COSHOCTON, Ohio — A diving save by goalkeeper Bryce Stant in the second half preserved a 1-0 win over River View on Thursday, Oct. 29, and sent West Muskingum’s boys soccer team to its first regional berth since 2007, the Zanesville Times Recorder reported.
Dyllan Farmer scored the game’s only goal late in the first half of the Division IV district final at Stewart Field in Coshocton, feathering a low shot into the net with 12:20 left in the half off a pass from freshman Ethan Graves, according to the Zanesville Times Recorder. Aiden Metz had earlier rattled a shot off the goal frame for the Tornadoes.
Stant made only four saves, but the biggest came in the 17th minute of the second half, when he dove high to his right to turn away a hard, hooking free kick from River View’s Cameron Murphy, the Times Recorder reported. “It’s the best save I’ve made in my career and it just happened to be in the district finals,” Stant told the Zanesville Times Recorder. Stant is now 11-1-1 with a 0.89 goals-against average in games he has started, according to the Times Recorder.
The district title carries extra weight for Stant, who was enjoying an All-Ohio-caliber season in 2025 before a foot injury ended his year and forced him to watch West Muskingum lose in the district final, the Times Recorder reported. “He basically just stepped over the crossbar. It was a great save,” Farmer told the Zanesville Times Recorder. “He has been a big-time guy for us.”
The physical final was marked by 34 fouls and multiple yellow cards, according to the Times Recorder, and West Muskingum’s defense held the clean sheet to prevent a shootout. Head coach Ryan Barks told the Zanesville Times Recorder the focus against River View was on set pieces, adding, “He made a glorious save and we knew he could.”
River View finished 10-9 after a season of injuries, including Murphy’s deep knee bone bruise, head coach Vince Andrews told the Times Recorder. Farmer now leads West Muskingum with 18 goals this season, according to the Times Recorder.
What happens next is a rematch the Tornadoes have been waiting a year for. West Muskingum (15-2-3) faces St. Clairsville (14-6-0) at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 4, at McFarland Stadium in Cambridge in the regional semifinal — the same program that ended West’s season in 2025, the Times Recorder reported. West Muskingum beat St. Clairsville 3-0 in the regular season. “We want revenge on those guys,” Farmer told the Zanesville Times Recorder. “They got us last year when we had no keeper.”
Photo: Darth Mike, CC BY-SA 3.0