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Three boys soccer teams in regionals tonight
Prior to the start of the season, Poland High School’s boys soccer team made a list of goals.
It’s a practice not uncommon for any team to do, but only a few teams can achieve those goals.
The biggest one for the Bulldogs was to win the Division II district title they so desperately coveted. Thanks to a 3-1 win over top-seed Cardinal Mooney last Saturday, Poland was able to check that off its list.
But they also had secondary goals, and chief among them was performing well once they won the district and got to regionals.
The Bulldogs were excited following Saturday’s district title win, but coach Brian Garcar was even more excited to see his players not yet satisfied with their accomplishment when the team met the following day.
“We’re really just trying to take every moment and make the most of it right now,” Garcar said. “These guys are ready to go and made sure they prepared for Wednesday to have the best performance they can have.”
Tonight, Poland (13-3-4) will be making its first regional appearance since 2005. Its opponent is Alliance Marlington (11-7-1), which also knocked off its district’s top seed, Wooster Triway, to earn a Division II regional semifinal berth.
The game will be played at 7 p.m. at Art Wright Stadium in Wadsworth.
Two other area teams also will be in action tonight.
South Range (15-1-2) is set to face Kidron Central Christian (13-5-1) in one Division III regional semifinal, while Badger (18-1) will take on Beachwood (13-4-2) on the other side of the bracket.
“We’re peaking at the right time, we’re healthy and I think we’re ready,” Raiders coach Joe Staffeld. “I think we’re a better team than last year with all due respect to the kids that graduated.”
As for Poland, it’s all about maintaining consistency in its play. Ever since an Oct. 7 match at Canfield — which resulted in a 2-2 draw — Garcar has seen a different team out on the field.
“We’ve been playing much more consistent and a more complete game,” he said. “Especially the Mooney game [in the district final.] That was maybe our best overall performance.
“We played for 80 minutes, we worked hard for 80 minutes and did all the little things that were necessary to win.”
The Bulldogs graduated 12 seniors from last year’s team that lost in the district semifinal round. With that, Garcar found himself looking for eight new starters.
Anthony Sabula has been exactly what his coach was looking for. He’s one of three team captains and has become the team’s leading scorer.
“He steps up big when we need him to,” Garcar said. “In the Mooney game he scored our second goal which proved to be the game-winner, too.”
Defenseman Bryan Partika controls the back line, while keeper Bryan Montgomery has been solid in net.
The key for South Range will be its ability to get production from it’s entire roster, top to bottom.
The Raiders have recorded 530 shots on goal and scored on 109 of them. In fact, Staffeld isn’t exactly sure who his team’s leading scorer is to this point.
He says both Matt Russ and Brandon Youngs are near the top of that list.
“After that, it’s about a seven-way tie for third,” Staffeld said with a chuckle. “Everybody scores on this team. I’ve got defenders with six goals.
“It’s an exciting bunch to work with. They’ve got good chemistry and they just need to go out and play the game that they know. I know they have it in them.”
South Range’s game will be played at Brunswick High School at 7 p.m.
Badger will play at Twinsburg High School, also starting at 7 p.m.