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Canfield boys slow Revere, but Minutemen survive
By Ryan buck
WADSWORTHH
Disappointment is still disappointment, whether it’s unexpectedly dropping a regular-season match with some overlooked upstart or valiantly falling to the No. 1 team in Ohio.
The latter befell the Canfield boys soccer team Wednesday night at Art Wright Stadium in a Division II regional semifinal.
The Cardinals battled Richfield Revere (18-0-2) before two anomalous second-half goals finally ended their season in a 2-0 loss.
With three players ruled out before the match due to suspensions and illness, the Cardinals had little room for error. It was help, however, they never received.
With 32:41 left in the game, the Canfield defense appeared to stifle one of Revere’s many scoring chances in the second half. The center referee’s whistle blew when Daniel Branch curiously fell at the feet of Canfield’s Brady Clark inside the penalty box.
Returning state player of the year Brandon Taylor buried the penalty kick to give Revere a 1-0 lead.
“There were a lot harder fouls being called all over the field and then to give a soft [penalty kick] like that in the second half of a 0-0 game, it just changed the whole complexion of the game,” said Canfield coach Phil Simone.
Despite a defensive alignment, Canfield had its chances early.
The Cardinals generated perhaps their best scoring chance with 26 minutes remaining in the first half. Frank Phillips drove down the left side of the Revere defense, cut to his right and found Ben Feuer 25 yards from the Revere goal.
Feuer’s right-footed drive sailed just over the crossbar.
Three minutes later, Jona Ghossain’s corner kick hooked dangerously into the Revere six-yard box, where Joel Gerberich, the Minutemen’s 6-foot-4 goalkeeper, snared the ball before Clark, a basketball-skilled leaper, could head the ball home.
Minutes later, Phillips — Canfield’s best attacking player — left the game with a knee injury and never returned. The Cardinals managed just five shots all game.
“Frank, going out, hurt up top,” Simone said. “He adds a dynamic there. When we’ve got possession up there, he has the ability to get a shot off.”
The Cardinals’ defense, especially goalkeeper Jeff Joseph, was up to the task during the opening half.
With 18 minutes left in the first, Canfield defender Brandon Seybert knocked Revere forward Ian King off the ball inside the Cardinals’ 18-yard box before he could muster a shot.
When Revere, which out-scored opponents 91-7 during the regular season, attacked, Joseph was there.
At the 17:20 mark, Joseph’s best save of the night came on a full-extension, diving save of a Blake Easterling shot from 15 yards. Canfield cleared three consecutive Revere corner kicks in the following moments.
“Jeff played phenomenal tonight,” Simone said. “The whole defense, as a group, played their hearts out and they have nothing to be ashamed of. They played with the No. 1 team in the state for the entire game.”
The Cardinals (11-6-3) fell to Revere, 6-1, during the regular season and knew a defensive-minded approach was the best way to slow the Minutemen’s attack.
“You win the game in the regular season, you do it handily, and then it’s always a difficult rematch,” said Revere coach Sandor Jakab, “because they’re going to change their tactics and they’re resilient. Canfield had a good game plan tonight against us, they’re well-coached and they kept it a heck of a lot tighter.”
When Branch and Jordan Marich, slowed by injuries of their own, entered the game in the second half, their pace and skill kept Canfield’s defense off-balance.
On a counterattack following a Canfield free kick with three minutes left in the game, Revere forward Brian Gillette placed a shot past Joseph for an insurance goal.
Joseph made 15 saves for Canfield.
Revere moves on to the regional final to play Hunting Valley University School.