District boys soccer: Bees roll past Massillon Jackson

ELYRIA — The fifth-seeded Medina boys soccer team upheld the standard Saturday with a 3-1 victory over seventh-seeded Massillon Jackson in the Division I, Northeast 4 District final at Elyria Charities Field at Ely Stadium. The district championship was the second straight and 11th in 12 years for the Bees, who will face very familiar foe in top-seeded St. Ignatius in a Region 3 semifinal on Wednesday at Parma's Byers Field. "The feeling never changes," Jackson Harvey said. "It's a great feeling. We want to keep working, keep winning. That's just how it is. "We're feeling good, just have to keep our heads (against St. Ignatius). We don't want to look past it. Obviously, it's a big game, but I think we're up for it." Harvey gave Medina (11-6-1) its final goal with 32:35 remaining. After a foul by the Polar Bears (3-12-4) in the box, Harvey stepped up to take a penalty kick. Goalie Lazar Pavichevich made a great save on the initial shot, but the ball bounced back to Harvey for his 12th goal of the season. The insurance proved to be more than enough for the Bees, who got an outstanding defensive effort outside of one slip up late in the first half. Medina committed a foul in the box, setting up a penalty kick that Noah Thomas buried with a shot to the left. Thomas was later fouled by Xavier Abernathy on a play that drew a red card, and the Bees closed the final 14 minutes a man down without allowing a goal. Due to the red card, Abernathy will be ineligible for the regional semifinals and final, if Medina advances. Medina goalie Zach Coersmeyer made a great play with 9:40 left in the first half when he made a great save on a header by Nick McCue, and he also stopped the rebound to keep Jackson off the board at that point. Other than that play, the back line of junior captain Chase Wilbur, junior Logan Abernathy and sophomore Collin Bixler stymied Jackson. "We started off really hot but got a little bit lackadaisical for a minute at the end of the half," junior captain Chase Wilbur said. "We've got to keep our heads a little bit better, but now we're moving on to Iggy. "(Playing a man down) takes tons of communication, especially when they're attacking the whole way. We talked, kept organized a persevered for the win there." After defeating the Polar Bears 3-2 in the regular season, in which Iyan Copley netted the game-winner with just 44 seconds remaining, Medina was determined to start faster in the rematch. The Bees were also motivated by a three-game losing streak to end the regular season. Medina was the dominant, attacking team from the opening whistle, but still found the game tied midway through the first half. That all changed when the ball slipped out of Pavichevich's hands and found the foot of Charlie Getz, who fired the ball into a basically empty net. "We had this game circled, because we barely beat them the first time," Getz said. "We wanted to come out and be dominant and we did that. We're a hungry team. The regular season didn't end quite how we wanted it to, so we're just going to keep pushing." Fewer than three minutes after Getz's goal, the Bees jumped ahead 2-0 when Cameron Moorman played the ball to Kollin Leyden for a great finish. Contact John Urchek at jurchek@medina-gazette.com. Medina 3, Massillon Jackson 1 Division I, Northeast 4 District Final JACKSON&emsp;&emsp;&emsp;&emsp; 1 0 — 1 MEDINA &emsp;&emsp;&emsp;&emsp; 2 1 — 3 First M — Charlie Getz, 17:00. M — Kollin Leyden (Cameron Moorman), 14:10. J — Noah Thomas (penalty kick), 0:48. Second M — Jackson Harvey, 32:35. Shots on goal — Jackson 3, Medina 7. Corner kicks — Jackson 2, Medina 6. Saves — Lazar Pavichevich (J) 4, Zach Coersmeyer (M) 2, Elijah Scott (M) 0. Records — Jackson (3-12-4), Medina (11-6-1).