Girls soccer: Walsh scores late to beat Brunswick

BRUNSWICK — The Brunswick girls soccer team was within mere minutes of pulling out a scoreless draw against one of the best programs in the state Monday night before ultimately falling 1-0 to Walsh Jesuit at Brunswick Auto Mart Stadium. The Blue Devils (0-2) had fought off every chance from the Warriors (2-0-1) until a corner kick dropped into the box. The ball was stopped originally by Brunswick goalkeeper Abbie Burgess before it became loose on the ground, where Walsh's Lauren Ziemianski kicked it in just before Burgess could get her hand on it again. "I got up, I grabbed it and I kind of knocked it down," Burgess said. "I went to grab it on the ground, and someone kicked it away." The goal with 2:51 remaining didn't take away from the performance of the junior goalie, who made nine saves, including two diving ones in the middle of the second half to keep the game 0-0. "I kind of just don't really think," Burgess said of her mindset on those saves. "I just lock into the game, look at the ball and then my body just does it for me." The defense in front of Burgess was just as special, allowing just three shots on goal in the first half, with senior defender Sydney Rice putting her body in front of the ball constantly. Rice did so multiple times on one possession in the first half, blocking two shots in the box and not allowing the ball to get to Burgess. "We just stick together," Rice said. "We knew our game plan coming in and we knew we had to be a brick wall, and we pretty much did that up until the last couple minutes. I'm really proud of our defense and how we fought." Those sentiments were shared by one of her defensive teammates, captain Abby Morgan. "I feel like we did really good," she said. "We adjusted and we didn't give up. We have a tough season this year, and I think we played amazing." Brunswick kept Walsh Jesuit from scoring on the first six corner kicks, allowing just one shot on goal from them. "The whole team you have to communicate with them, who's going to get the ball," Burgess said. "And that's really how you can get it out." The Blue Devils didn't register a shot on goal but knew getting any offense mounted against the Warriors would be a tall task. That's why the defense knew the burden would be on its shoulder for the majority of the 80 minutes. That doesn't mean the offense won't come along, however. "We only expected a couple chances, if any (on offense)," Rice said. "So really, our momentum going forward from the defense up was really important. We came up short, but our offense will be good." One way to get better as a program is to face an opponent that has reached the Division I state championship game in each of the past two seasons, having won the title two years ago. "This should boost our confidence," Rice said. "The fact that we can keep up with these teams that have made it far only like shows how far we can make it." Contact Ryan Isley at sports@medina-gazette.com. Walsh Jesuit 1, Brunswick 0 WALSH JESUIT&emsp;0 1 — 1 BRUNSWICK&emsp;0 0 — 0 Second W — Lauren Ziemianski, 2:51. Shots on goal — Walsh Jesuit 10, Brunswick 0. Corner kicks — Walsh Jesuit 7, Brunswick 0. Saves — Zoe Crysler (WJ) 0, Abbie Burgess (B) 9. Records — Walsh Jesuit (2-0-1), Brunswick (0-2). Junior varsity — Walsh Jesuit 4, Brunswick 0.