Boys soccer: Inexperienced Medina falls behind early, loses to Massillon Jackson

JACKSON TWP. — Replacing 15 seniors and nine starters from a team that tied for the best record in program history was never going to be an easy task for the Medina boys soccer team this season. The Bees found out quickly Tuesday night how much work is left to do with a 2-0 non-league defeat against Massillon Jackson in the season opener for both teams. Medina gave up two goals in the first 8:46. Though the Bees regrouped and regained their composure, they never got enough footing to make a dent in the deficit. "With graduation and injury, we stepped onto the pitch with one returning starter and it was trial by fire for a lot of these guys," Bees coach Doug Coreno said. "We looked good in the preseason, but the preseason and regular season are two completely different animals. Going down two in the first nine minutes, it just showed we weren't ready for the speed of play." In addition to the graduation losses, Medina was also without senior captain Evan Kotick, one of two returning starters, junior Alejandro Conrique and sophomore Jack Piatak due to injuries. Coreno said the team hopes to have all three players back Saturday for a matchup with Copley. Falling behind as quickly as the Bees did against the Polar Bears amplified the inexperience for Medina, which has reached the state semifinals the past two seasons and seven of the last eight years. Despite the loss, junior captain Cooper Korduba, the only returning starter in the lineup Tuesday, is confident he and his teammates can get to where they want to be. "We need to realize that we're a new team and we're building, but we still need to have the same expectations we've had in the past," Korduba said. "We're Medina, we're a good soccer team and we've always been great." After Bees junior Tyler Cobb sent a shot to the top of the goal 30 seconds into the game and Jackson keeper Ben Adams got just enough to send the ball over the crossbar, Medina's offensive opportunities quickly became few and far between. When Jackson capitalized on its first two solid opportunities, the Bees became a little more defensive minded and focused much of their attention on not allowing the deficit to grow. The Polar Bears, who have reached the district final in four of the past five seasons, went up 1-0 when Nolan Brown slid in on a Ryan Corsi pass to slip the ball past Medina goalie Bennett Werthmuller less than three minutes into the game. Corsi then scored with 31:16 left in the first half on a nice feed from Lewis Cook for the 2-0 advantage. "Once we went down the two goals, we just kind of stopped where we were and focused on defending, so we (wouldn't give up more goals)," junior Gael Moreno said. "I felt like there wasn't a lot of hunger going into the attack." Werthmuller (4 saves) and the starting back line of sophomore Jackson Harvey, freshman Chase Wilbur and juniors Brody Gannon and Ben Gardner settled in to keep the deficit from growing any larger. All five players have moved into the starting lineup this season. After the tip on Cobb's shot, Adams made his final save of the night on a 36-yard free kick by Korduba with four minutes left in the first half. Sophomore Cooper Fuller had a shot sail high and to the right of the goal with 44 seconnds left in the first half. Medina went without a shot on goal in the second half. "We just gave away the ball all night," Coreno said. "We had unforced turnovers. We weren't sharp with our off-the-ball movement. We weren't organized in the offensive third and we just had a hard time getting a rhythm. "When you can't possess the ball, you can't string together some good scoring opportunities." Contact John Urchek at jurchek@medina-gazette.com. Massillon Jackson 2, Medina 0 MEDINA 0 0 — 0 JACKSON 2 0 — 2 First J — Nolan Brown (Ryan Corsi), 37:19. J — Corsi (Lewis Cook), 31:16. Shots on goal — Medina 2, Jackson 6. Corner kicks — Medina 2, Jackson 7. Saves — Bennett Werthmuller (M) 4, Ben Adams (J) 2. Records — Medina (0-1), Jackson (1-0). Junior varsity — Jackson 1, Medina 0.