Special Pre-Season Preview to GoBigBlueAthletics.com
BHS Men’s Soccer 2026
Jonathon Huff ‘03

For Brunswick men’s soccer, the new season is about a return to old ways.

For one, the Blue Devils want to get back to the style that provided so much success over the years. Rock and roll football. The style perfected by Jürgen Klopp during his tenure at Liverpool Football Club.

“This group is really trying to play well from a team perspective,” coach Ben Dotson said. “It’s a recommitment to pressing, and it’s a commitment to trying to keep the ball and be creative with numbers and advantages, which will take time. But they’re really, really committed to it.”

Beyond play, Brunswick also wants to get back to the identity that has driven the program. The identity the players literally carry on their backs, with the word “Brotherhood” printed on the nameplate of the kit.

“Something we struggled with last year was not everyone trusted each other,” senior Brayden Oleksiw said. “If something happened we’d just get mad at each other and not try to bring each other up. This year we’re definitely working on changing for everyone. How they react, how other people react, just going based off how the person reacts to what you say to them.”

“Last year we weren’t as connected,” junior Adam Jaber added. “This year we have more kids from when we were younger playing. We always played with each other, so now we’re all together.”
That connection, a Brunswick strength in the Dotson-era, is always tricky as seniors pass through. But this team made it a priority.

“I’m super excited about where this group is at from a cultural, brotherhood perspective,” Dotson said. “We’ve spent a lot of time meeting and in classrooms since March, breaking down walls and barriers, to have a really good group of guys that want to not only be good men for others in our locker room, but in our community, which is ultimately going to drive results on the field as well.”

The players recognize how that work will help on and off the pitch.

“We can hang out,” junior Ryan Dick said. “Just checking in on each other on a daily basis. One-on-one conversations. Getting to know each other’s background and personalities. It’ll help when we have a lot of adversity and we know how to communicate to each other.”

This season will see a good mix of seniors and underclassmen. With more youth in the squad, and a makeup that may not be as physically dominating, the pressing strategy also becomes an opportunity to play to strengths.

“We’re looking to keep the ball more so we don’t have to get as physical, so we won’t have to go into the physical game,” junior Martin Klenjoski said. “We can keep it and let them run, tire them out rather than going through with brute force.”

Brute force is a good way to describe the Brunswick schedule. Greater Cleveland Conference play is always tough with traditional powers Strongsville and Shaker Heights. Riverside has been added to that mix this year. And games outside of that are no easier, with Jackson, Wadsworth, North Ridgeville, North Olmsted and Medina.

Now, perhaps the biggest name is on the list too. Brunswick will meet St. Ignatius for the first time since 1994.

“They’re obviously fantastic and amazing, and we’d like to see what we’re made of,” Dotson said. “It’s funny, the kids talk about it, there’s only one team that has a halfway decent record against St. Ignatius in the state of Ohio. That is Brunswick High School. We beat them in a shootout two years in a row back in 1993 and 1994. Again, they’re draws, but there’s only one team that knocked Ignatius out of the playoffs twice like we have. That was 30 years ago, but the kids talk about it. When the alumni were here, they were talking about it. It’s really cool.”

The season begins on Aug. 14 as the Blue Devils host Jackson. Win or lose, come what may, the same goal carries on from Brunswick teams past.

“We like to throw around the term, ‘Leave it better than you found it,’” Oleksiw said. “Whatever may happen with this season, for next year and years to come, we’ll make it better for the younger guys. Even if we’re not still playing, they’ll come in stronger than we were.”

For more Brunswick High School Men’s Soccer Information, please contact Head Coach, Ben Dotson, at 440-273-0496 or bdotson@bcsoh.org.