Howland scores five 2nd-half goals to down rival Canfield
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CANFIELD -- After 80 minutes in their first meeting two weeks ago, Canfield and Howland were tied. And after another 40 minutes Wednesday, the teams remained even.
But the Tigers, whose major possession advantage yielded no goals in the first half, saw their hard work pay off in the second and found the back of the net five times in the final 40 minutes to leave Cardinal Stadium with 5-0 win.
"We've been working really hard on keeping the ball down, passing to the feet, and working with the speed that we have. And I think they executed that tonight," Howland head coach Mandie Washington said.
For the first 20 minutes of Wednesday's match, both teams struggled to put shots on goal. However, Howland decisively won the possession battle, routinely taking the ball away from the Cardinals before they could even reach the Tigers' end of the field.
"It's a lot about what we've talked about with them," Canfield coach Phil Simone said. "We're looking for that through ball of 20, 30 yards instead of playing the feet a little bit more. So we're just kind of playing it and playing it and playing it and not connecting with it any more. We're close to the end of the season, but a lot of it is still our youth. We are very young. But just connecting in that final third and playing the feet instead of through balls is a big point."
Canfield did manage to get and keep possession of the ball as the first half wore on, although it did not result in many shots or any goals, as the teams went to halftime in a scoreless tie.
Howland emerged from the break energized, and within 90 seconds, earned a corner kick and put a shot on goal with a soft header that was easily saved by goalkeeper Elliot Klimas. One minute later, the Tigers were back in a nearly identical situation, although the results were vastly different.
With Gianna Ognibene taking the corner, the ball again found its way to a Howland player, but this time, Madison Schmitz dipped her head and solidly connected with the ball and sent it to the far corner of the net for the first goal of the match.
Ognibene then scored a goal of her own in the 56th minute, when her free kick from more than 20 yards out found the right side of the net.
"We were working really hard in practice and putting set pieces together and putting plays together with certain players on the field, and I think they're just getting better at executing it as the season has gone along," Washington said.
With 19 minutes remaining, the Tigers went ahead 3-0 after Klimas could not corral the ball after a save, allowing Teagan Bell to swoop in and score.
Howland added two more goals in the final four minutes.
First, Ognibene deflected a free kick just over Klimas, who tried to stop the ball before Ognibene could get a foot on it. Then, Ognibene again connected with Schmitz on a corner kick, with Schmitz directing the ball into the net with a shoulder to make it 5-0 with 1:24 remaining.
"The biggest change is that we subbed more," Washington said of the difference in the second half. "We have low count in our JVs, so I only had some girls that have one half to play. So the difference is we had a full team in that second half."
Howland improved to 9-5-1 on the year and 6-2-1 in All-American Conference play with Wednesday's win. The Tigers next play on Monday vs. Austintown Fitch, which Canfield (8-4-2, 5-2-1 in AAC), especially with its loss to Howland, needed to beat Louisville on Wednesday.
However, the Falcons fell to the Leopards 4-3, clinching the AAC title for Louisville, which has yet to lose a conference match.
"I think we as coaches have taught the girls everything they need to know," said Washington, whose team concludes the regular season next Wednesday vs. Marlington. "Now, we just have to hone in on continuous repetition and practice of that so they can keep applying it naturally on the field."