For the last several years, any time the Berkshire Badgers boys and Garfield G-Men boys’ soccer teams met, it has been a tightly contested affair. But the Badgers left nothing to chance by winning the season-opener 15-0 against Garfield last Friday evening at Great Lakes Cheese Stadium in Burton.
“We came out and we knew what we wanted to do,” Coach Russ Buckley said. “We wanted a formation and just adapted to what was put in front of us.”
Since reigniting the neighboring county rivalry in 2019, Berkshire (1-0-0, 0-0-0) has reigned supreme, compiling a 5-1-1 record against the G-Men (0-1-0, 0-0-0), including winning the last four matches and surrendering only two goals in that stretch.
For the Badgers, the beginning of the Russ Buckley era got off to a promising start as they assumed control at the beginning of the match.
In a span 11 of minutes, Berkshire raced out to a 6-0 lead, fueled by sophomore forward Nathan Benson and junior forward Gunnar Grossman, who each recorded a hat trick.
Benson pushed Berkshire ahead 1-0 inside the third minute of regulation when he crossed up the goalkeeper inside the box to score his first goal.
Grossman followed Benson’s lead with a pair of goals in a span of only two minutes, as he scored by slotting the ball inside the right post in the fifth minute of play and then slotted the ball inside the left post in the seventh minute of regulation, extending Berkshire’s lead to 3-0.
The Badgers controlled possession as Benson and Grossman continued leading the offense, pushing Berkshire to a commanding 6-0 lead.
Benson lauded the Badgers’ offensive prowess in the first 20 minutes of regulation.
“We challenged the goalkeeper for sure and we kept our pressure high,” he said.
According to the first-year coach, it was a promising debut for both players as the Badgers have undergone an offensive transformation, graduating all of their leading scorers in the previous senior class.
“For the scrimmages, Gunnar was actually playing defense and Nathan was playing center midfielder,” Buckley added. “It was just this last week I put them both up as forwards to see what we were going to do to get them the ball and see what havoc they wreak up there and it worked well on Friday night.”
Benson noted that it is quite an adjustment, being featured as one of Berkshire’s primary scoring options after playing a complimentary role as a center midfielder.
“I was more of an assist person,” he said. “It means a lot because I like to help my team as much as I can.”
Buckley emphasized Bensons’ leadership skills as a sophomore as Benson has been named as the team’s third captain. He added than one of Benson’s biggest roles is to be a leader especially for the underclassmen, including the seven freshmen on the team.
“Nathan has two brothers,” Buckley said. “I coached both of them. Nathan has been on the field playing soccer since he was five-years-old. He would practice with them and things like that,and he has had some time with the Cleveland Force. His future is bright. If he stays healthy and just keeps progressing, by the time he is a senior he is going to have a lot of options for colleges.”
The Badgers increased their advantage to 11-0 by the end of the first half, triggering the running clock in the second half to claim their first victory of the season.
Having graduated eight seniors from last year’s squad, the Badgers return as a younger team this season, with only two seniors, but those two upperclassmen, Jacob Homovec and Roman Percic, help anchor the Badgers’ defensive line.
Buckley acknowledged that although he inherited a team that is experiencing significant turnover, the depth of the program has helped absorb the losses.
“Luckily we have seven freshmen, and a handful are really good,” he said. “They are doing really well with what they are starting and what they are doing so I am really happy with them.”
After a road game against Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference Grey Tier foe Newton Falls on Wednesday, the G-Men will face Portage County rival Crestwood at Jack Lambert Stadium in Mantua on Saturday at 10 a.m.
Following a non-conference showdown against Grand Valley on Tuesday and a crossover Chagrin Valley Conference clash against Perry on Thursday, Berkshire will host CVC Valley Division rival Wickliffe on Aug. 26 at 7 p.m.
