Beachwood sophomores Asaf Roth and Shai Yulish combined to score four goals in a 4-0 win over visiting Independence on Tuesday.
Yulish gave the Bison a 2-0 halftime lead and Roth finished off the Blue Devils with two second half goals.
“Our boys came out ready to play,” said Beachwood head coach Brian Greene. “We took care of business in the first half. I wasn’t happy with the way we played in the second half. At times we were lazy but the boys put it together. I told them (at halftime) the next goal was going to be important. They got that third goal and we took the air out of the game. We didn’t really need to score more goals but I do want to see them finish plays and have sharp passes and play possession. A win’s a win. I’ll take it.”
With four more goals, the Bison have outscored their 2014 opponents, 11-3, and improved to 2-0-1.
Roth and Yulish have combined to score nine of Beachwood’s goals this season but they are part of a very dangerous Bison attack.
“We have a nice team,” Greene said. “We’re young, but we score lots of goals. Junyoung (Lee) on the left side, he’s beating his guy all day long. The guys we platoon on the right side do a great job. Yuval (Zamir) and we have Asaf and Bogatur (Askaryan) in the middle. It’s a solid midfield. We do a great job in it.”
Greene also credited his defense for the win.
“The defense played well today,” he said. “I asked them not to make any mistakes and they did that. Max (Babbush) did a great job at sweeper and Greg (Israelstam) did a great job on the right. Cameron (Krantz) was on the left. When you don’t give up goals against a good team like this, usually teams might get one just from being fast and aggressive, but I don’t think they were even dangerous. There were a couple of crosses that were dangerous.”
Askaryan helped the Bison build their 3-0 lead then he moved from his midfield position to solidify the defense.
“He dominated that whole game in the midfield and then I moved him to the back when we scored that third goal,” Green said. “They weren’t going to score a goal. He’s our team. When he’s on the whole team is on. He complements everybody around him.”
Sophomore Griffin Davis recorded two saves in notching his first shutout.
“Griffin is doing a great job in back, especially today,” Greene said. “He put a whole game together.”
Independence dropped to 1-2 on the year after struggling to get things going at Beachwood.
“We were a little timid,” said Independence head coach Ryan MacRaild. “They got to the ball before we did on a lot of the counts and kind of outworked us on both halves really. We were giving away the ball really easily out of the back, playing the ball out of the air, just a lot of turnovers. That really killed us.”
Goalkeeper Joe Bernstein was one bright spot for the Blue Devils. He recorded six saves, two of which came on penalty kicks.
MacRaild also was pleased with the contribution his younger players made in the game.
“Every game we try to improve on something here and there and work for the playoffs,” he said. “It’s a building process. We do have some young guys contributing and they’re getting some minutes. It’s just a matter of getting everybody on the same page at the same time and that’s going to take a little bit of time.”
Midfield Dan Malarik earned praise for his play against the Bison.
“He’s a senior this year. He’s had a great season so far,” MacRaild said. “He’s got a lot of hustle and a lot of heart. He’s the kind of guy you want to have 11 of on the field.”
Beachwood travels to Gilmour Academy on Thursday while the Blue Devils host Villa Angela-St. Joseph.
