BRUNSWICK — From the days of Route 1 soccer early in program lore, the Berkshire girls side has yearned for the night when it could take a much different Route 1, as in its most preferred destination: the most prominent stages available. Through the bumpy days on the grass on the old pitch down the street in Burton, to the breakthroughs in the 2010s, to the firsts at the district level in recent memory to getting turf all its own and a litany of results along the way, it all set the stage for Oct. 29 and a Division V regional semifinal against Warren JFK at Brunswick. It was nervy down the stretch. But breathe easy Burton, because the Badgers have reached their best Route 1 to date. Kelly McCandless’ strike past the hour mark and a gutsy effort down the stretch to limit prolific Warren JFK striker Andrea Ryan, with Bri Kenny serving as a marker, sent Berkshire to a 2-1 win. FT: Berkshire 2, Warren JFK 1Badgers are elite 8 bound for the 1st time in girls soccer in school history pic.twitter.com/DiLuVNNyMs — Chris Lillstrung (@CLillstrungNH) October 29, 2024 The Badgers (12-5-4) are headed to their first elite eight in girls soccer in school history with this pivotal result, a D-V regional final at noon Nov. 2 against Doylestown Chippewa at Boardman. Somewhere, a whole lot of Badgers who have donned the purple kit in days gone by are smiling. “Oh, it’s super exciting,” Berkshire coach Ian Patterson said. “We haven’t been here a whole bunch. We’ve had a couple cracks at it. We weren’t able to get the job done the last couple tries. So to be able to advance to our first elite eight is really exciting for this group. And especially with such a young group coming back, too.” Berkshire’s Kelly McCandless, left, and Bri Kenny look to corral Warren JFK’s Andrea Ryan on Oct. 29 during a Division V regional semifinal at Brunswick. (Tim Phillis – for The News-Herald) The full-time euphoria made it all worth it, of course. But Berkshire had to dig deep into its cool temperament reserve to notch this result. Locked in a 1-1 stalemate past the hour mark, the match swung dramatically in a matter of 24 seconds. First, Ryan got untracked for pacey turn-the-corner run into the box and got a near-post look on target. But Badgers goalkeeper Liv Masink (eight saves) did well to turn it away. Still in that 66th minute, Emma Rucinski served toward McCandless at midfield. The standout junior’s first touch into space made all the difference, and it was elementary from there for such a prolific finisher, a slick 1v1 tapper approaching the edge of the six for her 36th goal of the fall and, eventually, the result. Berkshire 2-1Kelly McCandless 66th min1st touch made all the difference pic.twitter.com/TW3jNmjEiw — Chris Lillstrung (@CLillstrungNH) October 29, 2024 “I saw Emma with the ball, and I saw a lot of green in front of me,” McCandless said with a laugh of her 61st career goal. “She passed me the ball, and I just took a good touch into space and beat her with speed. “When we went down, we just knew that we didn’t want to end our season here. And this is the farthest we’ve gotten in the program. So we were just really relying on our willpower.” Marissa Karl gave the Badgers a 1-0 lead out of the opening 40. Gathering a touch on the left side of the box playing off a high bounce and a deflection, the freshman put a strike on target that skimmed a JFK defender’s head but was seemingly bound to stay on frame just the same into the back of the net. It was Karl’s fifth goal of 2024. Berkshire 1-0Marissa Karl 18th min pic.twitter.com/JWgzKtRps1 — Chris Lillstrung (@CLillstrungNH) October 29, 2024 Something happened after the break, though: The width and diagonal carry and runs that had served the Badgers so well in the opening 40 evaporated. Count Patterson among those who were puzzled by it. “That’s what we were just talking about,” Patterson said. “We just didn’t play our top-notch soccer tonight, especially in the second 40. We were jittery, it seemed like. I don’t know if the moment got to us a little bit too much in the second half or we got a little complacent at 1-0. We lost our shape a little bit and we struggled at times in the second half for sure. But luckily, Kelly dug us out.” Ryan, who came into the match with 40 goals on the season, was marked admirably by Kenny, particularly down the stretch. But as dynamic strikers tend to do, they have a knack for making their limited touches amid marking count. Berkshire sophomore Bri Kenny discusses her side's 2-1 D5 regional semi win over Warren JFK at BerkshireDid a laudable job as a marker for JFK standout attacker Andrea Ryan, especially down the stretch as the Badgers grinded out the result pic.twitter.com/zH4G51UeJn — Chris Lillstrung (@CLillstrungNH) October 30, 2024 That came in the 46th, when the sophomore got a touch in traffic to her outstanding left foot and slotted wide to level the match, 1-1. Then the dynamic striker on the opposite touchline had her say for the result. McCandless was pleased to get that contribution after an adverse sequence in the 39th. She drew contact for a penalty kick, but her PK was saved, and the rebound went begging wide. It merely became a precursor for perseverence. “We’ve always talked about just forgetting,” McCandless said. “You can dwell on it for a second. You just forget it and move on.” For the first time, Berkshire can now move on to the weekend, a Route 1 for which it’s long desired. Great Geauga County fare indeed. “This is just really nice,” McCandless said. “We’ve wanted this for a while, to be regional champs and move on to state and win state. We saw this as our best opportunity.” THE SCORE Berkshire 2, Warren JFK 1 PHOTOS: Berkshire vs. Warren JFK girls soccer, Oct. 29, 2024