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Published: Wednesday, November 1, 2006

Canfield no match for Walsh

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The Cardinals fell to the No. 1-ranked Warriors in a regional semifinal.

By CHUCK HOUSTEAU

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

ALLIANCE — The Canfield High boys soccer team knew it had a tough assignment in stopping the state's top-ranked team, Walsh Jesuit, in the Division II regional semifinals Tuesday night at Rock Hill Elementary.

The Cardinals had gone from a six-win season in 2005 to district champions in one year but were no match for the Warriors, dropping a 6-0 decision.

"It was a heck of a run," said Canfield (14-3-3) senior Kyle Reese of the Cards' season. "We couldn't have asked to go out a better way. We got knocked out by the number one team in the state and they were number eight in the nation.

"We had a good season and this is nothing to hang our heads over."

The Cardinals didn't go easily, especially in the first 28 minutes of the contest.

"We didn't know what to expect from Canfield," said Walsh Jesuit coach John Kissner. "You have to take every game serious and we couldn't take them lightly."

Beat No. 2 team last week

The Warriors (18-2) won the district championship last Saturday over No. 2-ranked Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy in what many called the state championship game, but Walsh was wary of a letdown against Canfield and the sloppy field conditions.

Those fears were valid for awhile.

The Cardinals came out playing hard and held off the talented Warriors early.

"We wanted to come out and hit them hard defensively," Canfield coach Phil Simone said. "We battled them for the first twenty minutes and we gave them a tough time.

"But they were excellent. They are a good team," Simone said. "We were hoping maybe the mud would slow them down a little bit. It did for a while but not enough."

The Warriors eventually wore down the Cardinals with outstanding speed, talent and strong passing skills.

Mancine scores three goals

Justin Mancine scored the first of his three goals at the 26:46 mark of the first half, after picking up a loose ball at the 20-yard mark and kicking it past a diving goalkeeper Jon Congelio.

That goal opened the flood gates as the Warriors scored minutes later on two header goals by Mancine and Mike Lascola to lead 3-0 at halftime.

Walsh scored early in the second half on another goal by Mancine, and then Cameron Carns finished out the scoring with back-to-back goals 56 seconds apart midway through the second half.

Michael Nanchoff was responsible for four assists from his left wing position.

"They have so many weapons," Simone said. "We haven't seen a team this good this season."

Despite the loss, Simone was proud of the effort and the season for his seniors.

"The season was phenomenal," Simone said.

"The seniors showed a lot of maturity and talent to get a district championship.

"They worked so hard to get here we're going to enjoy this for awhile. It was amazing."

Senior Nick Benedetto was proud of his teammates who hung together and didn't quit against perhaps the eventual state champion.

"I think we showed that we could compete against the best and we brought recognition to the Youngstown district," Benedetto said.

Wednesday, November 1, 2006