43
Canfield’s Mangie too much for Poland
Photo
Canfield’s Kasey Montezari, right, and Poland’s Scott Marucci battle for control of the ball during an All-American Conference American Division soccer match Thursday night in Poland. The Cardinals controlled the Bulldogs, 6-1.
Canfield’s Mangie too much for Poland
By Ryan W. BUCK
POLAND
Should the Canfield High boys soccer team advance deep into the postseason tournament, the Cardinals can point to Thursday night’s performance as the moment it started to come together.
The Cardinals (5-3-0) used a dominant first half to dispatch rival Poland 6-1 on Thursday night at Dave Pavlansky Field.
Junior Ronnie Mangie posted a hat trick and classmate Brady Clark netted two goals as the Cardinals took a 5-0 lead into halftime.
“The boys came ready to play tonight,” 12-year Canfield coach Phil Simone said. “I guess they [shots] finally fell because several games that we’ve been in or been close or have lost, we’ve been all over the goal mouth or all over the goal and tonight they fell in the first half.”
Both squads had chances early, but it was the Cardinals that struck first and never looked back.
About seven minutes in, Mangie, a midfielder, weaved through the Poland defense near goal. With some pressure from a Poland defender, Mangie fell to the turf, earning a penalty kick.
“I sensed him trying to pull me down and went for it,” Mangie said, describing the foul. He then stepped to the penalty stripe with confidence.
“I take a couple deep breaths and I just stare at the ball. I never look at the keeper. I think about where I’m going to kick it and that’s where I kick it.”
Mangie’s strike lifted the top section of the net, inside the crossbar, without chance for a save from Poland goalkeeper Troy Bole.
“I looked up, which I normally don’t do and he guessed the correct side. I was going to kick it to the left, but just hit it hard down the middle,” Mangie said.
He added his second goal at the 21:36 mark of the first half for a 2-0 Canfield lead.
Clark entered the game off the bench early in the half. Though normally in the starting lineup, Clark certainly looked the part of the “super-sub.” About 20 minutes in, he dribbled through the Bulldogs back-line and slid a right-footer past Bole.
“He’s usually right around the goal all the time,” Simone said of Clark. “He’s got that natural instinct in finding the goal.”
Mangie’s blast from the top of the 18-yard box less than a minute later had the lead at 4-0. A hat trick against his team’s archrival was special.
“There were a couple people who made me promise I was going to get one tonight. That was my goal for the game,” Mangie said. “We’ve been waiting all week for this.”
With 13:26 left in the half, Clark again struck. A six-yard header attempt caromed off the crossbar, was cleared, but sent right back in. Clark didn’t miss this time, sending it right in the back of the net for the 5-0 lead.
Matt Holsinger tallied Poland’s goal at the 6:01 mark of the second half. Ryan Yankush’s 30-yard penalty kick finished the scoring.
In the midst of a tough stretch in the All-American Conference, Simone hopes the Cardinals can build on this performance.
“We’ve got a rough week coming up, but they showed that they can get it together, they showed that they can attack, show that we can put the ball in the back of the net,” Simone said. “I think that confidence-builder is huge for this group.”