GW keeper.
“We were trying to take it to PK’s because clearly they were out possessing us. I was the only one up top and I was trying to do whatever I could. I really didn’t think I was going to make anything happen,” Walker said. “The opportunity came and they made a mistake. I jumped up and headed it and then it was a 50-50 ball. I was free with the keeper and I just did what I could and put it in.”
What Walker did was help his team pull off one of the biggest upset in state tournament history.
Along with being a three-time defending state champion, GW had not lost to a team from West Virginia all season.
“(George Washington) is probably one of the best teams that I have every played. They are cool on the ball and incredible technically. They are so skillful and move so fast,” Washington head coach Marc Wenner said. “We knew we had to sit back and take their measure before we could get any attack. It ended up that we were very defensive most of the game.”
“It is disappointing. I thought our boys played with a massive amount of heart and skill. Sometimes you don’t get the result that you want. That is why we play the game,” George Washington head coach Erik Engle said
In a closely contested match early, George Washington broke the ice in the 26th minute when Nick Ihnat scored off an assist from Jack Williams.
That goal looked like it might stand for the remainder of the game before a foul in the box changed the complexion of the match.
With just over eight minutes to play Will Morgan converted the penalty try to tie the match, 1-1.
“Once they got the PK goal and we got into overtime, they played very defensive. We have played against that all season,” Engle said. “It’s hard to unlock that when you have 10 people back in that box, but we know how to do it. It just didn’t happen tonight. I feel like we executed without it being in the goal.”
While Walker’s shot decided the game, goalkeeper Ryan Johnson was the real story of the contest and the season.
The senior keeper fended off eight shots on the night, some at point-blank range to keep Washington in the match.
It was redemption for a career that had a tough start.
“He came up huge. He got us through this a couple of different times coming up so clutch. This is the case of a kid that has worked his (butt) off throughout high school to get better and improve,” Wenner said. “As a freshman I cut him. He wasn’t where he needed to be. He asked to be the manager and I let him train with the team. The next year he went out and got keeper training and here he is as a senior. I put him up as All-state.”
Washington will now battle Morgantown in Saturday’s Class AAA boys championship game. The match will be played 45 minutes after the girls championship which starts at 10:30 a.m.
