9/25/2012: Conneaut 4- Sharpsville 0

9/25/2012: Conneaut 4- Sharpsville 0
By Ryan Kozlowski, Assistant Coach

The game of soccer is mainly about anticipation.

If you anticipate correctly, getting to the ball first in the process, usually good things will happen.

Today, Conneaut's strikers Tanner Houck and Tanner Williams were anticipating passes and making the right through runs, midfielder Tyler Bone was anticipating and winning any ball that dropped into the midfield on a defensive clear, and defensive midfielder Cody Zinz was snuffing out and anticipating any ball that came into his zone restarting the attack.

The result was that Sharpsville could never get comfortable at Conneaut; as Conneaut were back to their winning ways, and after being blanked the last two outings, Conneaut were (almost as importantly) back to goal scoring.

The first goal came 7 minutes in for Conneaut, as Brandon Jackson slotted a ball right down Highway 6 to Tanner Houck (who shot a carbon copy opportunity right at the goalie a minute earlier), but this time timed the run perfectly and slotted it home making it 1-nil Eagles.

The Eagles took their time getting their second to put the game effectively out of reach, but around the 30th minute goalscorer became provider; as Houck set up an overlapping Tyler Bone, who rarely misses such opportunities, finding the twine' by curving it around the keeper to make it 2-nil.

Just before half, Tyler Bone would return the favor to Houck; as Bone would beat an offsides trap, with a scoop pass over the top, and Houck collected the chip and finished it upper 90 off the woodwork to make it 3-nil.

The third goal, Bone to Houck, is right up there as one of the prettiest goals and assists of this season.

In the second half, Conneaut rested a few players to prepare for Kennedy Catholic on Thursday and focused more on a defensive shutout, as a result the opportunities were less.

Sharpsville could only muster 5 shots to Conneaut's 25, most of them being long ones in the second half.

However, just when it looked like the Eagles had put away their shooting boots for the day, Conneaut would score one more with ten minutes remaining in the contest; as Richard Moore made a nice move, beating a defender, and then Moore sent a perfect through ball to Mark McLean.

McLean, who had the winning assist against Saegertown earlier in the year, put his body on the line to get to the ball and got a shiner in the process- but his deflected shot trickled into the net to make it 4-0 Conneaut.

With the win, Conneaut improves to 5-2-1, retaking third place; a win against Kennedy Catholic on Thursday would improve Conneaut to 6-2-1 and 3-1 in conference and move them up to second place.

If Conneaut can anticipate and play in a similar manner as they did this evening, they should have the confidence at home to put themselves in a good place against Catholic, and then get themselves on a run the week after at Commodore Perry and at home against West Middlesex.

Starters~ ST- Tanner Houck, ST- Tanner Williams, RW- Brandon Moss, CM- Tyler Bone, CM- Brandon Jackson, LW- Ethan Mona, DM- Cody Zinz, RB- Josh Betts, CB- Tommy Mullen, LB- Cole Snodgrass, GK- Nick Stockton

Substitutes~ Nick Moss, Mark McLean, Richard Moore, Tanner Dittrich, Pete Egan, Chris Toth, Brandon Haylett, Kyle Ledford

OTHER GAME NOTES: *Tanner Dittrich was unlucky on three or four opportunities not to open his goal scoring account on the season, as Dittrich had one of his best games of 2012 so far.

* Nick Moss impressed with 30 minutes of Varsity time and two powerful free kick goals in the Varsity 2 game to propel the JV's to a 2-1 win as well.

9/20/2012: Saegertown 6- Conneaut 0

9/20/2012: Saegertown 6- Conneaut 0
Ryan Kozlowski, Assistant Coach

Once in a while a game really doesn't go your way..

Doesn't matter if you're the New York Yankees and win a World Series or you're the Miami Heat and win a NBA Championship; look at either team's seasons and they'll have one game, if not 5 to 10, where they lost big time by 10 runs or 25 points.

Unfortunately for Conneaut today was that one game.

The Conneaut Eagles came to Saegertown's home field on a day's rest, if you can call it that with a full day of school in between; however, it shouldn't of been a major disadvantage for Conneaut as Saegertown were also coming into the contest on a day's rest.

The only major difference being that the Eagles were downed 2-0 the day before by their toughest league opponent Mercer, whereas Saegertown was a surprise 4-2 winner over their toughest league opponent Warren.

As a result, theoretically, the Eagles were flying into the wrong tree with a hornet's nest..

