GALLIPOLIS — Match One of the annual battle for soccer supremacy in Gallia County belongs to Gallia Academy following the Blue Devils’ 3-0 shutout of Ohio Valley Christian on Thursday evening at the OVCS soccer complex.

“This is a rivalry,” said GAHS Head Coach Mike Dyer. “OVC always plays tough. It’s always a good game and it’s a lot fun to come in and play. They work hard and they have a good skill level. They stepped up and played us real well.”

The Blue Devils’ experience overcame a scrappy performance by the youthful Defenders, who featured five freshmen in their starting lineup.

“I thought our young kids played well,” said OVCS Head Coach Jeff Patrick. “We’ve got some things to work on, but I’m pleased with the intensity the team showed today. Gallia Academy’s a good team. They’ve got some good size and just outmuscled us at times.”

A first-half goal by senior Jeremy Ward proved to be the matchwinner and fellow senior Allie Troester recorded two saves to chalk up her second clean sheet in as many matches. Ward’s goal, his second of the young season, was set up by senior Zeke Maher with 16:38 left in the opening half.

GAHS enjoyed several more good scoring chances during the remainder of the half, keeping OVCS goalkeeper Pete Carmen busy. He finished with 31 saves.

However, the floodgates failed to open for GAHS as they did in Tuesday’s 11-0 demolition of South Point, and the Devils took a slim 1-0 lead into the halftime break.

Ohio Valley Christian (0-1-0) had a couple of good offensive opportunities in the first half, but Troester denied senior Jared Bartley on one shot and another chance went wide of the net.

The Blue Devils upped their lead to 2-0 a little over six minutes into the second half when junior Cody Robinson netted his third goal of the season. Ohio Valley Christian was unable to clear the ball following a scramble in the penalty area, allowing Robinson to pounce on the loose ball and hammer it into the net at the 33:50 mark.

Robinson combined with sophomore Jerod Lester 10 minutes later to round out the scoring for Gallia Academy. Robinson made a hard run into the left side of the OVCS box and crossed the ball to Lester who redirected it into the roof of the net with 23:36 left in the match.

“In the second half we started stepping up and just executing,” Dyer said. “The first half we were a little slow, but after we got settled down and sorted out we did what we needed to do and what we worked on in practice.”

Gallia Academy (2-0-0) faces another longtime local rival next Tuesday when Point Pleasant invades the Blue Devils’ den for a 5:30 p.m. encounter. GAHS opens SEOAL play next Thursday with a road trip to Marietta. Following that, the Blue Devils begin a seven-match home stand that spans the rest of September.

Ohio Valley Christian also has its sights set on Point Pleasant. The Defenders take on the Black Knights at 4 p.m. today at the brand new PPHS athletic complex. OVCS and Point Pleasant have the honor of playing in the first event at the new stadium.

Gallia Academy 3, Ohio Valley Christian 0

GAHS 1 2 — 3

OVCS 0 0 — 0

First half

GAHS: Jeremy Ward (Zeke Maher), 16:38

Second half

GAHS: Cody Robinson (unassisted), 33:50

GAHS: Jerod Lester (Cody Robinson), 23:36

Stats

Shots: GAHS 33, OVCS 7

Saves: GAHS 2 (Allie Troester), OVCS 30 (Pete Carmen)

Fouls: GAHS 12, OVCS 8

Records: GAHS 2-0-0, OVCS 0-1-0