Girls soccer: Buckeye dominates tournament opener against Barberton

YORK TWP. — The Buckeye girls soccer team has flown under the radar for much of the season.The sixth-seeded Bucks very much want to be right in the middle, as they opened tournament play Thursday with a dominating 7-1 Division III, Northeast 1 quarterfinal win over 41st-seeded Barberton.Buckeye (11-2-3) advanced to play the winner of No. 17 Cuyahoga Falls Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy and No. 36 Geneva on Tuesday.The Bucks are doing their best to emerge from the shadows of other Medina County teams and make their own mark."I wouldn't use the word respect, but we've been underdogs for a very long time." Buckeye senior Charlotte DiEgidio said. "We needed to set the tone very early in the season, and we did that. We went through our first 10 games undefeated."DiEgidio notched a hat trick, including two of her team's first three goals as the Bucks jumped in front 3-0 just 8:41 in. Lyndie Whitford had the other goal during the outburst and assisted on both DiEgidio goals.The Buckeye offensive attack was unrelenting and unleashed 23 shots on goal while completely controlling possession.DiEgidio tallied her third score on a header with 32:51 left in the second half, then the Bucks got a goal from Rys Fitzgerald and a special one from freshman Kendyl Dukarm."I was really nervous before this game," Dukarm said. "I kept telling myself that I needed to get my first score for varsity as a freshman. When it finally happened, it was the best feeling in the world, I am very grateful to get that chance to score."Barberton avoided the shutout when it scored on a free kick from Zoey Lorenzo that somehow bent into the net with 11:05 left.The effort was solid all around for the Bucks, who fought through an extremely difficult regular-season schedule. They earned ties against two highly-ranked Division II squads in MaxPreps No. 5 Highland and No. 2 North Royalton.Their two losses came via 1-0 decisions against Cleveland West Conference stalwarts Bay and Rocky River."Going into the summer, our coach (Peter Byrnes) warned us it was going to be a tough schedule," Whitford said. "All summer we worked into it and all season we have been focusing on the playoffs. He told us it wasn't going to be easy."Contact Chad Grant at sports@medina-gazette.com.Buckeye 7, Barberton 1Division III, Northeast 1 QuarterfinalBARBERTON 0 1 — 1BUCKEYE 4 3 — 7FirstBu — Charlotte DiEgidio (Katie Rupanovic), 38:35.Bu — Lyndie Whitford, 32:22.Bu — DiEgidio (Whitford), 31:19.Bu — Isabelle Krakowski, 16:17.SecondBu — DiEgidio, 32:57.Ba — Zoey Lorenzo, 12:32.Bu — Kendyl Dukarm, 11:05.Bu — Rys Fitzgerald, 0:53.Shots on goal — Barberton 2, Buckeye 23. Corner kicks — Barberton 1, Buckeye 8. Saves — Brooklyn McNulty (Ba) 16, Carlie Gunkleman (Bu) 1. Records — Barberton (3-11-3), Buckeye (11-2-3).