West M boys soccer makes history with shootout win in regional finals

LOGAN — West Muskingum’s quest for its first state tournament berth came down to something that gets Bryce Stant frothing at the mouth.

Penalty kicks.

While most goalkeepers — and coaches, for that matter — prefer to avoid the game-deciding situation that comes with the territory of a shootout, West Muskingum’s senior lives for them. And for that, the Tornadoes are thankful.

Stant made a key save in the 1-on-1 situation, and a key Wheelersburg misfire soon after allowed Austin Fink to connect with the game-winner, sending West to a historic 3-2 win in a Division IV regional final on a sun-splashed afternoon on Nov. 8 at Logan High School’s Chieftain Stadium.

The Tornadoes (17-2-3), in their first regional final in program history, became just the second Muskingum Valley League team to reach the Final Four. River View, under legendary coach Vince Andrews, won the D-IV state title in 2024, defeating Worthington Christian in the finals at Historic Crew Stadium.

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Now it’s West, with a school-record total for wins, that gets its turn with the perennial power Warriors (17-3-2). The game will be held at 7 p.m., Nov. 11 at Granville’s Walter Hodges Stadium.

Coach Ryan Barks, arguably the most consistent figure in West M athletics for the past two decades, was thrilled a large throng of Tornado fans came to watch on an NFL Sunday. They were treated to a drama-filled thriller, complete with controversy, an unlikely comeback and tension-filled ending.

“Some haven’t watched soccer before and don’t get it completely,” Barks said. “I am hoping with the excitement and everything else that is going on, it just keeps spreading with everything else that is going on at West. There are a lot of amazing things.”

Barks said the team benefited from some serious tests in the regular season’s final stages, including close losses to Columbus International and Vincent Warren on the road. There was also a hard-fought 1-0 win against battle-tested River View in the district finals at Coshocton.

It was meant for times like this, the ones you can’t simulate without being in those fights previously. Barks said they “really opened our eyes” and served us a warning they “needed to find another level” of grit.

They ran into that very scenario after Wheelersburg (16-2-4), ranked No. 2 in the Ohio Scholastic Soccer Coaches Association poll, scored twice in the final six minutes to erase a 2-0 deficit. The teams then failed to convert on multiple chances in the two sudden-death overtime periods.

But through it all, Stant and Fink were the coolest guys in the stadium. Stant said he routinely practices shootout scenarios with his teammates in practice and has sought an opportunity to test what he has learned in a game situation.

He got his chance, alright — with the fate of his team’s season hanging in the balance.

“We’ve been practicing pins for about six weeks now, almost to a ridiculous point,” Barks said of simulated shootouts. “We knew Bryce was ready, or Weston (Ritchie), if he had to step in. All the boys were ready to step in and take it, whomever we called on.”

Stant’s save came one shot before Wheelersburg keeper Caleb Partin, who led the Pirates to the 2025 state tournament, made a diving save of his own on sniper Aiden Metz. But the Pirates missed their next attempt, giving Fink a chance to play hero.

He did just that.

“I just believe in God,” Fink said. “He helped me through it.”

After an evenly played first half, where neither team could find much space to create scoring chances, West took command early in the second.

Gray Knowlton broke the ice in the first minute, taking a cross-field pass from behind the defense and connecting from the low left with a defender in tow. When Metz struck from the right wing around the 10-minute mark, the Tornado celebration appeared imminent.

Then Zander Conn delivered a lefty hooker through traffic and past Stant to the upper left 90, pulling the Pirates within a goal with 3:50 left.

Less than two minutes later, a West M foul in its own territory created a free kick from 20 yards out. Corban Stratton delivered a perfect cross pass to a charging Gilberto Duarte on the back side, and his perfectly timed header tied the match with 2:14 left.

New match.

“We made a few (tactical) changes,” Barks said. “We actually sat back a bit too much, more than we wanted to. Because of that, they capitalized. … We adjusted out of it, just couldn’t squeeze it in in OT.”

That they recaptured momentum and mostly dominated the first overtime — Partin made three saves in close quarters to turn away game-winners — spoke to the team’s leadership and resilience, Barks said the coaches’ message during the five-minute break between regulation and sudden death was to maintain the proper disposition.

“Simple enough, it’s just a mindset,” Barks said. “Relax — it’s a game. We stuck to the plan. Nothing had happened to that point that we couldn’t change, and it’s just having that understanding and having faith in each other. Play with passion and do what you do. The rest will take care of itself.”

sblackbu@usatodayco.com; X: @SamBlackburnTR

This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: West M boys soccer makes history with shootout win in regional finals