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Canfield, Howland draw at 2
By ryan buck
HOWLAND
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
All-American Conference rivals Canfield and Howland long ago asserted themselves as two of the area’s top soccer programs.
Their matches, typically of the one-goal or less disparity and never lacking in physicality, reflect as much.
When they played to a 2-2 draw Thursday night at Howland’s Jennings Francis Stadium, undefeated Howland and defending Division II district champion Canfield were both disappointed, but nonetheless proved their worth.
Howland took a 2-1 lead early in the second half before Canfield standout Frank Phillips’ second of two goals by way of corner kick tied it.
“The second time around is always a lot tougher than the first time,” said Howland coach Brian Stiles, whose team bested a shorthanded Canfield 2-0 in the opening week of the season. “These teams know each other and they prepare for each other a little bit better and a lot of these guys grew up playing together so it’s always a very good high school soccer matchup.”
Phillips nearly headed home the go-ahead goal late on another corner kick opportunity, but Howland goalkeeper Howie Bortmas tipped the ball over the crossbar to preserve the tie.
The Tigers’ unbeaten record (now 6-0-2) was not a factor, said Canfield coach Phil Simone.
“It’s Howland and Canfield,” Simone said, “so (the records) don’t matter. It’s always a battle here.”
After a scoreless opening 20 minutes, Phillips charged the Howland net unmarked and headed Ben Feuer’s perfectly struck corner kick past Bortmas for a 1-0 Cardinals lead.
Three minutes later, Canfield goalkeeper Jeff Joseph was called for a push in the back before Howland had a corner kick opportunity of its own. Zach Sperling calmly kicked in the resulting penalty kick to tie it.
Joseph and Bortmas both kept their respective opposition off the scoreboard for the rest of the half.
Forty seconds into the second half, Howland forward Marlon Szczepaniak won a loose ball 18 yards from Joseph in net and launched a bending left footed shot into the top left corner of the net.
Phillips quickly responded by netting his second goal of the match with 32:42 remaining.
“Frank is an outstanding soccer player,” Stiles said, noting Phillips did not play in the team’s first match. “We prepared for him, but you can’t simulate the kind of player he is in practice. In my opinion, he’s the best player in the area.”
Off another Feuer corner kick to the right of the Howland net, Phillips volleyed the winding cross through traffic in front of the net.
“[Howland] was kind of sitting back a lot and playing five midfielders,” Simone said. “It felt like there was a block wall back there, so we had to get some numbers up.”
The relentless Phillips was the beneficiary.
Joseph snagged a wide-open shot from Shawn Giannakos before Bortmas robbed Feuer as Canfield (5-3-2) continued to push the tempo.
With 2:12 remaining, Phillips beat a double team to the front of the goal on another corner kick and smashed a header destined for the goal before Bortmas tipped the shot over the bar.
“It’s very frustrating because you never want to give up goals on set pieces,” Stiles said. “We work on that all the time and I guess we’ve got to work a little harder.”