The Panthers were stirred up- partly from a resounding win over perennial power Warren and partly from being defeated at Conneaut the first time the teams met this season in the last 25 seconds of that game; the Panthers may have felt hard done last go around and from minute one Saegertown appeared ready to strike.

And it wasn't long after minute one, as three minutes in Matt Schenberg had his first goal for Saegertown (adding to his hat trick the day prior).

15 minutes after the first one went in for Saegertown it was 4-0 before Conneaut could even reach the 20th minute mark.

Conneaut Head Coach, Alan Wise, decided that the starters heads may have been in the wrong place (exhaustion from three games in four days, nagging injuries, lack of focus after first loss) and threw in the junior varsity to see if they could do better; the J.V. did there all but Saegertown scored two more to make it 6-0 at half.

The Conneaut coaching staff wanted to sit the starters out, let them think about their first 20 minutes, and then put them back out there in the second half to see if their performance would improve.

And it did, Conneaut were unlucky to score a few in the second half, as they had 5 or 6 legitimate scoring opportunities to zero for Saegertown (who played starters the entire second half as well).

Nevertheless, as the whole day went- even one goal wasn't meant to be.

A road game that Conneaut would likely want to quickly forget, dropping them to 4-2-1; while Saegertown improves to 7-2.

9/19/2012: Conneaut Falls During Region 1 Clash

9/17/2012: Conneaut Falls During Region 1 Clash

By Lisa Byers, The Meadville Tribune 

LINESVILLE — Conneaut and Mercer haven’t been in the same region for very long.

But the Eagles entered their Region 1 boys soccer showdown against the Mustangs with a bit of a chip on their shoulders.

See, this spring members from both teams met on the field during travel season. And following that game, Mercer made the prediction that during the fall high school season it would beat the Eagles 16-0, according to Conneaut head coach Alan Wise.

So going into Wednesday’s contest at Conneaut Area Senior High, the Eagles had a couple of goals. They wanted to prove the Mustangs wrong of their earlier theory and improve upon their unbeaten record and maintain their position atop the Region 1 standings.

The Eagles accomplished one of those feats.

Chase Hoffman scored in the first half off an assist by Will Juergens with what wound up being the lone goal Mercer would need as the Mustangs topped Conneaut 2-0.

Conneaut fell to 4-1-1 overall and 1-1 in Region 1 with the loss. Mercer improved to 6-1 overall and 2-0 in the region. The shutout was Mercer goal keeper Alan Rabold’s sixth of the season.

“We give them too much respect,” Wise said. “They deserve the respect they have because they’re a good team, but the first 10 minutes they’re up on their bench arguing and whatever. So we took it to them for 10 minutes and then don’t ask me why, but we backed off.”

After that first 10 minutes, Mercer grabbed control and had possession on its end of the field for much of the final 70 minutes. It was the play of the Eagles’ defense led by Thomas Mullen and goalie Nick Stockton that kept Conneaut in the game.

“It’s nice to respect a team,” Wise said, “But you play the game aggressively. We aren’t as aggressive as we need to be at times and that kind of showed.”

Hoffman gave the Mustangs a 1-0 lead in the 20th minute of the opening half. Zachary Kroll’s inbound throw was near the net and as Stockton came out to scoop the ball, Hoffman sailed a shot past him into the right corner of the goal.

Conneaut had gone into the game unsure that Hoffman, the reigning Region 1 Player of the Year, would even be playing. Hoffman suffered a torn meniscus a week ago and was scheduled to have surgery on Tuesday. But the junior and his family opted to postpone surgery until the end of the season.

Hoffman’s goal wound up being the lone goal of the first half. Conneaut had its best shot at tying the contest just a minute into the second half, but Tanner Houck’s shot was just wide to the right.

Mercer put the game away in the 50th minute on a 25-yard boot by Matt Juergens.

“It was a big win in sorts,” Mercer coach Ryan Hoffman said. “We go into a game with a target on our back because we’re the two-time defending region champs.

“We have to keep the guys motivated going into every game. In our region, Conneaut has obviously stepped up. We played them through the spring and we knew what they had coming back. Our region is tough as far as spread out with good teams.”

The key for Conneaut now is putting Wednesday’s loss behind it and focusing on its next task, which happens to be a rematch with county rival and non-region foe Saegertown today at French Creek Valley Christian School.

Conneaut handed the Panthers their first loss of the year on Sept. 10 in the final 25 seconds with a goal by Tyler Bone.

“It’s only one game out of 18,” Wise said of the Mercer contest. “I’m positive. We have a game (today) against Saegertown and we need to get back on the winning track.”

