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Phillips’ goal with 19 seconds to play lifts Canfield
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Poland’s Steve Bissell (2) and Canfield’s Maleck Saleh vie for the ball during a Division II district soccer semifinal Wednesday at Poland High School. With 19 seconds left, Canfield’s Frank Phillips scored the game-winning goal to lift the Cardinals over the Bulldogs, 2-1.
By Ryan Buck
Poland
Before their postseason run began, Canfield soccer coach Phil Simone decided to move his best defender all the way up the field.
He wanted another goal-scorer and after watching Frank Phillips lead the Cardinals’ defense for three years, he saw a hidden asset.
“He’s such a good defender because he was our sweeper, but he can also finish,” Simone said. “Boy, can he finish.
“He’s just got a knack for finding the back of the net.”
In their biggest game of the season Wednesday night, the move ultimately paid off. Phillips’ cold-blooded strike with 19 seconds left gave Canfield a 2-1 win over Poland in a Division II district semifinal.
Canfield’s junior forward ran himself into the ground in the second half ... literally. He was treated for leg cramps on multiple occasions and, past exhaustion, watched his team’s 1-0 lead disappear with 16 minutes left. When he received one of the four second-half yellow cards bestowed upon the Cardinals and had to be substituted late in the second half, he found a moment of clarity before returning to a team already down to 10 men.
“When I was on the bench, my coaches just kept inspiring me to keep my mouth shut and that we’re not going into O.T., we’re going to score and win the game,” Phillips said.
The Cardinals’ midfield lofted the ball back into the Bulldogs’ end, looking for one final shot before the end of regulation.
Christian Hume collected a loose ball down the right sideline and split the left side of Poland’s defense with a perfect forward pass to Phillips.
If Phillips managed to stay onside, it was not by much.
“It was a tough angle from what we saw,” Poland coach Brian Garcar said. “At first he looked offside, but the referees told me that our backside defender kept him on. We really weren’t in good positioning regardless of how the play was, so they caught us off-guard in that last 20 seconds.”
Phillips swerved to his left and buried a perfectly-placed shot to the far post of Poland goalkeeper Bryan Montgomery.
“I just got a perfect ball played to me and just placed it in the corner,” Phillips said. “I knew I wasn’t missing that shot for the win.”
The Cardinals (10-5-3) earned two of three wins from their arch rivals.
“Any win against Poland is a great win for Canfield, but to do it in the district semifinal is pretty sweet,” Simone said.
Canfield controlled much of the first half and capitalized when Brett Lewis won possession to the left of Poland’s goal and found Jona Ghossain across the 18-yard box for an open shot.
The 1-0 lead with 8:43 left in the first half was what Simone was hoping for.
“In the playoffs, especially, I think getting the first goal is always a big factor in a game,” Simone said. ‘That gives you a little bit of comfort. You can control the possession a little bit while they’re trying to chase.”
Poland (12-5-1), in desperation, rushed its lineup forward. With 16 minutes left in the game, Jacob Roemer deflected Matthew Slaven’s corner kick off a Canfield defender and into the side netting.
“That goal really got our momentum going and it really gave us that second breath,” Garcar said. “We created so many more opportunities and it was a tough way to end the game.”
Canfield will meet Lakeview Saturday in the district final.