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Canfield stifles Niles, 4-0
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Canfield's Michelle Gettemy (2) and Niles' Halie Calhoun (22) at Canfield High School during Wednesday's girl's soccer game.
GIRLS SOCCER
The Cardinals limited their AAC Red Tier rivals to just two shots.
By DOUG CHAPIN
Vindicator Correspondent
CANFIELD — Defense was the name of the game Wednesday night for Canfield High’s girls soccer team — as it has been for most of the season.
The Cardinals limited Niles McKinley to two shots, both coming about midway through the first half, on the way to a 4-0 All-American Conference Red Tier victory.
The keys to the Canfield defense are center backs Dayna Love, a senior captain, and Katie Carlisle, a junior. The pair showed great poise and skill thwarting the few attacks Niles was able to put together.
“Typically they are very comfortable with each other,” Canfield coach Phil Simone said about his center back tandem. “They’ve played club [soccer] all year together so they click pretty well. It’s like the left and right half of the brain. They also communicate well from the back, they sort of direct most of the game from the back.
“Defense has been the best part of our game this year,” Simone continued. “We have the ability to score and finish. I think we’re starting to get to that point where we are finding ourselves up top and the girls are starting to get a little more confident.”
Though Canfield (5-0-4, 1-0-2 Red Division) dominated play from the start, the Cardinals had trouble converting possessions into shots. The first shot attempt by either team came more than 12 minutes into the match.
Senior forward Audrey Smith finally put the ball in the net, scoring from the top of the penalty box with 22:42 left in the first half. A through ball from freshman Paige Baker set up Smith who maneuvered around one defender before unleashing her shot.
Sometimes teams start to rush things when they have the better of the play but fail to create scoring opportunities. Such was not the case with the Cardinals.
“After the first part of the game the girls seemed to compose themselves, not panic under pressure, draw the ball back and try to find space and be a little bit more patient,” Simone said.”
Niles (4-4, 0-3 Red Division) is fighting the injury bug in recent weeks. The Red Dragons were without starters Nicolette Merlo, a junior captain, and senior Amber Cowger, and had several players on the field nursing injuries.
“The girls played beautifully,” Niles coach Jennifer Burin said. “With a new coach and a new system, we’ve been putting it together. The girls have played all year with a lot of heart and I think tonight really showed it.
“I know it’s 4-0 and the score probably doesn’t show, but the girls played really well. Defensively we were very aggressive and played with a lot of heart. Unfortunately, we’ve got about 13 injuries. Even some of the girls coming off the bench are injured.”
Goal keeper Sara Scarnecchia recorded five saves for Niles.
Canfield’s second goal came less than six minutes after the first as junior midfielder Gia Nigro scored with 17 minutes left in the half. She recovered a loose ball after it came off a defender and scored from about 12 yards out.
The Cardinals’ second-half goals came from Michelle Gettemy at 33:28 on a pass from Baker, and from Alys Cook at 17:24 on a pass from Katie Siskowic.
Simone said he thinks his team is about where he thought it would be midway through the season.
“We’re right about there. We’re starting to click up top a little more which is where we were struggling at the beginning of the season,” he said. “A couple more wins rather than ties would have been nice but we’re right about there.”
Canfield finished with a 26-2 advantage in shots and a 4-0 edge in corner kicks.