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Howland blanks Ursuline, 1-0; it’s on to D2 district

Tribune Chronicle / Jamie Trina Howland’s Luke Brancaccio (9) steps into a pass as Ursuline’s Dylan Peplowski approaches Saturday during the Tigers’ 1-0 win over the Irish in a Division II sectional bracket final.

HOWLAND — The sun shone brightly, yet the wind whipped and the rain poured Saturday afternoon during a Division II boys soccer sectional bracket final between Howland and Ursuline. Ultimately, the black cloud remained over the heads of the Irish as Howland eliminated them from the tournament, 1-0.

Rain and wind played games with both teams yesterday. Bad footing forced a lot of slipping and game adjustments, as players attempted to gain balance to shoot and pass.

“It seemed like a tale of two halves there,” Howland coach Brian Stiles said. “It was the team going with the wind getting most of the action. Every so often you would get these big gusts of wind, and you didn’t know when they were going to come. You had to be real careful on any of those long balls.”

Despite the weather, the game continued. After Howland lost out on a goal at the 12-minute mark of the first half, due to an offsides call, it was looking like both offenses were going to struggle to get a score. Howland junior forward Christian Cano thought differently.

It took only one score to secure victory for Howland, and that came by way of Cano’s foot. As a cluster of players remained to the right of the net, Cano patiently awaited for the ball to come to him. His patience paid off, and he laced a shot into the left side of the net.

Tribune Chronicle / Jamie Trina Howland’s Dominic Malvasi, center, dribbles away from Ursuline’s Greg Morgione, left,as Francis Cesta (3) of Howland watches.

“It (goal) feels good,” Cano said. “We, as a team, have come a long way. It was hard to get it to this point. It feel good to be the only one.”

Defense reigned for Howland, as it did not allow a score. This type of showing from the defense was necessary to secure a victory, after being slowed on offense.

“Defense again, they have come up big for us all season,” Stiles said. “We have only given up eight goals. That is something that we rely on, and it is something that shows up every night.

“Again, tonight it really bailed us out, because from the attacking perspective, we didn’t play very well.”

The attack game will need to be there, as Howland progresses to the District semifinal round against South Range Tuesday at 7 p.m. at home.

For Ursuline, the season is over.

“We have done well all year,” Ursuline coach Roy Schmidt said. “We had a fabulous season, and the boys played great. We have been underestimated by almost every opponent. They outplayed us today. Chops to them, but I am really proud of what my boys did. They have done very, very well.”

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