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Fitch on the defensive
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Fitch’s Kyle Kosco (18) battles with Canfield’s Mike Piersante (11) for control of the ball at midfield. Fitch’s Alex Smith (17) also is pictured.
Sheely, Falcons stop Canfield on road
By Ryan Buck
CANFIELD
One of the most ubiquitous clich s in sports, “Defense wins championships,” truly revealed itself Tuesday night at Cardinal Stadium.
The Austintown Fitch boys soccer team, while not clinching a championship, gained a big edge in the All-American Conference American Division title race with a 2-1 road victory over Canfield.
The Falcons (9-0) jumped out to a one-goal lead midway through the first half, added another in the second, and withstood a ferocious onslaught from Canfield (5-4) to steal an important win in their season.
“It was huge in this conference,” Fitch assistant coach Brian Stiles said. “Canfield’s a traditional power in this conference and any time you come in here and get a win it’s a good thing.”
The Cardinals had troubles matching the Falcons’ speed at the forward position throughout the match and it cost them.
“Defensively, our stabbing and not being able to contain players hurt us,” Canfield coach Phil Simone said. “Not being able to contain players — they just walked through us a couple times and they got a goal that way. They’ve got a lot of pace. They come with a lot of intensity and they’re a mature team.”
Senior Keanu Shelton’s goal 25 minutes into the contest was a big boost for a team trying to win an important game on the road.
“I saw a chance and took advantage of it,” Shelton said. “I had the ball played to me down the line toward the corner flag. I didn’t have an open pass, so I cut back and saw an open shot. We needed to go up early to keep the motivation up.”
On the slippery artificial surface at Cardinal Stadium, two of the more talented teams in the area played a fast, dynamic passing game throughout the match.
With the lead, Fitch retreated into a defensive setup with the focus on limiting the Cardinals’ rush upfield. Their strong, veteran back line disrupted Canfield’s passes from its midfield.
“We went into a 4-5-1 formation and the object was to get the center midfielder forward and it didn’t work out that way,” Stiles said. “We’re confident in our defense. We’re OK with shots coming at us from 35, 40 yards out.”
Desperate to stay in striking distance, Canfield fired away at Fitch junior goalie Nick Sheely, who caught or punched away many solid attempts.
“He’s one of the best in the area, one of the best I’ve ever coached,” Stiles said.
The third-year starter made seven second-half saves in the face of enormous pressure.
“Second half, we really picked it up and had them on their heels for some of the half,” Simone said. He saved some good shots when we had some good opportunities.”
The Falcons capitalized on Canfield’s aggression on their second goal. Junior Ben Conley quickly transitioned a clearance from the Fitch penalty box and weaved down the left sideline into shooting distance. Conley fought off a Canfield defender 15 yards out and saw Shelton cutting to the net.
“He had a good ball played to him and he made a good run down the line,” Shelton said. “He took it to the goal and challenged the goalkeeper, passed it across and I was lucky enough to be there and finish it.”
With less than 6 minutes remaining, Canfield forward Brady Clark drove home a loose ball off a corner kick from Ronnie Mangie to cut the deficit to 2-1.
The Cardinals attacked the last five minutes, but the wall of Fitch defenders stymied any serious threats.