Regional boys soccer: Medina can't keep up with St. Ignatius

PARMA — The fifth-seeded Medina boys soccer team ran into the perfect storm Wednesday. The upset-minded Bees were stopped in their tracks by St. Ignatius junior Gavin Woodhams (3 goals, 2 assists), along with persistent heavy rain and wind in a 6-0 loss to the Wildcats in a Division I, Region 3 semifinal at Robert M. Boulton Stadium at Byers Field. "It was like a hurricane out there. That first half, that was rough," senior captain Jack Piatak said. "The rain was coming down, the wind was blowing out, it was tough to play against them. "I'm proud of our guys for still battling through, even through the result, I love how we competed." With the wind coming out of the south blowing in the face of Medina, the Bees (11-7-1) struggled to gain much possession or have much luck driving into St. Ignatius (16-2-1) territory in the first half. The Wildcats built a 3-0 lead before Medina started pushing into scoring territory in the second half. Senior captain Jackson Harvey fired the Bees' first shot on goal with 33:25 remaining, but Johnny Mulloy (2 saves) was there for the stop. A couple of minutes later, Charlie Getz headed a free kick from near midfield high and wide. Later in the half, Mulloy grabbed a ball in the box just in front of Iyan Copley to thwart another threat. Piatak also added a couple of shots that looked good but wound up just wide of the net on either side. Logan Abernathy had a long free kick that the wind pushed downfield before the ball bounced and hit the crossbar. Mulloy grabbed the ball before it could spin back into the goal. "If we would have had the wind going in the first half, I think it would have been a different game," Harvey said. "It's hard when you've got 35 mph winds. We were able to stay in their half and get a couple of shots but were just unlucky." The top-ranked team in the state regardless of division, St. Ignatius will look to continue its climb back to the top of the soccer world after seeing its streak of six state championships end in a shootout loss to Dublin Jerome in the final last season. The Wildcats face third-seeded Strongsville, a 3-1 winner over Perrysburg, in the regional final at Twinsburg on Sunday. St. Ignatius ended Medina's season for the seventh time in the past eight seasons. Woodhams proved to be a menace to the Bees, scoring or assisting on the first five goals. He kicked his night off by finding senior forward Gray Galauner with 25:28 remaining in the first half. Woodhams then stole the ball in Medina's defensive end and put the ball in the back of the net with 18:49 left and closed the half when he pocketed a penalty kick to the left after being taken down in the box with 7:55 on the clock. Woodhams completed his hat trick with 28:04 left in the game and found Galauner for another goal with 18:21 to go. "We practiced well and I thought we had a chance, but unlucky conditions, I guess," Abernathy said. "Everybody has to do their job. Not one man against a side like Ignatius can turn off or then they counter." Max Speelman closed the scoring and gave the Wildcats a running clock the rest of the game when he put away a free kick from the top left corner of the box by Owen Egan with 9:50 remaining. Contact John Urchek at jurchek@medina-gazette.com. Division I, Region 3 Semifinal St. Ignatius 6, Medina 0 MEDINA &emsp;&emsp;&emsp;&emsp;0 0 — 0 ST. IGNATIUS &emsp;3 3 — 6 First I — Gray Galauner (Gavin Woodhams), 25:28. I — Woodhams, 18:49. I — Woodhams (penalty kick), 7:55. Second I — Woodhams, 28:04. I — Galauner (Woodhams), 18:21. I — Max Speelman (Owen Egan), 9:50. Shots on goal — Medina 2, St. Ignatius 9. Corner kicks — Medina 1, St. Ignatius 2. Saves — Zach Coersmeyer (M) 1, Jannik Sanders (M) 2, Johnny Mulloy (I) 2, Dom Corletzi (I) 0. Records — Medina (11-7-1), St. Ignatius (16-2-1).