SOCCER MACEY MALINKY Canfield

Macey Malinky and her teammates led the Canfield girls soccer team to another deep run in the Division II tournament.

The Cardinals were the last team standing in the Valley after reaching a regional final.

The Cardinals were 5-0-3 in All-American Conference Red Tier play and finished the season 13-4-3 overall.

“I think we all just wanted to get that far [because] we got knocked out early on [last year] before district finals,” Malinky said. “And with the classes that we have now, and the girls on the team, they really just wanted to because we were a high-skilled team.

“We really wanted to prove to our coach, to each other and to the community that we could do this and go that far.”

The Cardinals’ district title was the first for the program since 2015.

Canfield head coach Phil Simone called Malinky “the glue to the team.” He said Malinky was the Cardinals’ most versatile and consistent player.

She’s played three different positions over the last three seasons, but primarily played center forward in 2017.

“I guess [it’s] a big role in the team because you’re the one people rely on to make the runs and shoot the ball and do all those different things and communicate with the team,” Malinky said.

Malinky finished with nine goals and 10 assists to lead a balanced scoring team.

But the scoring and stats didn’t matter to Malinky. She said her goals were to be a team captain and play up front because they’re important leadership positions.

Malinky plans to play at the collegiate level but hasn’t selected a school.

Dan Hiner