Wadsworth: Knock long enough and someone is bound to come to the door. Bang loudly and that door will open.
That’s exactly what happened Tuesday when Hudson’s boys soccer team beat Wadsworth 1-0 at Art Wright Stadium to win its first Suburban League National Conference title under coach Steve Knapp.
The Explorers (10-1-1, 6-0) extended their unbeaten streak to nine and winning streak to five thanks to a goal by sophomore Ryan Sarkisian with 3:52 remaining to beat the Grizzlies (8-3-1, 4-1-1).
Hudson still has a league game left next week against Brecksville, but it has the luxury of already owning the conference crown outright.
“It feels great,” Sarkisian said. “This puts less pressure on everyone now. We can play loose and not have to worry about the last week. This was a big win. That’s a very good team. This will boost everyone the rest of the way.”
Sarkisian’s goal was just the second of his career, but the 5-foot-8 midfielder made it count.
With both teams peppering the net in the second half, Hudson earned a corner kick on the left side.
Alex Vuksta angled the ball into the box and found the head of Sarkisian, who sent it to the right corner. Fittingly in a game of this magnitude, the ball nicked off the post before finding the back of the net for the game-winner.
“I was thinking I scored the second goal of the season and I didn’t think it was going to go in when it hit the post,” Sarkisian said. “Then when it went in, I was like, ‘Wow. I just won the Suburban League if we can hang on.’ I’m so happy.”
Sarkisian wasn’t the only one happy on a team full of heroes.
The Grizzlies came in averaging 3.3 goals per game. Keeper Connor Gynn and a backline of Jacob Wolanske, Ryan Jackson, Allan Gutierrez and Nick Advent kept them off the board with the help of Jarrett Widdoes.
It was the team’s fifth clean slate in a row.
“They’re really good,” Knapp said. “Especially when we got countered a bunch of times. They were so smart. They dropped off. Whenever there was a bad touch, they won the ball.
“Ryan Jackson was the best I’ve ever seen him. He’s the one taking free kicks. He’s the one that rattled the one off the crossbar in the first half. He orchestrated everything. He’s just a soccer player.”
Wadsworth is still searching for its first league title since 2001, but still has plenty to play for in the upcoming weeks. It’s the second year in a row the Grizzlies played until the last 10 days of the regular season with a chance at a Suburban League crown only to come out short.
But it should work as a stepping stone the rest of the way.
“We build off of this,” Wadsworth goalkeeper Tyler Randolph said. “We won’t take this as a loss. It will push us to get better.”
