Kirtland pulls away for crown

Preferably, not so many halftime talks would have to center around being behind for Kirtland and Coach Ed Bradac.

But what no one can dispute, adding a Division III district final Oct. 25 against Cuyahoga Heights to the body of work, is the Hornets respond magnificently in those circumstances.

Erika Zschuppe netted a brace, and Lidia Rodin and Maya Zovko also found the back of the net as Kirtland recorded a 4-2 win at Independence.

The Hornets (17-2) will take on South Range in a D-III regional semifinal at 7 p.m. Oct. 30 at Solon.

Kirtland faced a 2-1 halftime deficit, which wasn’t unfamiliar territory for the side.

“I think some of it is our youth, because I think people forget that we graduated nine seniors,” Bradac said. “So we have three seniors on the field, but the rest are freshmen, sophomores and juniors.

“This is now our fifth game we’ve been behind at halftime. We have been behind to Rocky River. We’ve been behind to West Geauga, Chagrin Falls and also to Kenston – four quality programs. So in a way, that adversity helped us tonight, without a doubt. To play quality programs like those and understand you can play, come back and get the ‘W.’ “

The Hornets played the Redskins in the regular season, recording a 5-0 win Sept. 17. But Bradac emphasized to his side that postseason soccer can be a different animal altogether. Cuyahoga Heights, which advanced to this stage by edging out a 2-1 road result at Wickliffe on Oct. 22, showed that with a sterling 40 to grab a 2-1 lead.

As has been the case when the proverbial lights needed to come on for Kirtland, though, the display was bright.

“We’ve played (at Independence) before,” Bradac said. “In fact, we’ve never lost at Independence in our 15 years.

“I took a lovely ride one evening and watched South Range play Jefferson. I scouted them, and it’s a quality side. There’s only 16 teams left playing in Division III, so you’ve done something right. They play predominantly a Division II schedule. They play in a conference where they play each other twice, the likes of a Cortland Lakeview, really good program, Niles McKinley and Poland Seminary. Those are nice teams, so they’re battletested. We need to come in prepared.”