DIVISION I SECTIONAL SOCCER Puskas' goal gives Fitch 2-1 win

The Falcons used the late first-half score to hurdle Kent Roosevelt and earn a berth in the district.
By BILL SULLIVAN
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
AUSTINTOWN -- Coaches always teach soccer players to charge the net when teammates take long shots because the ball sometimes will take unpredictable bounces.
Just before the half, senior Shea Stewart of Austintown Fitch High took a long shot from the right wing, which bounced off the crossbar and right into the lap of Ryan Puskas.
Puskas blasted the ball in for a 10-foot goal that snapped a 1-1 tie and held up for a 2-1 Fitch win over Kent Roosevelt in a Division I boys sectional tournament final.
"I thought I'd get in front of the guy and just hit it in," said Puskas, a senior midfielder.
Camens scores 20th
Fitch (11-5-1) took a 1-0 lead in the 25th minute when senior midfielder Sam Camens scored his 20th goal of the season.
"I just broke through the defense," explained Camens, who also has 10 assists. "I played a ball out to Anthony Colaluca and he played a great ball back in the middle and split the defense. I was just able to get my foot in front of the goalie."
Camens, who has been offered a soccer scholarship to Lafayette College and who plans to major in pre-medicine, scored in the goal mouth for the second-seeded Falcons.
The lead didn't hold up, however.
Roosevelt (4-9-5) knotted the game three minutes later when David Paino found the range from 40 yards out on a free kick, which sailed in past the head of Fitch goalie Pat Passewitz.
Fitch defense jells
The Roughriders had difficulty penetrating the Fitch defense with the ball and only got off six shots, two after halftime.
"Our defense has been doing a great job just about the whole year," said Fitch coach Rigo Castillo.
"We're struggling obviously a little bit at the top; we can't find the net. That's been our problem."
It wasn't a problem just 30 seconds before intermission when Puskas turned a rebound into a game-winner.
Fullbacks Rodney Vanmeter and John Drabison were two notable members of the stubborn Fitch defense.
The Falcons used an effective passing game to control the scoreless second half. They controlled the midfield in the final 40 minutes, especially due to the play of Alex Castillo, Stewart and Gus Martinez.
Cohesive unit
Fitch, which shot 13 times, seemed to be a cohesive unit much of the game, seldom allowing the Roughriders to get a good look at the goal.
The exception came with 15 minutes to go when a Roosevelt player tried a shot from just inside the box. Passewitz left his feet to reject the try.
Fitch failed to capitalize on its first major threat when Evan Mikulka's shot caromed off the crossbar early in the game.
Fitch will play host to Howland in a district tournament game Monday. The Falcons lost to Howland 1-0 in their season opener.