Staff photo / Greg Macafee. Canfield’s Hanna Wahib makes a move against Bay’s Hannah Dixon on Saturday afternoon at Twinsburg’s Tiger Stadium. Wahib and the Cardinals were defeated in the regional championship match, 2-0, concluding an otherwise strong season for the program.

TWINSBURG — When it came to their Division II regional final matchup with the Bay Rockets on Saturday at Twinsburg High School, the Canfield Cardinals stuck to their game plan.

They locked up tight defensively and limited Bay’s star striker Tessa Knapp as much as they could. But, a three-minute stretch midway through the second half proved to be Canfield’s demise as the Rockets struck twice, and it was all they needed en route to a 2-0 victory and a trip to the state final four.

“They held the game plan how we expected to hold the game plan,” Canfield head coach Phil Simone said. “So, the game plan we played to perfection and that breakdown, what like three minutes? Three minutes, two goals, late in the second half. The ball just didn’t bounce our way. But I couldn’t be prouder of the way we played. We played toe-to-toe with them.

“We just couldn’t generate as many opportunities as we thought we could with the wind at our back. But to hold them in check for that long and be in the game in a regional final, I couldn’t ask for more from our girls.”

Throughout the first half, as the Rockets played with the wind, they relentlessly attacked the Canfield defense and created a few close opportunities. They hit both the crossbar of the goal and the crossbar of the field goal post on different occasions. But, the Cardinals were able to hold the Rockets scoreless in the first half.

One of their main focuses was Knapp, who set Bay’s single-season goals record this season and had just over 45 goals heading into Saturday’s contest.

The Cardinals didn’t exactly man-mark her, but they knew where she was at all times and kept her quiet for most of the game, outside of a few close chances.

“We played somebody a little bit in front of her to prevent her from getting the ball, and she had a couple of looks but really we shut her down for the most part, which is all I can ask for,” Simone said.

After a windy first half, which would often stop the ball in mid-air and forced the Cardinals to try and keep the ball on the ground more often, Simone said he was hoping to generate a few more chances in the second half.

“The first half was very tough on the legs, so we felt very good going into the second half at 0-0 with the wind at our back,” Simone said.

The Cardinals did create a few more opportunities in the second frame but couldn’t quite break down a strong Bay defense that had only allowed 20 goals all season long. Then, with about 16 minutes to go in the second half, the Rockets finally broke through.

Bay’s Elise Papp was sitting and waiting on the back left post after a cross bounced through the box, and she was able to finish off the attack for the Rockets’ first goal.

Just under two minutes later, Lily Frey tacked on the second goal of the game with a shot from deep to solidify the win for Bay.

The Rockets will advance to the state semifinals where they will take on Copley, who defeated St. Mary’s Memorial on Saturday, 4-1.

The Cardinals will reminisce on a special season and what they were able to accomplish this year after some may have counted them out coming into the season.

“No one expected us to be here,” Simone said. “… Everyone doubted us because we lost six starters last year. Everyone was like ‘This is the year Canfield is gonna be rebuilding.’ So I couldn’t be prouder of them. The seniors stepped up. We had two senior starters and the younger girls stepped up. We grew a ton throughout the season and again I couldn’t be prouder of the entire group from top to bottom.”

gmacafee@tribtoday.com