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Canfield soccer rolls past Lakeview
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Canfield senior Elena Billy fights to maintain control of the ball against Lakeview defender Allison Pavlik during the Division II district soccer final Thursday on Bob Dove Field at Cardinals Stadium in Canfield. The Cardinals dominated the Bulldogs, 6-1, behind the their defense and Paige Bidonatto, who scored three goals.
After giving up early goal, Cardinals soar over Bulldogs
By Greg Gulas
CANFIELD
Paige Bidonatto’s hat trick and a stingy Canfield defense helped the Cardinals to a 6-1 victory over Lakeview High School and the Division II district championship Monday at Cardinals Stadium.
It was the third straight district crown for Canfield and the fourth in the past five years for the Phil Simone-led Cardinals, who have outscored the opposition 22-2 in tournament play.
The Bulldogs (14-4-1) scored first when Abby Pavlik snuck her kick past Canfield goalie Raquel Abel at 25:49 of the opening half for a 1-0 Lakeview lead.
It was the first time this tournament the Cardinals have trailed. The goal was one of just three shots for the Bulldogs.
“Giving up that goal definitely wasn’t the way we wanted to start the game. We were slow on our feet, a bit nervous and really weren’t playing hard,” Bidonatto said. “We weren’t playing defensively, even when on offense, but we were able to tie the game a short while later, then scored a second goal just as quickly and that was the turning point of the game. It was a real momentum shift and I think it sent the message that tonight we really wanted this game.”
Bidonatto, one of three Cardinals captains, scored her first goal at 21:23 with an assist from Erin McGraw to tie the game. Sophia Mancini added an unassisted goal 29 seconds later to give Canfield the lead for good.
“I was a bit upset when they scored first because we talked about pressuring the ball, yet stood around at the outset and watched the action,” Simone said. “Alli Pavlik is a threat from anywhere on the field so we wanted to take her out of the equation. She cannot score when she doesn’t have the ball.”
Elena Billy’s goal at 10:25 gave the Cardinals a 3-1 halftime lead.
Bidonatto scored two goals in a span of barely two minutes — the first an unassisted goal at the 35:54 mark and the second at 33:50 on an assist from Bailey Fischer.
Bidonatto then assisted Haylee Klacik on the game’s final score at 20:16 as Canfield outshot the Bulldogs 29-3.
“It took us a while to get going as a back line this season, starting really slow but once we got in a groove, got a system down then everything just started to click for us,” defender Emma Seybert said. “Communication has been the real key.”
The Cardinals (14-2-3) have outscored their opponents 78-15 this season.
“Paige is the Division II player of the year for a reason. She puts everything into a game and when she struggled with back pain early in the season, we struggled as a team,” Simone added. “The key for us has been offensively where we move and pass well when we have the ball.”
Lakeview coach Shawn Varley, who has seven freshmen and three sophomores on his 19-player roster, said his team’s playoff run was valuable in a variety of ways.
“When we were passing and not chasing the ball early in the game we were effective,” he said. “This playoff run gives us hope for next year because everyone gained a lot of postseason experience.”
The Cardinals will play Revere at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Ravenna High School.