Pasternak’s goal pushes Lakeview past Canfield

By MARCUS BARKLEY

sports@vindy.com

CORTLAND

There are few things more satisfying for a soccer player than to hear the metallic ping when a shot is perfectly placed in the top corner of a goal.

For Lakeview sophomore Matt Pasternak, that sound signified victory, as his laser strike past Canfield goalkeeper Andrik Massaro led his team to victory, as the Bulldogs topped the visiting Cardinals, 3-1, in a Division II district semifinal Wednesday night.

“It just feels amazing,” Pasternak said. “Just knowing it went in the back of the net and the crowd goes crazy, it’s the best feeling in the whole world.”

The goal came after the Bulldogs had squandered two breakaway opportunities in the second half, a fact quickly forgiven by Bulldogs coach Nate Mailach after his squad took a decisive 2-1 lead.

“We had much easier shots that we couldn’t finish and then (Pasternak) has one squirt out to him and he drills it in the top corner from 25 yards out,” Mailach said. “He’s a big-game player and he’s only a sophomore, so he’s one of the best around and that shot was one of the best shots I’ve ever seen.”

The two teams seemed evenly matched throughout the first half, as they traded both momentum and goals. The Bulldogs struck first, as Eric Rohrabaugh connected with Colton Ainsley for the opening goal. The Cardinals regained rhythm and found the equalizer when Joe Durkin crafted a perfect pass to Mike Piersante for the tying goal.

Pasternak’s strike came with less than 10 minutes to play, making time the biggest enemy for the Cardinals. A second yellow card for dissent on Frank Phillips with less than five minutes to play also forced the Cardinals to play a man down.

The best chance for Canfield came in the closing minutes, as Ronnie Mangie, who set the tempo for his offense all night, launched a chance at Lakeview goalkeeper Clay Becker that forced Becker into his own net. But Becker held on and kept his hands just outside the goal line.

“When I saw the kid come up and hit it, I saw he got a pretty good shot and I thought it was going to go over me,” Becker said. “I just jumped up and got my hands as high as I could and tried to come down with it. I knew I was inside the goal, so I had to keep my hands out of it. I saw the ball was still over the line and there was just relief flowing over me.”

Ainsley then sealed the deal for Lakeview with a goal in the closing seconds.

“That was a hard fought game for both teams,” Mailach said. “You hate to see somebody lose because those Canfield kids came in and played their butts off and they deserve a different fate than what they got. But we kept going and kept trying to wear them down and tried to hit Colton long as many times as we could because he can wear down their whole defense by himself. I think the major difference tonight is that we have Matt Pasternak and Canfield doesn’t.”