There is something about West Geauga Boys Soccer and Willoughby South Boys Soccer that keeps producing drama.
Nearly a year after the Rebels eliminated the Wolverines in a penalty-kick shootout to open the postseason, the two teams met again Tuesday with another game hanging in the balance until the final whistle.
This time, nobody blinked.
Reid Munson converted a penalty kick in the 65th minute to erase a West Geauga lead, and Willoughby South and West Geauga battled to a 1-1 draw in a Chagrin Valley Conference Chagrin Division showdown.
South finished with a 9-4 advantage in shots, but West Geauga carried a 1-0 lead into halftime and came within 15 minutes of finally solving a Rebels program that has become a difficult matchup for the Wolverines.
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“There’s good and bad tonight,” West Geauga coach Andrew Straight said. “On the plus side, I liked how we stayed consistent. We definitely did not start off hot, and we could have just played ugly the rest of the way, but we tried to work our way out of it.”
Mancino strikes first
A scoreless opening half appeared increasingly likely until West Geauga manufactured the breakthrough in the 33rd minute.
Lukah Dasher delivered a corner kick into the danger area, where Quin Mancino rose and headed it home to give the Wolverines a 1-0 advantage.
West Geauga protected that lead through halftime and into the second half.
But South kept pressing.
The Rebels finally received their opportunity in the 65th minute when they were awarded a penalty kick.
Munson stepped to the spot and delivered, pulling South even at 1-1.
Neither team could find the winner over the remaining 15 minutes.
For Straight, the latest tight battle was another reminder of just how troublesome South has been for his program.
“Willoughby South, they’re the ghosts in the closet,” Straight said. “For whatever reason, we can’t seem to shake them, and credit to them. They come out here, and they battle really hard every game.
“They try to make the game their style, and we play into it.”
South also ended West Geauga’s 2025 season, advancing with a 4-2 advantage in a penalty-kick shootout following another tightly contested matchup.
Rebels finding their rhythm
South coach Rick DiBacco came away encouraged by the Rebels’ continued improvement with the ball.
“I think the thing that sticks out the most is how well we’re possessing the ball now in the last couple games compared to the four or five games prior to that,” DiBacco said. “The way we’re playing, the intensity is there, the passion is there. We’re playing as a team, and we’re playing well.”
South’s 9-4 shot advantage offered evidence of that progress, although DiBacco wants the Rebels to turn more of their possession into dangerous chances.
“We just need to possess more on our offensive half,” he said. “We’d like to see more shots on goal, get more creative opportunities and maybe put a couple more goals in throughout the match.”
Wolverines searching for the clean sheet
For West Geauga, Tuesday provided another example of just how narrow the margin can become as the postseason approaches.
Straight remains confident in the Wolverines’ ability to score. His larger concern is making sure one goal can sometimes be enough.
“Defensively, we haven’t had a clean sheet yet,” Straight said. “We were very close tonight, and we’ve been close other nights, but we’re not crossing that line and having a clean sheet.
“If we have to go out there and score three goals to get a win, we’re asking way too much of our guys. We have to be able to win games with one or two goals.”
Straight believes West Geauga’s attacking talent gives the Wolverines a chance against anyone.
“I’m really confident that our team will score every game,” he said. “The strength in our team right now is our front four and our midfielders. But if we don’t lock up and figure out how to not give up goals, we’re going to have a very short postseason again.”
Tuesday’s draw did not settle anything between two teams that have become increasingly familiar with one another.
It did provide another postseason-style test with October arriving.
West Geauga visits Gilmour Academy on Oct. 3.
Willoughby South returns home the same day to face former Western Reserve Conference rival Kenston.
Boys Soccer Match Result
| Team | Score |
|---|---|
8 West Geauga Wolverines | 1 |
11 Willoughby South Rebels | 1 |
Top Performers
West Geauga
Willoughby South
Player Stats
West Geauga
| Player | G | A | S |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quin Mancino | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Willoughby South
| Player | G | A | S |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reid Munson | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Game Notes
Updated automatically through this result and the latest reported player stats.
