The Glenvar boys won their third straight Virginia High School League Class 2 state soccer championship last weekend and they did it the “Highlander Way,” with a shutout. Glenvar beat Bruton High in the final at Roanoke College’s Kerr Stadium last Saturday morning, 2-0.
It was the 19th shutout of the season for the Highlanders, who finished the season undefeated at 23-0. You could say it was 20 shutouts as one of the wins was a forfeit by Floyd and that goes into the books as a 1-0 win, but any way you look at it the Highlanders outscored the opposition, 134-3, for the season.
Glenvar drew Clarke County in last Friday’s semifinal, a familiar opponent. The Highlanders had lost to Clarke in the 2022 state final for their only loss of the season. Then, in 2023, Glenvar beat Clarke in the final to give the Eagles their only loss.
Clarke came to Salem having won 10 of their last 11, including seven by shutout, so a low-scoring game was anticipated. However, it was scoreless for just eight minutes and eight seconds as the Eagles drew first blood on a ball that barely escaped keeper Grayson Shepherd’s outstretched arms in finding the top right corner. It was the first time the Highlanders had been behind all season and the first goal by an opponent with Shepherd in the cage.
“We hadn’t been behind all year and I didn’t know how they’d respond,” said Glenvar coach Josh Jones. “I’m just glad it happened early.”
The Highlanders came firing back. It took about 14 minutes for Glenvar to tie the game, as Wesley Feliciano scored off an assist from Kian Fisher with 27:13 left in the half to tie the game at 1-1. Then, with 2:40 on the clock, Fisher gave the Highlanders the lead. Nichols had a free kick that went to Aidan Hylton, who found Fisher for the goal. Nichols then added a big goal just inside the two minute mark, with an assist from Griffin Geddes, and Glenvar had a 3-1 lead at the half.
“I think our experience paid off,” said Jones. “This was our fourth straight state title game and the kids didn’t panic.”
The Highlanders controlled the action for the majority of a scoreless second half. As the game wore on the sun came out and it was very humid.
“It was pretty hot, but we practice in the heat for conditioning,” said Hylton. “We run in the heat to prepare ourselves for games like this.”
Jones credited his team’s depth.
“We play 16 or 17 players and a lot of teams tend to stay with the starters, especially in the big games,” he said. “We had to play two games within 20 hours in the heat and our depth played to our advantage.”
The second half was scoreless as Glenvar ended up with a 17-4 edge in shots. That punched their ticket to their fourth straight championship game, this time against a Bruton High team that had beaten Radford, 3-0, in the first game of Friday’s semifinal doubleheader.
Saturday’s championship was moved up an hour, to 9 am, in anticipation of predicted afternoon thunderstorms. The first 40 minutes were scoreless as the two teams struggled to get a good shot on goal.
Glenvar finally got on the board with 27:39 on the Kerr Stadium clock. Feliciano’s corner kick was headed in by Hylton, one of the taller players on the field. That’s been a big weapon for the Highlanders.
“We run a lot of throw-ins and corner kicks,” said Hylton. “I probably scored 12 or 14 goals like that this season.”
With about 10 minutes to go Adam Saunders scored off a Cooper Mullins assist to give Glenvar a huge insurance goal, and the Highlanders were able to close it out. Shepherd finished with seven saves and the shots were even at 14-14 for the game. It was the first time all season Glenvar didn’t have a big edge in shots and the most saves Shepherd had to make in any game, including a diving save on a free kick in the first half.
The Highlanders celebrated on the field following the big win, their third such celebration in three years, twice at Kerr Stadium and last year at Salem High’s Spartan Field. It was the final game for 13 seniors who have led the Highlanders to an 85-2-2 record over the past four seasons.
Senior sweeper Jake Williams was a four-year starter and last year’s state Player of the Year. He’s one of three Glenvar captains, along with Hylton and Fisher, and the leader of a defense that has posted 30 shutouts in the past 33 games. Mullins is the center back, Tyler Curfiss is the left back and Alan Vu is the right back on defense, and Glenvar has some solid subs as well.
“I’m pretty much the field general, making sure everyone is in the right place,” said Williams. “We win a lot of balls in the air on punts and goal kicks and that really helps to keep the opposing shots low.”
Glenvar is currently on a streak of 61 games without a loss, dating back to April 7 of 2023 when they lost to Salem, 2-1. They beat Salem in the second meeting that season and the Spartans took them off the schedule for the following spring.
The Highlanders have won 53 straight games. The last time they did not win was a 4-4 tie with Radford, also in 2023, and they’ve had the Bobcats’ number since then, including a win in last year’s state championship.
For coach Jones, it was his fourth state championship as head coach. Before coming to Glenvar five years ago he coached the Salem High girls and was 269-73-30 with a state title in 2003, two state runner-up finishes in 2016 and 2017, five region championships and seven district championships. His five year record at Glenvar is 98-3-2 with five Three Rivers District championships and five Region 2C championships. And he’s still a young guy with two sons in the Glenvar soccer program.
“People ask me if I’m going to retire,” he said. “We lose a bunch of good players but our jayvee team was 17-0 and our middle school team was 15-2. I still have fun coming to practice every day and I love being around the kids. Why would I want to leave?”
