High school soccer: Medina boys open season by beating Westlake

MEDINA — The Medina boys soccer team made Westlake work Wednesday. The Bees got first-half goals from Cole Turchyn and Owen Alber where both outmaneuvered the goalie and opened their season with a 3-1 non-league win. Returning All-Gazette midfielder Turchyn struck first for Medina (1-0) when he pushed the ball deep into the box. With Demons (0-1) goalkeeper Michael Bosch cutting off the angle, Turchyn did the only thing he could. The ball went through and found the back off the net to give Medina a 1-0 lead with 27:50 left in the half. "I just shot it as hard as I could," Turchyn said. "He had a bad stance, so as much power as I could put on it and it just went through his legs. It was kind of a gimme goal, but I'll take it." Alber contributed when he outmuscled Bosch on a 50-50 ball and buried the rebound to make the score 2-0 with 7:02 remaining in the first. "I was watching the one defender, and I don't think he saw me," Alber said. "I was behind one of their other center backs, and as he played the ball in, I read that it was slow rolling and that I could get there first. The goalie effectively kicked it off my leg trying to clear it. It just fell in the right place and I scored." Alber also put on a clinic dribbling through traffic and set up the close-out goal after the Demons cut the margin to 2-1 on a goal from Liam McCarthy with 28:19 left. Alber dribbled low to the left post and found Evan Kotick in the middle of the box. Kotick finished strong and gave Medina a critical two-goal margin against an opponent that went undefeated during the 2022 regular season. "It was really nice," Kotick said. "Opening up the season with my first goal of the season, (Alber) took him down the line, and I just saw good space in the midfield. I just had to run in there. It was a good ball and an easy shot." Despite allowing the goal, the Medina defense was on point. The Demons got on the board countering off a Medina corner and got behind the typically solid back line before chipping the ball high over goalkeeper Donny Taylor. That was the only shot that Medina allowed the entire night as it dominated possession and won the vast majority of 50-50 balls. The start was encouraging for the Bees, who began last season slowly before going on a tear on their way to the Division I state semifinals. "We realized that when we started slow we had issues, but when we carried on into the playoffs we did a good job defending and playmaking, and I think that definitely carried over into today." Turchyn said. "We are just getting back into playing with each other, but that is definitely going to be a difference this year." Contact Chad Grant at sports@medina-gazette.com. Medina 3, Westlake 1 WESTLAKE&emsp;&emsp;0 1 — 1 MEDINA&emsp;&emsp;2 1 — 3 First M — Cole Turchyn, 27:50. M — Owen Albers, 7:02. Second W — Liam McCarthy, 28:19. M — Evan Kotick (Albers), 17:00. Shots on goal — Westlake 1, Medina 9. Corner kicks — Westlake 9, Medina 6. Saves — Michael Bosch (W) 6, Donny Taylor (M) 0. Records — Medina (1-0), Westlake (0-1). Junior varsity — Medina 1, Westlake 0.