Mercer had just six shots on goal for the game. Conneaut was limited to one.

9/19/2012: Mercer 2- Conneaut 0

 9/19/2012: Mercer 2- Conneaut 0
By Ryan Kozlowski, Assistant Coach

The Conneaut Eagles (4-0-1) knew coming in against Mercer (5-1-0) that it was always going to be a tough match.

Nevertheless, Conneaut didn't look too phased for the first 10 to 15 minutes of the contest as they took it to Mercer.

Tactically, the Eagles added another body in midfield, in a four-man square formation behind the striker, to hopefully help win the midfield battle against Mercer; and it appeared to be working as the Eagles passed around Mercer and created the first two opportunities of the game.

Unfortunately, neither opportunity could be converted and Mercer finally got out of their funk, getting back on the front foot in the game.

After Mercer had a few close shaves at a goal, the Conneaut side started to bunker, hurting themselves, and their chances to match Mercer in midfield.

Around the 25th minute, Mercer's two most dangerous players connected, as Will Juergens ball was lofted into the penalty box of Conneaut; Mercer's Chase Hoffman was the opportunist pouncing on the loose ball before three Conneaut defenders or goalkeeper Nick Stockton could do so, firing it far corner to make it 1-nil.

The defense received praise nevertheless by Conneaut Head Coach Alan Wise, for limiting Mercer to just six shots the entire game, quite a feet; as not many sides limit Mercer to under 10 shots a game or 15, let alone six.

Mainstay defenders Josh Betts, Tommy Mullen, and Cole Snodgrass received the team MVP awards for that performance.

Unfortunately, for them Mercer didn't need many shots (as it sometimes goes in soccer, as Saegertown had 12 shots the previous week and couldn't score against Conneaut, where Mercer had six and scored two); and that second goal was scored in the 50th minute by Will Juergens, taking the wind out of the Conneaut sails after an improved Eagles start to the second half.

Conneaut continued to try to press the issue as the half went on, but found trouble getting out of their defensive third and succumbed to their first loss of the season as a result.

For Conneaut (4-1-1) their opposition will not get easier tomorrow against a high flying Saegertown (5-0-2) side, that just defeated top side Warren.

9/18/2012: VIDEO Highlights- Conneaut 9 vs. West Middlesex 1

9/18/2012: VIDEO Highlights- Conneaut 9 vs. West Middlesex 1

The following is a video highlight of about 5 minutes of the action from Conneaut at West Middlesex.

Included are about four of the teams 9 goals, as well as many other opportunities to score.

Look forward to hopefully another video the day after the Mercer game as well.

Highlights~

9/17/2012: Conneaut 9 - West Middlesex 1

9/17/2012: Conneaut 9 - West Middlesex 1
By Ryan Kozlowski, Assistant Coach

A soaring Eagles team at (3-0-1) were unlikely to be denied a fourth win and first conference win against West Middlesex (0-4-0).

It did not take Conneaut long to score as 2 minutes into the game Brett Birkmire scored, unassisted. Then Birkmire followed that up by assisting on a Tyler Bone goal.

A few minutes after that, Brett Birkmire scored yet another goal thanks to the service of Richard Moore. Around the 15th minute mark, Brandon Jackson's pass freed up Birkmire again one-on-one with the keeper and Birkmire finished to secure a hat trick.

Birkmire finished with 4 goals and 1 assist, not bad for his first game of the season.

Overall, along with Brett, Tyler Bone had two goals (for a team leading 6), and Brandon Jackson, Pete Egan, and Ethan Mona all had one goal.

Jackson, who leads the team with assists with 6, picked up two more against West Middlesex as well. Chris Toth, Brandon Moss, Tyler Bone, Luke Graham, Brett Birkmire all additionally got on the assist board.

The Eagles were up 7-0 by the 25th minute mark and started to funnel in the substitutions. One substitute, first year Chase Vickers, was blown for a soft penalty in West Middlesex's box that led to a penalty kick opportunity.

Senior goalkeeper Nick Stockton stopped the first attempt, but was adjudged to come off of his line too quickly, so West Middlesex got a second crack and converted their lone goal of the game.

Conneaut added two more in the second half, a fourth for Brett Birkmire and a first varsity goal for Sophomore striker Pete Egan.

Conneaut improved to (4-0-1) and will have one off day to get ready for a much tougher opponent in Mercer (5-1-0).

