Girls soccer: Brunswick ties Avon Lake in postseason tune-up

AVON LAKE — The Brunswick and Avon Lake girls soccer teams left their non-league game Monday feeling pretty good about a 2-2 tie at Avon Lake Memorial Stadium. The Blue Devils (9-3-4) and Shoremen (12-1-3) were looking for a good, physical contest heading to the postseason. That's exactly what they got, battling each other and a stiff wind that played havoc with passes depending on the direction of play. "I love playing a quality team with quality coaching to get good work in right before the playoffs," Brunswick coach Scott Ward said. "You have no clue what the weather is going to be in the playoffs, so having a windy night like this let us work on possessing and control in each direction." Each team adjusted by scoring a goal with and into the wind. Brunswick played from ahead all night but could not shake Avon Lake. The Blue Devils had the wind for the first half and, after a number of scoring chances, were turned away by freshman goalie Catherine Fazio (7 saves). However, they broke through when freshman midfielder Katie Callahan scored unassisted on a corner kick that bent with the wind and into the goal with 7:02 left in the first half. Brunswick's defense kept the Shoremen stifled until senior Ella Grode took a pass from Laura Caryl and beat Claire Landfried (8 saves) to tie the score at 1 with 1:07 left on the first-half clock. It was her 45th goal of the season. When Avon Lake had the wind at its back, the Shoremen got off three more shots than the Blue Devils, but Brunswick cashed in with 12:29 left in the match when captain Fiona Buczak scored from the top of the box on a pass from Lily Shorts for a 2-1 lead. "This is nice, because every game in the playoffs is physical and intense," Buczak said. "We obviously wanted to win, but this helps us get physically and mentally prepared to the playoffs. We think we should have won — we knocked them out of the playoffs — but we just needed more intensity." Avon Lake had three shots go off the crossbar or post in the second half, but Grode would not be denied when she got in the box, had a shot blocked, corralled the rebound and stepped around Landfried to tap the ball into the net. "Leading into Avon (Southwestern Conference title game on Wednesday) we wanted good competition to get ready for it," Grode said. "Last year we played some easier teams at the end of the year, and it messed us up. We needed a harder game like this to help set us up for Avon and the playoffs." "I was very pleased with our effort. We had constant fight and grit in the second half," Shoremen coach Brian Salco added. "For us to fight and come back to get that second goal showed a lot. I haven't seen a bicycle goal yet (from Grode), but she it amazing and can do so many different things." Contact James Brady at sports@medina-gazette.com. Brunswick 2, Avon Lake 2 BRUNSWICK&emsp;&emsp;1 1 — 2 AVON LAKE&emsp;&emsp;1 1 — 2 First B — Katie Callahan, 7:02. A — Ella Grode (Laura Caryl), 1:07. Second B — Fiona Buczak (Lily Shorts), 12:29. A — Grode, 3:14. Shots on goal — Brunswick 9, Avon Lake 10. Corner kicks — Brunswick 5, Avon Lake 4. Saves — Claire Landfried (B) 8, Catherine Fazio (A) 7. Records — Brunswick (9-3-4), Avon Lake (12-1-3).