Boys soccer: Medina Christian beats Loudonville to advance to semifinal

MEDINA — Despite controlling play throughout, the 18th-seeded Medina Christian boys soccer team was down a goal early in the second half Saturday.The Knights finally broke through and rolled to a 4-1 win over No. 39 Loudonville in a Division V, Northeast 3 quarterfinal and will meet eighth-seeded Open Door Christian (11-5-1) in the semifinals Thursday.The turning point that led to an avalanche of scoring from Medina Christian (15-3) came when sophomore Jack Myers drew a foul in the box for a penalty kick."I saw the ball going straight at the goal," Myers said. "I ran to it to take a shot, and someone put their leg in front of my leg. I tripped. The ref saw it and called it."With regular penalty specialist Maddox Tousley out due to injury, having a scorer like Nathan Androshchuk step in wasn't a bad thing.Androshchuk fired hard right and low. Redbirds goalkeeper Kaden Luyster (6 saves) guessed correctly and got a hand on the ball, but the shot had more than enough heat to spin into the net to tie the game at 1 with 30:16 left."I've never actually been a penalty kicker for a team before," Androshchuk said. "This is my first time regularly stepping up since (Tousley) is injured. It was flashing through my brain that this could be my last game, and this could be the kick that keeps us in or takes us out."The floodgates were officially open against the Redbirds (2-11-4), as Daniel Hussey scored off an assist from Myers 1:20 later."When we were down, we were still pretty confident," Hussey said. "It was all hard work and who wanted it more. I am thankful for these guys. They worked hard and got the job done."Androshchuk then tallied another goal, finishing a Hussey feed 1:11 later to make it 3-1.Androschuk closed the scoring on his third goal with 12:39 left — he now has consecutive hat tricks — with Isaiah Dos Santos getting the helper.The Knights outshot the Redbirds 10-4 and had four corner kicks to just one for Loudonville.The Redbirds' lone goal came from Brayson Youngen 3:59 into the second half. No player other than Youngen (4 shots on goal) got anything on frame.Medina Christian goalkeeper Steven Androshchuk (3 saves) got his hand on the shot, but it deflected into the upper left corner to give Loudonville the temporary lead.The win was the second in the postseason for the second-year OHSAA program and gives it a chance to avenge an early-season 4-0 loss to Open Door."For me, it means facing the team that injured me at the start of the season," the senior said. "We are going back up against Open Door, so this is a game that I need to reposition myself as a leading forward and hopefully earn a better outcome." Contact Chad Grant at sports@medina-gazette.com.Medina Christian 4, Loudonville 1Division V, Northeast 3 QuarterfinalLOUDONVILLE 0 1 — 1MEDINA CHRISTIAN 0 4 — 4 SecondL — Brayson Youngen, 36:01.M — Nathan Androshchuk (penalty kick), 30:16.M — Daniel Hussey (Jack Myers), 28:56.M — N. Androshchuk (Hussey), 27:44.M — N. Androshchuk (Isaiah Dos Santos), 12:39.Shots on goal — Loudonville 4, Medina Christian 10. Corner kicks — Loudonville 1, Medina Christian 4. Saves — Kaden Luyster (L) 6, Steven Androshchuk (M) 3. Records — Loudonville (2-11-4), Medina Christian (15-3).