It's not easy, but Hiland wins
By AARON DORKSEN
Daily Record Sports Editor
APPLE CREEK -- When the Hiland boys soccer team routed Tusky Valley 14-0 on Aug. 24, it was certainly cause for concern for Waynedale.
The Golden Bears didn't want to get trounced on their home pitch by the Hawks in their long-standing rivalry Tuesday night.
Hiland was able to defeat Waynedale, but the Hawks had to scratch and claw to get their 2-0 win against a scrappy host.
"We were wondering," Waynedale coach Larry Cerniglia said. "We lost a lot of key players and are young.
"It was a good test. I was proud of the way our players hung with them."
Hiland (2-1) controlled possession most of the first half, but led only 1-0 and had just a 3-0 edge in shots on goal.
Cody Miller redirected a nice assist from Jon Schmucker just in front of the left post to put the Hawks on the board 10 minutes into the game.
Braden Conn scored the only other goal just shy of 10 minutes into the second half. Conn came up with a loose ball inside the 18-yard box, stopped it and fired a blast into the back of the net.
Both teams were more aggressive in the second half, but Hiland 10th-year coach Scott Bodiker thought the Hawks missed several other golden scoring opportunities.
"I just told the guys, 'I think we played OK,'" said Bodiker, who returns nine letterwinners, but no starters from a 11-8-1 team. "I think we can play better.
"We created enough chances to score more than two goals. We kind of flubbed up some other opportunities and we need to clean those up. ... We controlled the ball, but at some point we've gotta go forward more."
Bodiker played 17 players and at one time midway through the second half looked like a hockey coach making a line change as he subbed for about half his team.
"It's just like girls or boys basketball at Hiland, we traditionally play a lot of people in soccer here," Bodiker said. "It's the only way you build depth.
"There's no reason to dress someone on varsity if they're not ready to play."
Bodiker feels there's great potential for the Hawks, but it's still a work in progress to find out what everyone's roles are.
Cerniglia was certainly impressed with where the Hawks are right now.
"From what I've seen in the summer, and early in the season, Hiland is the best team in the area," said Cerniglia, the Bears' 20th-year head coach who graduated All-Ohioan Jeremy Irias and WCAL co-Player of the Year Tim Kurtz from last season's 8-5-3 team. "It was an interesting game and a good game for us because we are rebuilding.
"We did a little better in the second half."
Waynedale actually held a 7-5 edge in shots on goal in the final 45 minutes, but the Hawks' chances were better looks.
The Bears' best scoring opportunity came late in the game. Junior Tyler Harter dribbled from the left side into the middle, spun and lined a shot that keeper Dylan Kaufman (five saves) had to jump for and deflected over the crossbar.
"Harter's a little guy, but he did a great job there," Cerniglia said. "That's why you play the game.
"Really, all our kids are doing a phenomenal job of working to get better. We have two freshmen playing center-mid and another outstanding freshman opted to play football instead who would've really helped. It's tough to compete against a school that doesn't have football when we do because we lose players, but our kids are doing their best."
Also playing well for Waynedale were senior sweeper Peter Lueschen and keeper Kyle Miller, who came away with several impressive saves in front of the net in the second half.
Bodiker liked the work of his six defenders who rotated: senior Clinton Yoder; juniors Nick Kandel, Jon Schmucker, Conner Lee and Steven Anderson; and sophomore Jeremy Schlabach.
Forward Luke Burch, who's still getting his soccer legs back after a long baseball season, provided a lift with good speed off the bench.
Hiland's Cody Miller led several nice attacks on the Waynedale net in the second half, but airmailed a penalty kick.
"Waynedale does a pretty nice job of being organized," Bodiker said. "With the way they play, they always seem to make things difficult on us."
Aaron Dorksen can be reached at 330-287-1621 or adorksen@the-daily-record.com