MAC showdown ends in 1-1 deadlock
Poland and Howland matched second-half goals.
By JOHN BASSETTI
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
POLAND — It must have been the moon over McElroy and the moon over Miller that kept the goals away in Tuesday’s boys soccer game between Poland and Howland.
On a clear night with a quarter moon way above the south soccer goal at Poland High School’s football field, no balls found the net.
But it was a different story at the other end.
When Howland goalie Daniel Miller and Poland keeper Andrew McElroy were protecting the north goal, each team scored once in the Metro Athletic Conference encounter.
Witt is Poland scorer
Howland freshman Scott Heinemann scored at 27:52 of the first half and Poland senior Brian Witt tied the score, 1-1, with 9:43 remaining.
Witt, a right striker, put his right-footed kick to Miller’s right side after receiving a pass from sophomore center-forward Taylor Malaniak.
“It was played to Taylor who flicked it over the top and I just got a touch on it and I was right there,” Witt said. “It was just me and the goalie and I put it in.”
Witt conceded that the Bulldogs (6-1-2, 3-0-2 MAC) didn’t play very well in the first half.
“We got the one goal, but couldn’t get enough to win the game. The first half was probably one of our worst halves of the year. We picked it up a lot late in the second half. I think if we had a little more time we would have been able to put a second one in.”
Poland coach Brad Sackella agreed with his player’s assessment.
“We’ve had a lot of real tight games and the guys have been a little beat up coming into them. The intensity was kind of low in the first half, but we increased the pressure on their defense in the second half.”
Second half
Sackella said Poland sped up its offensive drive in the final 40 minutes.
“In the first half, we were trying to play a lot of placement possession ball. In the second half, we just let it wind up and run.”
The tally for Witt was his second this season and sixth of his varsity career.
Heinemann’s goal was a career first.
“Isaac played a great ball from the side and I just beat two defenders from a split and headed it past the goalie,” Heinemann said of a 25-yard pass from outsider midfielder Isaac Weisman.
The freshman said McElroy made contact with him.
“He stuck his arm out and hit my chest, but I had too much momentum,” Heinemann said of the play that sent the ball past Poland’s goalie.
“After the contact, we separated and were 3 or 4 feet apart. That’s when I hit it to the goalie’s right side and it kind of bounced in. He didn’t have a reaction.”
Howland coach George Stevens said that Scott, a center-midfielder, was playing a “holding” midfielder position and went forward on the attack. He said Heinemann got to the ball before the keeper did.
Stevens explained Howland’s overall play.
“We did a good job moving the ball. They countered us a couple times and scored on one of those counterattacks.”
Although there were no defensive changes on Howland’s part in the second half, the Tigers (4-0-6, 3-0-3 MAC) gave up too much ground.
“We didn’t control the ball quite as well with passing in the second half as we did in the first half,” Stevens said. “So we gave them more opportunities to come back. We weren’t quite as patient in the second half as we were in the first half.”
Poland took nine shots on goal and Howland three. Miller had eight saves, while McElroy had two saves.
The Bulldogs had their share of supporting players as Zubin Teckchandani was effective advancing balls on several occasions in the first half, while junior Ryan Rovnak pounded a couple shots Miller’s way late in the game.
Poland’s junior varsity won, 3-2, when David Joseph scored from about 40 yards away with 15 seconds remaining.
bassetti@vindy.com