Regional girls soccer: Medina dominates Walsh Jesuit

TWINSBURG — The third-seeded Medina girls soccer team put on a dominant display Tuesday in a Division 1, Region 4 semifinal against top-seeded Walsh Jesuit. The Bees were better at both ends of the field and knocked off one of their biggest rivals, 3-0. They advanced to take on another rival, fourth-seeded Strongsville, a 1-0 winner over Magnificat, on Saturday at Byers Field in Parma. Medina (16-3-1), which is returning to the regional finals for the first time since 2019, set the tone with strong defensive play and an offense that was nearly as good. The consistent pressure paid dividends, as Sophia Lazar scored her second goal of the season off an assist from Kellen Miller with 1:50 to play in the first half. Lazar took the pass from Miller and used some nifty footwork to shake a defender and get a look at the net. . "I have only had one goal this season," Lazar said. "I really wanted to score in this game to get closer to the next game. It was special." Walsh Jesuit (17-3-1) tried to mount some offense in the second half, but the Bees stayed tough and limited quality chances. Medina goalkeeper Delaney Miller made the save of the game with 21:45 left and her team still holding a 1-0 lead. Walsh Jesuit leading scorer Abby Witkiewicz (19 goals) had her team's best shot attempt, firing a high at the net, but Miller (5 saves) made a spectacular jumping save to knock the ball away. "It was definitely dramatic," Miller said. "The ball was everywhere, everyone was everywhere and I just stayed in the game and focused and stayed in the game." The monster save paid dividends fewer than 10 minutes later when Medina's Emma McTigue put her defender in a blender and finished a beautiful assist from Lydia Tighe to extend the lead. Tighe got a slick no-look backwards touch off a throw-in and found McTigue, who razzle-dazzled past a defender and fired home the shot. "That goal was important," McTigue said. "One-nothing is a very tricky lead. Anything can happen at that point. With so much time left in the game, we just needed to put another one in." McTigue wrapped up the game when she converted a penalty kick with 4:57 remaining. The defensive effort extended from Miller all the way through the forwards, as Medina kept an opponent averaging 3.7 goals off the board. "We knew it was going to be hard, but we came into it with our heads in the right direction," Miller said. "We battled until the last minute." The Bees overcame a 2-0 deficit against Strongsville in their regular-season meeting and pulled out a 3-2 victory. Medina will also be seeking to avenge a 3-1 loss to the Mustangs in last season's regional semifinals. Contact Chad Grant at sports@medina-gazette.com. Medina 3, Walsh Jesuit 0 Division I, Region 4 Semifinal MEDINA&emsp;&emsp;&emsp;&emsp; 1 2 — 3 WALSH &emsp;&emsp;&emsp;&emsp; 0 0 — 0 First M — Sophia Lazar (Kellen Miller), 1:50 Second M — Emma McTigue (Lydia Tighe), 12:25 M — McTigue (penalty kick), 4:57 Shots on goal — Medina 6, Walsh 5. Corner kicks — Medina 4, Walsh 2. Saves — Delaney Miller (M) 5, Zoe Chrysler (W) 3. Records — Medina (16-3-1), Walsh 17-3-1.