Howland shuts out Cardinals in D-II sectional final rematch

August 29, 2019 at 12:00a.m.

Youngstown

The Howland girls soccer team lost to Cardinal Mooney in double overtime in a Division II sectional final last season.

The Tigers got some payback, beating the Cardinals 4-0 at Farmers National Bank Field in Youngstown on Wednesday night.

“We only graduated four so a lot of them were here for that game last year,” Howland head coach Dan Daniluk said. “Coming out and getting this [win] was a big one for them.”

The game was scoreless for 36 minutes until Ryley Andamasaris scored from just inside the box to give the Tigers (4-0-1) the lead before halftime.

“I think [the early score] just inspired us to keep going and gave us confidence because they beat us in the last minutes of the playoffs last year,” Andamasaris said.

The Tigers’ offense came alive in the second half.

Rylie Daniluk scored from several feet in front of the net with 21:10 remaining. Six minutes later, Olivia Myers scored on a header for a 3-0 lead.

Kyralin Kramp scored off a cross from Malina Andamasaris with 12 minutes left to cap the scoring.

Elizabeth Rusnak didn’t have much to do in goal in the first half. The Cardinals (1-1-0) didn’t record a shot on goal until the midway through the second half.

Gillian McMurray played goalkeeper for the Tigers after halftime. She stopped two shots.

Rusnak and McMurray “vowed” to get a shutout. But Rusnak admitted it can be difficult to stay focused when there are few shots to defend.

“It’s true that you don’t want a busy goalkeeper — we really have to stay focused,” Rusnak said. “Directing the field is part of our job, so even if it is on that other side of the line, it doesn’t matter. You’re in the game. You are a part of it.

Skyler Huda made six saves for the Cardinals.

Cardinal Mooney coach Olivia Murphy isn’t too concerned with the loss. It was only the Cardinals’ second game, and she said the team needs time to gel.

“Realistically, I’m looking for the end of the season, and I thought they did really great out there for the first half,” Murphy said. “It was definitely a good game. It was a tough game, it was hard.”

The Tigers were the No. 3 seed in the district tournament last season. They aim for another solid season and a run at the district title. But Dan Daniluk said the team is taking a game-by-game approach.

“Every win is a big win,” Daniluk said. “It’s nice to get the win. All year we’ve been saying the same thing, ‘One game at a time, one game at a time and at the end of the season, everything will take care of itself.’”

Right place, right time

The Tigers could have gotten on the board earlier in the first half.

Howland had a breakaway less than eight minutes into the game. Huda ran out to defend, leaving an open net.

Ashley Chambers got behind Huda, but Gia Diorio stepped in at the last second to deflect the shot and force a throw-in.