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Bulldogs rally to tie Cards
By Ryan Buck
CANFIELD
There was no conference title at stake (the All-American Conference Red Division already belongs to Canfield) or anything particularly valuable at stake (if Poland takes care of business, they will likely see the Cardinals in two weeks in a Division II district semifinal clash).
No matter. It was still Canfield versus Poland.
The Bulldogs fought back from a two-goal second-half deficit and held on for a 2-2 tie thanks to Bryan Montgomery’s feats in goal.
Montgomery, a junior and two-year starter for the Bulldogs, denied Cardinals midfielder Brett Lewis with a diving save before stuffing Frank Phillips’ run to goal in the waning moments of the match.
“He’s kind of a wall for us back there and he’s becoming a leader,” third-year Poland coach Brian Garcar said. “He’s gotten a feel for the position a little bit more.
“We’re asking him to do a lot more,” Garcar said. “We basically replaced our entire back line defensively so we needed him to step up and he basically showed himself. He made some huge saves at the end of the game.”
The Cardinals earned the momentum in the early stages as they kept possession and pushed the pace on their home field.
At the 20:31 mark of the first half, Cardinals midfielder Brent Feuer led Phillips for an open shot, which Phillips calmly and accurately placed inside the far post to the right of Montgomery.
With 6:21 left in the half, Christian Hume collected the ball at midfield, quickly turned and led Feuer with a perfectly-placed pass that split two Poland defenders. Feuer snuck behind the defense and touched the ball past a charging Montgomery for an easy goal and 2-0 lead.
“You can’t let it get to you,” Montgomery said. “It’s not like it’s the whole game. Any goal, you’ve got to keep going. Keep your head up and just dig harder.”
The Bulldogs answered the bell in the second half. Ten minutes in, an unmarked David Watson headed home a Marcus Trevis cross to bring Poland to within two.
Less than three minutes later, Jake Buccieri charged the Canfield net unimpeded on a corner kick. His own header — off another clinical cross from Trevis — found the net inside the back post.
Canfield coach Phil Simone thought his team grew complacent in the second half.
“I think they thought it was done,” said Simone, whose team is the reigning district champion. “I think when it was 2-0, they got comfortable and Poland didn’t quit.
“They threw numbers forward and got that first one — we didn’t mark it well — and they get a goal. They get the momentum and again we don’t mark the backside and another goal.”
In the final 10 minutes, it was the Cardinals who picked up the intensity and Montgomery who got in the way.
With 8:21 remaining, Montgomery dove reaching full-extension and deflected away Lewis’ golden opportunity off a perfect pass from Feuer. Lewis drilled the crossbar 30 seconds later.
Again, Phillips surged forward, his relentless runs the focal point of Canfield’s attack and the Bulldogs’ defensive plan.
With the ball played ahead of him and in front of Montgomery, he had a step on defenders Evan Rumble and Kevin Cicuto. Montgomery darted out of his goal to meet him, diving in front of Phillips’ shot before it could take flight.
“Those through balls, you either have to stay back and hope he comes right for you or come straight out and go for the ball and hope you get a hold of it,” Montgomery said. “When you run out, right before he starts winding up, you have to dive and have your arms extended and take up as much room as you can.”
Canfield is the district’s number-two seed while the Bulldogs are its fifth. Poland will need two wins to potentially meet Canfield again on Oct. 18.