GIRLS SECTIONAL SOCCER Sorice's free kick in OT lifts Canfield past Fitch

Grazia Sorice provided the Cardinals with a 1-0 win in a Division I sectional final.
By CHUCK HOUSTEAU
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
CANFIELD -- Canfield High senior Grazia Sorice knew exactly what had to be done. After all, she has been in similar situations like this before.
Sorice drilled a perfect 22-yard free kick just over the outstretched hands of Austintown Fitch goalkeeper Alison Chasko and into the back of the net with 3 minutes, 20 seconds remaining in the first of two 10-minute overtime sessions.
The shot gave the third-seeded Cardinals a 1-0 victory over Fitch in a Division I sectional final Saturday at Canfield High.
"I was going for it all the way," Sorice said of the shot. "The wall was set up too far to the left and I knew if I could hit [the ball] just right, I could get it up high enough to get it over the goalie's head."
Experience factor
Sorice said experience by her and eight other Canfield (12-3-2) seniors helped to deliver the hard-fought victory over a Fitch team that started six freshmen.
"Fitch has a lot of freshmen and we have a lot of seniors and I just think that we're used to the longer [post]season," Sorice said. "I think we knew how to hold on to the end of the game."
The Cardinals withstood a furious effort by the Falcons in the second half and in the two overtime periods.
That didn't surprise first-year Canfield coach Jon Ulicney. He knew that the Cardinals would get a stiff test from the Falcons.
"Fitch was one of the best teams in this division," Ulicney said. "They had beaten all the top dogs this year and they played us to the last minute.
"We came into the season believing we could win a championship with our seniors."
Surprisingly, the Falcons (13-2-3) came into the tournament un-seeded despite a fantastic regular season.
The young and talented Fitch team pressed the action all night, and had several scoring chances early in the game.
"We missed our opportunities, especially in the first half," Fitch coach Carlo Traficante said. "I think if we go up 2-0 early, they wouldn't have been able to come back."
The Falcons nearly won the game in the regular session if not for a brilliant save by Canfield goalkeeper Noelle Zalac at the 30-minute mark of the second half.
The senior nearly let a breakaway shot attempt by Fitch's Brittney Getz slip under her hands as she came out of goal to make the save. Getz recovered to take an empty net shot, but Zalac dove backwards to stop the shot.
"I almost screwed it up at first," Zalac said. "Fortunately I was able to recover it in time and jump on it."
Zalac saved 18 shots, while her counterpart for the Falcons, Chasko, saved 13.