Boys soccer: Brunswick works to tie Massillon Jackson

JACKSON TWP. — The Brunswick boys soccer team got the test it was looking for to start the season. Battling returning Division I regional finalist Massillon Jackson in the first game of the fall, senior Miroslav Milanovic scored off a short feed in the box from fellow senior Matt Reppa with 17:47 left that led to a 1-1 non-league draw. "It feels pretty good," Milanovic said. "I mean, I was hoping for a win, but a tie is better than a loss. I'll take it, but we came out pretty flat, to be honest. We could have come out better." Milanovic's score helped to turn momentum and answered a goal by Polar Bears senior Phillip Gorgievski that floated into the goal from the box after a feed by fellow senior Luke Morgan. Milanovic was composed despite the Blue Devils trailing, having the confidence that they could answer. "We just had to push through adversity," he said. "We know we can. We've done it so many times already. We're able to counter adversity a lot." For much of the second half, Jackson had the Blue Devils on their heels. Brunswick was fortunate to be down by only one goal after a header into the back of the net by Dawson Wanzer was waved off for offsides and a handful of Polar Bears chances went just wide of the net to the right side. "The young guys came out a little bit nervy, but I'm really, really happy that after we go down a goal we could have a response," Brunswick coach Ben Dotson said. "It's not easy on the road to go a goal down against a regional finalist. That we could do that was really important and awesome." The Blue Devils started four sophomores, including three on the back line next to senior Isaac Steele and in front of senior goalie Eli Hyde. Hyde was strong in goal, making six saves, including a couple of highlight-worthy ones in the second half that kept Brunswick within striking distance. The Polar Bears held a 7-5 edge in shots on goal and a 7-4 advantage in corner kicks, though that was due in large part to a late first-half sequence in which Jackson took three corners in quick succession. Hyde knows that the defense overall has some work to clean up before facing a second straight regional finalist in D-II Wadsworth on Tuesday. The Grizzlies opened the season by trouncing Barberton 4-0. "A lot of our guys on our back line are younger or newer, and this is a good chip on their shoulder going into the season," Hyde said. "There was a lot of defensive errors as a whole, and we can learn to be a lot more sharp. "As a goalkeeper, my communication is huge. Letting guys know where runs are coming from, making sure they are aware of the field as a whole and encouraging them." Following Milanovic's goal, the Blue Devils traded a few opportunities with Jackson, including goalie Ben Adams (4 saves) making a nice save against Brunswick's Martin Klenjoski and Hyde making a diving grab on one play and punching out a corner kick in the waning moments. The game was scoreless for the first 57:25, with Brunswick getting three shots on goal to Jackson's two in the first half. Adams stopped shots by Adam Jaber, Artur Vasylkevych and Milanovic in the first half. The last of which was a diving stop. Contact John Urchek at jurchek@medina-gazette.com. Brunswick 1, Massillon Jackson 1 BRUNSWICK 0 1 — 1 JACKSON 0 1 — 1 Second J — Phillip Gorgievski (Luke Morgan), 22:35. B — Miroslav Milanovic (Matt Reppa), 17:47. Shots on goal — Brunswick 5, Jackson 7. Corner kicks — Brunswick 4, Jackson 7. Saves — Eli Hyde (B) 6, Ben Adams (J) 4. Records — Brunswick (0-0-1), Jackson (0-0-1). Junior varsity — Jackson 2, Brunswick 0.