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Howland rolls past Mooney in boys soccer

Tribune Chronicle / John Vargo Matthew Rossi (3) of Cardinal Mooney controls the ball as Howland's Jonah Weisman, right, and Andrew Lightner (12) defend Saturday at Howland.

HOWLAND — Senior Andrew Lightner saw the opportunity in front of him. A deflection right off the crossbar.

The Howland senior slid beneath the defense and his cleats poked in the Tigers first goal about a minute into Saturday’s 5-0 victory over ninth-seeded Cardinal Mooney in a Division II boys soccer sectional bracket final.

The top-seeded Tigers asserted themselves from the outside, moving the ball toward the goal from the wings and crossing toward the goal.

“That’s a good part of our game,” Lightner said. “We try to take them to the touch line if we can and just slide it across.”

Freshman Gabe Altawill saw the Mooney defense unable to clear a push toward its goal. Altawill crashed in and scored, giving Howland a 2-0 lead within the first seven minutes.

“We came out a little nervous and that showed,” Cardinal Mooney coach Thomas Beck said. “The first two goals they got wasn’t anything special that they did, but the mistakes we made. I’m not trying to take anything away from them. That’s a great team, great athletes. They know how to put the ball in the back of the net. Ultimately, that’s what matters. I think if we come out and deal with the nerves a little bit better in this type of atmosphere, I think the game goes a different way.

“Kudos to a strong Howland team. I think they’ll make a strong push forward.”

Lightner pushed forward once again and made a crossing pass to sophomore Francis Cesta with 28:43 before halftime. Cesta made it 3-0.

Howland graduated five quality soccer players from last year’s team, but these 10 seniors have made an impact for the Tigers.

It’s a very unselfish team, said Howland coach Brian Stiles.

“You never know who is going to step up from night to night, but someone has so far. We’re hoping we keep that,” he said.

What Howland does know is its schedule with teams like Chagrin Falls, Twinsburg, West Geauga, Mansfield Christian and Brecksville-Broadview Heights have prepared the Tigers for the postseason.

“We’re used to the physicality, the size and the speed of the game,” Stiles said.

Howland hosts fifth-seeded Poland in a district semifinal matchup Tuesday at Howland Middle School, starting at 7 p.m.

With such a quick turnaround, working on what makes Howland better is first and foremost.

“We spend a lot of our practices on passing and trapping, simple things,” Stiles said. “When you get to this stage of the season, it comes down to the fundamentals of the game. That’s something we hit hard constantly.”

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