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Poland earns Lakeview rematch
Rubesa scores two goals for the Bulldogs
By Steve Wilaj
POLAND
The Poland High girls soccer team landed the first blow. Lakeview responded with a fury.
Round three is set for Thursday in Cortland, thanks to Poland’s 4-0 victory over Struthers on Monday in the Division II tournament.
Poland and Lakeview split their first two meetings.
“It’s a big rivalry and it’s gonna be a tough game on both sides,” Poland coach John Cavalier said. “I think our mindset is good.
“Our girls really wanted to play them again. Now we get our chance.”
In the first meeting, Poland defeated Lakeview, 4-2, at Dave Pavlansky Field.
Protecting its home turf, Lakeview responded with an 8-1 drubbing of Poland in the rematch.
Even with the lopsided affair the second time out, Poland’s Libby Rubesa knows there’s only one way for her team to approach the rubber match.
“We’re really confident,” Rubesa said. “Our team is playing well together and meshing well. I think we have a good chance and I’m excited to play them again.”
The Bulldogs provided plenty of excitement early on against Struthers (5-9-3), as they scored three goals within the first 15 minutes of the first period.
Shannon Miller put Poland (11-6) on the board with a goal in the 11th minute.
Rubesa then followed with two goals in just more than a minute. The senior’s first goal came at the 26:17 mark, while her second score came with 25:05 remaining.
“It’s really nice [to play with a lead] because you get that relief from not having to worry about being in a close game,” Rubesa said. “It took the pressure off of our shoulders a little bit.
“I thought we worked our passes really well and we made a few runs up the sideline. Once we got our passes connected, we just did a good job of getting them in.”
Macy Diaz recorded the Bulldogs fourth goal in the 29th minute.
Goalkeeper Miranda Richardson recorded the shutout. For the Wildcats, Rachael Leonard made 14 saves.
“We got the ball outside, and once we did that we were able to cross it to the center and we had people that were crashing the net,” Cavalier said. “We need to finish better on our end, though.
“We missed a lot of open shots tonight. We need to learn to finish a little better and put pressure on their defense more.”
Rubesa said in order to beat Lakeview again, Poland surely has to finish better. And once again speaking confidently, she believes the Bulldogs can do that.
“I think we just need to play our hardest, make our runs and connect well,” Rubesa said. “We do need to finish a little more, but I think we’ll be okay.”