43
CVCA blanks Canfield
Photo
Canfield’s Christian Hume ducks as CVCA’s Andrew Akindipe kicks the ball over him during first-half play in Tuesday’s game in Canfield.
By Greg Gulas
CANFIELD
Riding a five-game win streak, the Canfield High School boys soccer team expected to be tested by the state’s top Division II ranked team.
The Cardinals were.
Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy turned to goalkeeper Robert Stanley to keep the Cardinals’ offense in check.
In just his second varsity start while filling in for regular goalkeeper Brooks Montgomery, Stanley’s second start produced his first career shutout.
Luke Fraley, Cody Boerema and Brady Bissonette each scored second-half goals while Stanley rejected three Cardinals shots as the Royals defeated the Cardinals, 3-0, on Tuesday at Bob Dove Field.
Canfield (5-3-1) coach Phil Simone, who said a quick start was vital, said CVCA is one of the top teams in the state.
“I don’t think we worked as hard as we could have the entire game,” Simone said. “I was pleased with our effort and we had some excellent spurts, but you need a total team effort the entire game in order to beat a team like CVCA.”
“You cannot make a mistake against a team like the Royals and expect to win,” Simone said. “They always find a way to capitalize on your mistakes.”
The Royals improved to 2-0-2 on the road while the Cardinals fell for the third time in four home outings, suffering their third shutout of the season in the process.
“We always like to play good opponents and Canfield is a good, competitive program,” Royals coach Angelo Finelli said. “Robert was starting just his second game as he was filling in for Brooks, who suffered a broken hand and will be lost for several weeks.
“He did an excellent job in goal for us tonight,” Finelli said. “Our guys look out for one another, sharpen each other in practice and push each other in order to be the best they can be. Whether it’s a home game or on the road, scoring first always helps.”
After a scoreless first half, Fraley got CVCA (5-1-2) on the board at 30:55 for the early goal advantage.
“Coach Finelli always tells us that someone needs to be on the cross and that’s exactly how we got the game’s first goal. This is a team that feeds off each other and with Robert [Stanley] making some big saves in goal, we were able to keep the momentum in our favor after that first goal,” Fraley said.
A free kick by Cody Boerema with 6:04 remaining staked the Royals to a 2-0 advantage.
“I got the ball at the top of the box, hit it exactly how I wanted to and was able to sneak it past their goalie on the left side,” Boerema said.
Stanley said his defense played a big part in their win.
“Our defense was amazing tonight because they kept their offense in check and in turn, kept pressure off me a good portion of the game,” Stanley said. “We work together as a team and talk a lot while we are out there. When our defense plays well, we play well.”