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Canfield hosts summer tourney
By Brian Dzenis
CANFIELD
It’s soccer from sunrise to sunset this weekend at Canfield High School.
The Cardinals are hosting 36 schools for the ninth annual Cardinal Classic, an exhibition tournament where five 40-minute games are played simultaneously at the football stadium and on four adjacent practice fields.
The games aren’t scored, but teams have a chance to play multiple scrimmages in a single bus trip.
“The primary reason for this tournament is to get some looks and build team chemistry,” said Phil Simone, Canfield boys and girls coach. “We’re not only providing for our teams, but the local teams get a great experience of getting some out-of-area teams out here so they don’t have to travel.”
Attendance at the exhibition — or any July team activities — isn’t mandatory, so none of the teams had their full complement of varsity players. The ones that had more experienced players out there made themselves known.
One such team was Niles, which trotted out University of Pittsburgh commit Bethany Rasile. She and her teammates carved up Kirtland’s defense in a scrimmage. She returns to the Red Dragons for her senior season after missing most of her junior year with a broken leg.
“It was pretty awful sitting out last season and I really enjoyed just being out there,” Rasile said.
Rasile is the daughter of McDonald boys basketball coach Jeff Rasile and older sister of Blue Devils sharpshooter and state record-holder for threes in a season, Zach Rasile. She attends Niles because McDonald does not have a girls soccer team. There’s no burden on her to take the spotlight from him.
“He really had a great season. I liked seeing his success but, there’s no pressure on me,” Rasile said.
Rasile will move between playing as an attacking midfielder and striker this fall. With her back and senior All-AAC first-teamer Aundrea Scattino — another player who missed most of the season — marshalling the defense, the expectations are high in Niles.
“I just want my team to play as best as we can,” Rasile said. “Maybe we can make a run in playoffs and I can have some fun with my friends.”
Over on the football field, West Branch coach Cheryl Ficco took her first looks at her Warriors team. The 2000 graduate takes over her alma mater this fall after serving as an assistant with Mount Union.
“I’ve been living [out of the area] for the last 16 years and I’m happy to take over as head coach,” Ficco said.
She inherits a squad that lost a half dozen starters to graduation, but is coming off three consecutive Northeastern Buckeye Conference titles.
Unofficially, the Warriors beat Hickory (Pa.) 3-0 in the Cardinals’ stadium, rarely letting them past the 50 yard line.
“I think we’re coming together nicely,” West Branch midfielder Lexi Biery said. “It’s just the beginning, so we’re just trying to figure out where we’ll be most comfortable together.”
Back to the hosts, Canfield will be younger than some of its previous additions and replacing Anita Mancini — The Vindicator’s Girls Soccer Player of the Year — remains a work in progress, but Simone got to split his team in to three squads and see a lot of different players.
“I’ve seen some surprises. Some good things and some bad things we need to fix,’ Simone said. “It was a lot of what we expected from the day, but so far I’m pleased with the team.”