Girls lacrosse: Medina beats Brunswick to clinch share of 10th straight GCC title

MEDINA — While the pressure of great expectations can be too much for some, the Medina girls lacrosse team thrives on it. The Bees have made such a habit out of winning league titles that it's the standard. They weren't about to leave the Greater Cleveland Conference without winning one more. Medina clinched at least a share of its 10th straight trophy with a resounding 15-3 victory over Medina County rival Brunswick on Thursday night. "Coach (Colleen Kubasta) hasn't lost one yet, so it'd be brutal if we were the ones to lose it for her," junior Audrey Thompson said. "I think that a huge motivator for us, and we're lucky that we get to do it for her." Thompson scored a game-high four goals for the Bees (7-6, 4-0), who can wrap up sole possession of championship with a win over Shaker Heights (3-8, 1-3). Before Medina could find its rhythm on offense, a stellar defensive effort led by Molly Gilbert, Addy Shook, Emma Koehler, Kayla Stevens and goalie Gia Rhode (4 saves) gave the goalscorers the time they needed. The teams were scoreless until Medina's Campbell Burns found the back of the net with 1:10 remaining in the first quarter off a pass from Maddie Dawson. Brunswick (6-8, 2-1) held strong against consistent pressure through the first quarter. Leading the Blue Devils were goalie Izabella Dalton (7 saves) and starters Mirian Azap, Abbi Voller, Ella Borrasso, Peyton Elish and Camryn Elish. The Bees found success early and often in the second quarter, ballooning the advantage to 8-0. Dawson started the scoring just 35 seconds in, while Medina closed with four goals in the final 3:30. Dawson, Paige Armstrong and Abby Dress each scored two goals in the quarter on their way to two goals and one assist apiece. "For sure, at the beginning it was a struggle, but once we got into our groove and figured out what worked for us, that really helped us along the line," said Burns, who tied Thompson for game honors with four points (3 goals, assist). "Whether that was driving or feeding, we all figured out what worked individually." Trailing 8-0 coming out of halftime, Brunswick was in need of a spark. Senior Ryleigh Vlcek momentarily provided one with the first goal of the half just 50 seconds in. "I was just trying to get the energy back up," said Vlcek, who had all three of her team's goals. "I just wanted to let (my teammates) know that we're still in this and we're not just going to let goals go in." Despite the tough loss, Brunswick still has an outside chance at sharing the conference title by winning its final two games and having Shaker Heights upset the Bees. Regardless of how the league shakes out, the Blue Devils, who started the season 4-3 before losing five of their past seven, are focused on a run into the postseason. "If we can take how frustrated we were and how defeated we felt as we were getting down, we can bounce back after those tough moments," Vlcek said. "That could make us unstoppable for the rest of the season." After Vlcek's first goal, Medina scored the next five, including back-to-back by Thompson, the second of which gave the Bees a running clock with 7:49 left in the third quarter. Medina has won four in a row and six out of its last seven. The Bees are picking up steam as they try to grab sole possession of the GCC and make a postseason run. "The beginning of the season was finding out what we need to work on and how to get there," Burns said. "As the games have gone on, we've figured that out as a whole. I hope we can work to keep chipping away for each other." Contact John Urchek at jurchek@medina-gazette.com.