SOCCER Defense key in Mooney victory

The Cardinals limited Newton Falls to three shots in a 6-0 tournament win.
By JOHN KOVACH
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
STRUTHERS -- A strong midfield defense by Cardinal Mooney High limited Newton Falls to only three shots Wednesday while six Cardinals scored in a 6-0 win in a Division II sectional tournament soccer game.
"They dominated the midfield," said Newton Falls coach Frank Tatarka, whose offense didn't generate its first shot until the waning seconds of the first half on a cold, rainy night at Valley Sports.
"Those were the fewest number of shots we have taken this year," Tatarka said. "Actually, we have been out-shooting other teams."
Coach Alex Simon of Mooney credited the powerful midfield defense to three seniors -- Amy Edwards, Emily Stanavich and Katie Vinopal.
Meanwhile, the Cardinals used a spread offense that helped to open up the inside, and got goals from Edwards, Colleen Zajac, Kacie Kubik, Bridgit Crogan, Kelli Willis and Marisa Simon.
Mooney (13-4) will play Salem in a sectional final Saturday at noon at Valley Sports. Salem advanced with a 3-1 win over Liberty.
Mooney out-shot Newton Falls, 9-3, including 6-1 in the first half when most of the action was concentrated on the Tigers' side of the field.
Mooney's strategy
Alex Simon said the Cardinals' offensive strategy was to draw out the Newton Falls defense to clear the middle.
"We tried to move the ball wide to the wings, and then pass to the middle looking for the open shot," said Simon, who credited Marissa Simon, his daughter, and Willis for drawing away some of Tigers' defenders to free teammates to score.
Tatarka said Newton Falls couldn't neutralize Mooney's quickness.
Edwards opened the Mooney scoring at 33:04 when, in front of the net, she took Zajac's pass from the far side and punched it in for a 1-0 lead.
About 10 minutes later, Zajac let loose with a long and high shot that just made it over the goalie's head into the net at 23:00 to make it 2-0.
Then at 18:00, Kubik, situated about 20 feet in front of the goal, used her chest to stop a pass from Katie Vinopal, while at the same time turning and directing the ball into the goal to lift the advantage to 3-0.
Then at 7:00, Crogan, taking a feed from Brittany Jones, fired from about 10 feet away and the ball struck a corner post of the net and bounced in for a 4-0 lead at intermission.
Newton Falls played much better in the second half. Mooney wasn't able to score again until 12:00 when Willis dribbled the ball down the middle and connected from about 15 feet away for a 5-0 margin.
Simon finished the scoring on a free kick from about 20 feet out.
Mooney goalie Adrianne Detesco finished with six saves and her substitute, Natalie Humphreys, had one.
Newton Falls' goalies were Grace Spletzer and Rachal Brazin.
kovach@vindy.com