Howland grabs MAC soccer title

By DOUG CHAPIN

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

POLAND — Most high school soccer coaches are pleased just to get solid, mistake-free defense from their defenders. Howland High girls coach Pat Hovance gets a little bit more.

Senior defenders Deja Amato and Carmen Alberini each recorded assists on long passes as the Tigers clinched another Metro Athletic Conference title with a 2-0 victory Monday night over Poland.

“We pride ourselves on the fact that our backs attack,” Hovance said. “That’s a big part of how we keep the pressure on these defenses, we get the ball back up to our finishers. Everyone on this team is an attacker, everyone is a defender.”

Amato’s long through ball was chased down by senior winger Anna Wall for a goal with 4:25 remaining in the first half. Wall beat a Poland defender and goal keeper Pam Shure to the ball and was able to roll it into the net.

Alberini sent in a long ball which was headed into the net by junior Abby Nicholas with 30:58 remaining in the game.

Center of the defense

Amato, who is being recruited by the University of Cincinnati, teams with senior Alexa Williams in the center of Howland’s formidable defense. The 6-foot-2 Williams plays a physical, aggressive style of defense and Amato is there to clean up any problems. Always under control with the ball at her feet, Amato rarely makes a poor touch or decision.

"All of our backs are solid, we have all seniors across the back,” Hovance said. “I don’t even want to think about having to replace them. It’s just fun to watch them play.”

Howland (9-0-4, 8-0 MAC) outshot the Bulldogs 15-5. Shure made four saves for Poland and Howland’s Casey Haering had two.

Poland (7-3-2, 5-2-1 MAC) carried a five-match winning streak into Monday night.

“You’ve got to give them a lot of credit,” Bulldog coach Jim Sutman said. “Offensively we just couldn’t get anything going, any kind of a rhythm. This is the only team we seem to have that problem against.

“Part of it is we haven’t beaten them in a while and even before the match everyone is thinking this is going to be a giant challenge.

Size makes difference

“What Howland does well, which we have a tough time with, is they have big bodies, bigger than ours. They play the ball out of the air very well, trapping it down to their feet, and our smaller girls can’t get to the ball. Until we play more aggressive and get in front of them and just want it more than them, this is what’s going to happen. We’ll be close but we’re just not going to pull it out.”

Poland had several scoring opportunities, including two point-blank saves by Haering, one on Alicia Taylor midway through the first half and the other on Jordon Palumbo about halfway through the second half. Taylor and Palumbo also were stopped by Amato on separate breakaway opportunities in the second half.

Shure also made a couple of point-blank saves, stopping Wall with 11:41 left in the first half and saving Stephanie Keul’s close shot in the first minute of the second half. Less than a minute after that save, Keul had another chance but fired high.

Both coaches said they are pleased, for the most part, with the way their teams are playing.

“At this point of the season we’re playing aggressive, we’re doing a lot of good things,” Hovance said. “We need to work on our decisions on shot taking and finishing. With their dedication and their commitment, it’s just been a fun team to coach.”

Poland’s Sutman said, “I definitely think we need to improve. We need to be more consistent on offense and I wasn’t too happy with our offside trap tonight. We still have a lot we need to practice. We have set a good foundation, but I think our best soccer is still ahead of us.”