The boys soccer team topped last year’s record-breaking season, finishing in the state semifinals with a record of 19-2-2.
The Bison sailed through the regular season with skill and enthusiasm and demonstrated tenacity and resolve in every game as they battled their way through the post-season.
This season was full of record-breaking moments as co-captain Grant Keilin broke career records for goals and assists, and senior goalie Josh Rosenblitt broke the record for clean sheets.
Even though their playoff run ended short of the state finals, it was historic, as this team became the first Bison team to break into the state semifinals.
In the first round of the playoffs, on Oct. 11, the Bison faced St. Martin De Porres, whom they easily defeated 8-0.
Going into this game, senior Jaycob Zabell spoke about the team’s goals for the post-season.
“My expectations were to continue to compete and prove that Beachwood is a team not to underestimate,” he said. “After last year against Andrews Osborne Academy, we were hungry to get revenge and advance past the regional final.”
The team’s next game was scheduled against Fairview on Oct. 23. The Bison had faced Fairview twice earlier in the season, and both times came out victorious.
Expectations for this game were high, and players were confident going into the game, knowing they had beaten this team before. This confidence translated into an 8-1 victory.
Winning this game set the team to face off against Andrews Osborne Academy, who had eliminated Beachwood in the playoffs in both 2022 and 2023. The boys were determined to switch the outcome of the game this year and come out with the win.
This time the bison won 3-0, a huge victory for the team and also individually for senior Josh Rosenblitt. This clean sheet win was his 12th of the season, a tie with the school record, leaving him with one more to break the record.
“Getting in the record books for soccer was pretty cool,” Rosenblitt said. “I was lucky enough to have some incredible defenders in front of me the last three years, so they definitely deserve a ton of credit for the record, but it’s definitely cool to see.”
Making it past Andrews Osborne was a big accomplishment for the Bison after being eliminated by them two years in a row.
On Oct. 30 the Bison squared off in the regional semifinal game against Creston Norwayne, another highly-seeded team.
Norwayne was a very talented and physical team, but the Bison came out with the win.
After finishing regulation time with a score of 2-2 they headed into two overtime periods which ended scoreless in both. After the two overtimes, they went into PK shootouts, and Josh Rosenblitt made the game-winning save.
“During this game, I was still very confident in our group of guys,” Zabell said. “Once, senior captain Kyle Bennett was injured, I knew our team would be very motivated to play our hearts out for him because he does so much for this team.”
“I was still very confident in our team’s ability to continue to compete and win the game,” he added. “I trust our group of guys more than anyone else out on that field and I knew we would end up winning in the end, it just took more perseverance than expected.”
In the next game, the boys passed by Poland Seminary in the regional finals with a clean win with a score of 3-0. With this win Josh Rosenblitt picked up a clean sheet, which broke the record for the school.
Winning this game was history-making for Beachwood sports. Although individual sports like wrestling, cross country and swimming have qualified and placed at many state tournaments, until this year, no Bison team sport has made it as far as the state semifinals.
The team was set to face off against River View in the state semifinal game on Nov. 6. This would be the hardest match yet for the Bison, and the last obstacle to the state championship.
The Bison faced an uphill battle after giving up a very early goal.
“I think giving up a quick goal was the biggest challenge we faced during the game,” Zabell said. “I also think that not getting the goals we deserved also played a huge factor, but even through adversity, our team stayed strong and continued to trust one another, not give up and leave everything out on the field.”
Even though the team showed fight and determination to win this game, this hard fought game was opened with an early goal by River View, followed with a long 1-0 game until River View took another punch at the Bison, going up 2-0 with not much time left, resulting in a Beachwood loss.
This season meant a lot to the seniors graduating after having such a great season. Four of the five of the graduating seniors are starters, which means that next year’s team will have to overcome the loss of these players.
Rosenblitt described the team’s journey to the state semifinals.
“I think the two losses in the regional finals in 2022 and 2023 pushed us to finally get past that game,” he said. “I’ll remember how close this team was on and off the field this season and remember all the deep runs we were able to go on and the bonds I was able to make with coaches and teammates.”
