Boys district soccer: Medina rallies to beat GlenOak

NORTH ROYALTON — The Medina boys soccer team's tradition-restoring season was running out of time Saturday until seniors Cooper Fuller and Brody Gannon managed to pour sand back into the hourglass.That duo spearheaded a furious comeback over the final 18 minutes to lead the fourth-seeded Bees to a 2-1 victory over fifth-seeded GlenOak in the Division I, Northeast 3 District final at North Royalton's Serpentini Stadium."I'm so excited," said Fuller, who got the ball in the box, beat his man and fired at an opening near the back post to beat GlenOak goalie Nico Godispoti for a 1-1 tie with 17:46 left. "This is like a dream come true. First time we've gotten this far with these boys. It's just a great feeling."One year removed from a 6-8-3 season in which the Golden Eagles knocked out Medina in the first round of the postseason, the Bees (13-2-3) are now 9-0-2 over their last 11 straight games. Medina will make its 10th regional appearance in 11 seasons. The next step of the journey will be familiar, as the Bees meet Northeast 2 District champion St. Ignatius in a Region 2 semifinal at Nordonia's Boliantz Stadium on Wednesday. Medina and the Wildcats met every year in the postseason from 2016-23, and St. Ignatius has won every state title since the Bees won in 2018.The fact that the Bees had to fight until the last minute to earn the win over GlenOak made the district championship sweeter."In the locker room at halftime, we were talking about how we need to leave everything out there and give 110%," Gannon said. "I feel like that's what we did to win this game."Gannon found the ball at his feet after Medina swarmed the box. He fired the ball into the back of the net to take the lead with 4:29 left.The Bees had opportunities to make the game more comfortable, but Golden Eagles defenders Connor Thomas and Kyle Snedeker made a series of saving plays on the goal line, most notably robbing Gannon and Jack Piatak.Medina defender Gavin Williams made his own spectacular play when he stopped Eli Smith on a run down the left sideline with a perfect form slide tackle."I love slide tackling, and I haven't done it in a long time," Williams said. "I thought it was time to pull it out of my bag. It was a great tackle that worked to stop the counterattack."Williams spent his first three seasons at Buckeye before transferring to Medina. Opportunities like the district championship Saturday were what Williams was hoping for when he joined the Bees."It's amazing," Williams said. "This is honestly everything I ever wanted. I knew we could win here. I knew we'd be competitive, and I would make a great addition to the team."Williams, captain Jackson Harvey, Logan Abernathy, Xavier Abernathy and Chase Wilbur were strong on the defensive end in front of goalie Bennett Werthmuller (3 saves).GlenOak went ahead with 28:31 left in the first half after Ian Meyer played a corner kick out on top of the box to Enzo Gliatta.Medina had opportunities in the first half, with Fuller heading a ball that was saved by Godispoti and Logan Abernathy firing a shot that went off the post.The Bees never relented, allowing them to break through at the end."Emotions are high," Gannon said. "It's a great feeling. The team is hyped. Everybody loves it. I feel like we really earned it and deserved it."Contact John Urchek at jurchek@medina-gazette.com.Medina 2, GlenOak 1Division I, Northeast 3 finalGLENOAK 1 0 — 1MEDINA 0 2 — 2FirstG — Mason Pooley (Enzo Gliatta), 28:31.SecondM — Cooper Fuller, 17:46.M — Brody Gannon, 4:29.Shots on goal — GlenOak 3, Medina 7. Corner kicks — GlenOak 1, Medina 2. Saves — Nico Codispoti (G) 1, Connor Thomas (G) 2, Kyle Snedeker (G) 2, Bennett Werthmuller (M) 2. Records — GlenOak (14-4-1), Medina (13-2-3).