Painesville, Ohio – For most of the night, Brunswick searched for the moment that could change the match. When it finally arrived, the Blue Devils made sure it counted.

Brunswick scored twice in the final nine minutes, with senior captain Evan Denker pulling the Blue Devils level before sophomore Charlie Avarello delivered his first varsity goal for the game-winner, completing a dramatic 2-1 comeback victory over Painesville Riverside.

The victory improves Brunswick to 5-4-6 overall and 4-1-1 in the Greater Cleveland Conference, keeping the Blue Devils tied with Strongsville for second place heading into the final night of the GCC season.

Elsewhere in the conference, Strongsville kept pace with Brunswick by defeating Euclid 12-0. Mentor defeated Cleveland Heights 4-0, while Shaker Heights rolled past Lorain 12-1 to maintain its spot atop the GCC standings.

For Brunswick, however, the evening did not start according to plan.

The Blue Devils struggled to establish any rhythm during the opening 40 minutes, and Riverside capitalized. With 5:46 remaining in the first half, a scramble inside the Brunswick penalty area eventually fell to Caudilo Jacinto, who put the ball past goalkeeper Artur Vasylkevych to send Riverside into halftime with a 1-0 advantage.

Brunswick emerged for the second half with renewed energy and immediately began applying pressure, but the equalizer remained elusive.

The Blue Devils continued knocking on the door, and their persistence finally paid off with 8:08 remaining.

Freshman Eddie Bardwell delivered a corner into the box, where junior Tyler Bradbury knocked the ball down and across the face of goal. Waiting for it was Denker, who smashed it home to draw Brunswick level at 1-1.

The goal injected new life into the Blue Devils, and less than four minutes later they struck again.

With 4:35 remaining, sophomore Charlie Avarello made his first varsity goal one to remember.

The unlikely assist came from Vasylkevych, who had been moved out of goal and into the field at approximately the 18-minute mark in an effort to provide a spark. Playing deep on the right flank, Vasylkevych found Avarello, who finished the opportunity to put Brunswick ahead 2-1 and complete the comeback.

After helping ignite the rally from the field, Vasylkevych returned to goal to help Brunswick preserve the victory.

Sophomore goalkeeper Kyle Jakub played 14 minutes in goal during Vasylkevych’s spell in the field and earned his first varsity victory, finishing without having to make a save.

Brunswick controlled much of the attacking play despite having to come from behind. The Blue Devils finished with an 11-3 advantage in total shots, although the margin was just 3-1 in shots on target.

The GCC season concludes next week with Shaker Heights in control of the conference race. Shaker enters the final night alone atop the standings at 5-1 with 15 points, while Brunswick and Strongsville are tied for second at 4-1-1 with 13 points. Cleveland Heights sits at 4-2 with 12 points, followed by Mentor with nine points at 3-3, Riverside with six at 2-4, Lorain with three at 1-5 and Euclid at 0-6.

Brunswick still has a mathematical path to a share of the GCC championship, but it is a narrow one. The Blue Devils would need to defeat Euclid and have Cleveland Heights win or draw at Shaker Heights.

The Blue Devils are off this weekend for homecoming and then return to the friendly confines of Brunswick Auto Mart Stadium next Tuesday for Senior Night against Euclid. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.

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