LOOKING AHEAD — Brooke’s Cooper Byers looks upfield during Tuesday’s OVAC quartefinal match at John Marshall. - Kim North

MOUNDSVILLE — The world can be a small place at times. Take Tuesday night’s OVAC Class 5A boys’ quarterfinal soccer match between Brooke and John Marshall won by the host Monarchs, 5-0, on the artificial pitch at Monarch Stadium.

Not only was it the first OVAC Tournament home match in program history for the third-seeded Monarchs (8-5), but the victory was even sweeter for head coach Josh Strope.

“I played for (Brooke) coach (Joe) Pepe at Weir High from 1996-99, so it’s kind of cool that my first OVAC Tournament win as a coach came against him,” Strope offered.

With the triumph, John Marshall moves on to semifinal action on Thursday on the artificial pitch at Hardin

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