Starting lineup:ST- Richard Moore, ST- Brett Birkmire, LW- Ethan Mona, CM- Tyler Bone, CM- Brandon Jackson, RW- Tanner Williams, RB- Josh Betts, CB- Tanner Houck, CB- Tommy Mullen, LB- Cole Snodgrass, GK- Nick Stockton

Substitutes used: Nick Moss, Cody Zinz, Luke Graham, Mark McLean, Brandon Haylett, Chris Toth, Pete Egan

9/16/2012: Eagles Player Of The Week- Brandon Moss (Week 2)

9/16/2012: Eagles Player Of The Week- Brandon Moss (Week 2)

Sophomore Brandon Moss has been a revelation on the right wing this season, starting four of five games on that side so far in 2012. 

The coaching staff originally was hoping to slot Justin Ledford on the right wing, but Ledford decided to play for Conneaut's High School Football team instead.

Moss, who rarely played on the wing as a freshman in 2011, was put out there in a practice early in 2012 and has never left the position since.

Moss is able to get up and down, has accurate crosses, which has led to him hooking up back post with his left winger, Ethan Mona, on two separate occasions. 

The more important of the two, was the opening goal against Meadville; where Moss ripped past two Meadville defenseman, got to the endline, and sent in a perfect ball back post for winger Ethan Mona to finish with ease. 

9/15/2012: Conneaut 2 - Meadville 1

9/15/2012: Conneaut 2 - Meadville 1
By Ryan Kozlowski, Assistant Coach

The Conneaut Eagles on the prior Tuesday won against Saegertown with 25 seconds left.

Against Meadville they decided to once again live life on the edge, as it took until the final minutes for the Eagles to break the deadlock for the second time; this time senior Tanner Houck finished with a minute and 27 seconds remaining.

The 2-1 result was deserved with the second half performance Conneaut had against Meadville, but not so much with the first half performance.

Conneaut scored 14 minutes into the game when Brandon Moss sent a pinpoint cross back post, dropping the ball right into left winger Ethan Mona's run who applied an easy finish; quite possibly the best goal yet.

However, the goal didn't ignite Conneaut but instead slowed them down.

Overconfidence, possibly stemming from a previous scrimmage against Meadville where Conneaut held 75% percent of the possession and 25 shots to 4, put Conneaut in coast mode for the rest of the first half.

And as it goes in soccer, if you give an opponent opportunities to build on and build on, they'll eventually make you pay.

Meadville, feeling pretty good about their 4-4 tie with Erie East the day prior, would tie it up once again with 7 minutes left in the first half to make it 1-1.

A locker room talk at half, encouraging Conneaut to get out of coast mode and take it to Meadville seemed to do the trick, as second half Conneaut came out re-energized as a different side.

The Eagles put a first half that was probably their worst behind them, and followed it up with their best 40 minutes this season.

Everyone passed well, everyone battled, everyone moved without the ball, and when that happens opportunities start to present themselves.

Conneaut was outshot by Meadville first half 8 to 4, and turned that on it's head in the second half by outshooting Meadville 6 to 1 for a 10 to 9 overall advantage.

The best opportunity to present itself early in the second half was in the 58th minute when senior striker Tanner Williams made a nice move and then was chopped down in the box by a Meadville defenseman.

Tyler Bone, who to this point was Mr. Clutch for Conneaut soccer, stepped up to the penalty spot and shot a weak one right at the keeper; which was probably justified as the penalty call was a bit soft.

No worries. In soccer you have to have a short memory and Conneaut has showed themselves to have one, as they just kept playing and receiving more opportunities.

Richard Moore, who probably had his best half yet, did a phenomenal job at striker in the second half by connecting passes and being a nuisance; his performance led to a break away against the keeper in the 71st minute, but with half a net wide open to pass to, Moore discouragingly allowed the goalkeeper to cut down the angle and make a save.

But, however frustrating, Conneaut kept plugging away and believing; and with a minute and 27 seconds left- a melee in the box finally found the ball at Tanner Houck's feet, from 18 yards out, and the senior buried it.

The Conneaut coaches joked with the starters after the game, pleading for them to score earlier; but, nevertheless two game winners in the last two minutes of the last two games, is a sign of a good team.

Good teams find a way to win no matter what and Conneaut did so improving to 3-0-1.

