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Stalemate once again

Canfield, Howland play to 0-0 tie for second straight year

Correspondent photo / Robert Hayes Canfield keeper Joey Backhaus, center, throws the ball back in play during the Cardinals 0-0 draw against Howland.

HOWLAND — Mahoning Valley residents familiar with the soccer scene in the surrounding area surely had Thursday night’s matchup at Howland between the Tigers and visiting Canfield Cardinals circled on their calendar.

There’s a good reason for that. The former Division II state-runner up Tigers come into 2020 with big expectations, but Canfield has started off the season hot, and the two schools had two close matchups in 2019 — the first was a scoreless tie and Howland won the second, 1-0.

Thursday’s match had shades of 2019 with two teams showcasing some excellent defense in a scoreless draw, the first tie for either team this season.

“I think it resembled last year, for both sides,” Howland coach Brian Stiles said. “I think we’re both kind of learning our teams because of the lack of scrimmages and the lack of summer league. I was really pleased tonight with how well our young guys played, which is the first step in becoming really good. We have to look at this right now as being what are we going to look like in October. So, I’m happy with where we are.”

Canfield coach Christian Silvestri shared similar sentiments about facing a quality opponent.

Correspondent photo / Robert Hayes Howland’s Vasili Gentis, background, battles for the header with Canfield’s Mike Mercure, foreground, during the first half at Howland High School.

“It’s huge developmentally, especially for them mentally,” he said. “The boys come into a game like this and walk out 0-0, for them, it tells them a lot about themselves. It shows them that they’re a great team, and they could go toe-to-toe with anybody in the area.”

A pair of senior goalkeepers walk away with a clean sheet, but each carries their own unique experience within the sport.

Lucas Brill, one of the keys to Howland’s (2-0-1) playoff run in 2019, has been playing since his sophomore season and walks into the nets with tons of experience.

On the opposite side of the field for Canfield is Joey Backhaus, a keeper who is playing soccer at the high school level for the first time in his career.

“I just like the atmosphere,” Backhaus said. “It’s completely different than just club soccer in general. The fans, the lights, the pressure, the feeling you get in your stomach when you play, you can’t beat it. It was just my final year, and you know, I just felt like, ‘Hey, why not, try something new?'”

Backhaus doesn’t view any opponent more important than the others.

“My mindset is just that they are another team,” he said. “I know that they’re a great team, but I have to come in thinking that they’re just another team that we can beat.”

Brill sees Thursday night’s draw as a good learning opportunity for a roster that is working younger players in with veterans from last season.

“I told the guys after the game that even though we tied, this was a phenomenal tie,” he said. “I think our young guys stepped up enormously. I’m so proud of the way my young guys played. I couldn’t even expect them to play any better.”

It’ll take time for the roster to adjust and come together as a whole.

“We lost a lot of experience,” Stiles said. “We have four or five guys that have great experience at the state level, but we got to get those five or six other guys open to varsity experience. A couple of them tonight never played a varsity game at that level.”

Canfield (4-0-1) is having a good start to their campaign, and Silvestri sees plenty to build on.

“This is my third year here,” he said. “Our past two seasons we weren’t fortunate enough to start out like we are this year. To come into this game like this and still walk out undefeated is a great feeling for us.”

The Tigers netted wins against Hubbard and Ursuline earlier in the season, but Stiles thinks that both teams walked off the pitch improved after Thursday night.

“I bet me and Coach Silvestri over there learned more about our teams tonight then we’ve learned probably since we started in June,” Stiles said. “It’s great to have that competition. They’re a great side, and they’re going to have a great season. I knew they were great last year. They just had a couple injuries that set them back, and this year you can see the senior leadership really coming through.”

Howland is an elite team in the Mahoning Valley, but Brill feels that there’s still a long way to go.

“One thing we could take away is that I think we still need to get a lot better,” Brill said. “We come into every game and practice like we’re the best in the area and the best in the state, but we have a lot of work to put in and a lot of work to do.”

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