Starting lineup:ST- Mark McLean, ST- Tanner Williams, LW- Ethan Mona, CM- Tyler Bone, CM- Brandon Jackson, RW- Brandon Moss, RB- Josh Betts, CB- Tanner Houck, CB- Tommy Mullen, LB- Cole Snodgrass, GK- Nick Stockton

Substitutes used:Richard Moore, Tanner Dittrich, Nick Moss, Cody Zinz, Luke Graham, Chase Vickers, Mark McLean, Brandon Haylett, Kyle Ledford, Chris Toth

9/10/2012: Conneaut 1- Saegertown 0

Ready to strike: Conneaut's Bone shifts to striker, scores only goal during win
By Lisa Byers, The Meadville Tribune

Sometimes it all comes down to intuition.

With its back against the wall and time winding down in a 0-0 game, Conneaut head boys soccer coach Alan Wise decided to move junior midfielder Tyler Bone to the striker position.

Moments later, Bone took a pass from Mark McLean and dribbled down field with one player to beat. Then with just 25 seconds left in regulation, Bone got off a shot that slipped past an outstretched Ross Ferguson in goal to give the Eagles a thrilling 1-0 win over Saegertown in non-regioan action.

Conneaut improved to 2-0-1 on the year with it's third shutout. The loss was the first of the season for the Panthers, who fell to 4-1.

"We weren't doing a lot of things well, but enough to keep us in the game," Wise said. "So I made a last minute decision there - not that I'm some genius - to take Tyler Bone and move him up to striker.

"Mark McLean crossed over a nice ball and Tyler beat the goalie. That's all it came down to. If the goalie was there one split second earlier, we're going into overtime and who knows what happens."

Bone's goal saved what was otherwise a game dominated by the Panthers. In the first half, Saegertown was in control as Matt Schenberg, Jesse Bates, and Peter Mattocks took turns pelting Conneaut goalkeeper Nick Stockton with shot after shot. Unfortunately for the Panthers, those shots either sailed high or wide, wound up right in the hands of Stockton or were negated by penalty.

In fact, one of the Panthers' best scoring opportunities came at the 22-minute mark of the first half when Schenberg found an open Mattocks coming down the left sideline. Mattocks took the pass and booted it into the net untouched, but the Panthers were whistled for offsides on the play.

"It was pretty high pressure in the first half," Stockton said. "Our team is better than it was last year, but we have been consistently not playing well in the first half."

Saegertown kept the pressure on through the first part of the second half. It was a shot by Ethan Mona that ricocheted off Saegertown defenseman Greg Bras and sailed just left of the goal with 17 minutes to play that seemed to light a fire under the Eagles. And it ended with a bang.

"I knew I was going to make it all the way," Bone said, "because (Ferguson) didn't come out fast enough. I knew I had him beat."

Lucky No. 7.

"They outshot us 14-7," Wise said. "But lucky 7.... We put the seventh one in. I'm proud of the boys. I'm glad they persevered and realized that even with not playing a good game (Monday) that if you hang in there good things can happen."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Despite The Meadville Tribune saying the game was dominated by Saegertown, that wasn't quite the case. The game was more of a tale of two halves, Conneaut gave Saegertown too much respect and room in the first half and didn't make the best passes in the offensive third in the first half.

As the second half went on, Conneaut grew in confidence and possession and played themselves more into the game. Saegertown were denied of dangerous opportunities in the second half, as Conneaut outshot them 5-3 in that stanza and as the half went on Conneaut had more belief which culminated in the goal with just 25 seconds remaining.

Not every game will our team, or nearly any team, win the possession and shot battle every time. Sometimes you have to play a little differently against different opponents to put yourself in a winning position.

Starting lineup: ST- Tanner Dittrich, ST- Tanner Williams, LW- Ethan Mona, CM- Tyler Bone, CM- Brandon Jackson, RW- Brandon Moss, RB- Josh Betts, CB- Tanner Houck, CB- Tommy Mullen, LB- Cole Snodgrass, GK- Nick Stockton

Substitutes used: Richard Moore, Nick Moss, Cody Zinz, Luke Graham, Mark McLean, Brandon Haylett, Chris Toth

9/6/2012: Eagles Player Of The Week- Tyler Bone (Week 1)

9/6/2012: Eagles Player Of The Week- Tyler Bone (Week 1)

Junior Tyler Bone was inches away from the game winner against Girard on 9/1/2012, but made up for it with a hat trick performance against Titusville 3 days later.

The central defender, who was converted to midfield general in 2012, in an attempt to get Bone's talent further up the field has been asked to carry more of the load for the Conneaut Eagles.

Bone responded in due course with a hat trick and is up as well for GoErie.com's breakout player of week one.

9/4/2012: Conneaut 3 - Titusville 0

9/4/2012: Conneaut 3 - Titusville 0 
By Ryan Kozlowski, Assistant Coach

The Conneaut Eagles were misfortunate to leave their opener with just a tie. But, the side attempted to be positive; as it goes in soccer if you take care of business at home and tie on the road, your usually going to be in good shape.

Conneaut looked more confident on their home field with their passing and overall effort from the onset. It took Tyler Bone 11 minutes to open his, as well as Conneaut's, goal scoring account on the 2012 season.

Brandon Jackson laid the ball off for Tyler Bone, about 20 yards out, and Bone caught the goalkeeper going the wrong way and lofted a ball into the far corner.

The relief was apparent for the Conneaut side, yet despite out shooting Titusville 24 to 4, and pelting the Titusville net with misfire after misfire, the Eagles really didn't threaten for the next 30 minutes with anything substantial.

As time progressed in the game and the score stayed at 1-0, that little seed of 2011 doubt starting creeping in, as Conneaut began to wonder if Titusville might luck themselves into a goal and a tie.

And as it goes, you think it and it almost happens, as things got shaky for Conneaut's senior goalkeeper Nick Stockton around the 60th minute; Stockton came out for a ball and couldn't get to it, a Titusville player pounced on it and hit a rocket to net, but senior Josh Betts backed up his goalkeeper and made a goal line save to make it 1-0.

A huge goal line save that appeared to kick Conneaut's offense back into gear.

Junior Tyler Bone, a player expected to step up and lead in the midfield, took over the game minutes later and pushed farther up into the striker line at times. Bone started beating 3 or 4 Titusville players and working one-two combinations with midfield partner Brandon Jackson.

The improved performance in midfield started to pay dividends as Jackson set Bone up with a beautiful pass, from 20 yards out again, and Bone fired this one into the net, at the 70th minute mark, to make it 2-0.

Three minutes later Jackson set Bone up with a carbon copy play, using the mantra if it's working- keep working it, and Bone scored again to secure a hat trick.

With 3 assists for Brandon Jackson and 3 goals by Tyler Bone, it appeared that Conneaut finally found their midfield duo.

Starting lineup: ST- Richard Moore, ST- Tanner Williams, LW- Ethan Mona, CM- Tyler Bone, CM- Brandon Jackson, RW- Brandon Moss, RB- Josh Betts, CB- Tanner Houck, CB- Tommy Mullen, LB- Cole Snodgrass, GK- Nick Stockton

Substitutes used: Tanner Dittrich, Nick Moss, Cody Zinz, Luke Graham, Chase Vickers, Mark McLean, Brandon Haylett, Kyle Ledford, Chris Toth

9/1/2012: Conneaut 0 - Girard 0

9/1/2012: Conneaut 0 - Girard 0
By Ryan Kozlowski, Assistant Coach

The Conneaut Eagles kicked off the first game, at Girard, in the new digs -of the blue and white of the CASH Eagles.

The Eagles were looking to get off to a fast start, to hopefully put behind them a woeful 2-16 2011 campaign, that sputtered before it could begin thanks to ten injuries (two or three starters for the entire year) and a few ineligibles.

Unluckily the Eagles allowed Girard to stay in the game, despite out possessing the Yellowjackets by around 65% to 35 and compiling 15 shots to Girard's 7 as the game progressed.

Conneaut had 5 or 6 good opportunities but first game jitters led to last pass issues and misfiring on a couple of sitters.

Tyler Bone had the best opportunity with 12 minutes remaining in the contest; as Bone perched himself right outside of the box, let Girard clear it right to his feet, and then took his time trying to set up a worm burner, far post that skidded just right of the bar.

Senior defender Tommy Mullen saved the Eagles a couple of times with big time, danger zone clear outs. Sophomore Brandon Moss also had a breakout game dominating on the right wing for the entirety of the Conneaut opener.

The coaching staff was impressed with the defense from Josh Betts, Cole Snodgrass, Tommy Mullen, and Tanner Houck to record the shutout, but wondered where and if the goals would come for Conneaut in 2012.

Starting lineup: ST- Richard Moore, ST- Brandon Jackson, LW- Ethan Mona, CM- Tyler Bone, CM- Tanner Williams, RW- Brandon Moss, RB- Josh Betts, CB- Tanner Houck, CB- Tommy Mullen, LB- Cole Snodgrass, GK- Nick Stockton

Substitutes used: Tanner Dittrich, Nick Moss, Mark McLean, Brandon Haylett, Kyle Ledford, Chris Toth

9/1/2012: Logo