10/23/2012: Conneaut Soccer Makes Second Playoff Appearance

10/23/2012: Conneaut Soccer Makes Second Playoff Appearance In 11 Year History
CONNEAUT MEN'S SOCCER BLOG
By Ryan Kozlowski, Conneaut Men's Assistant Coach

11 years of Conneaut Soccer and the 2012 boy's version is the second team out of 22 versions (both men's and women's) to taste playoff competition.

The only other version was the 2007 boys who lost in the first round.

The team before 2012 was officially called Conneaut Valley, even though players from Linesville, Conneaut Lake, and Conneaut Valley always played together; and actually most of the players were from either Lake or Linesville.

"The new name and new colors might not be a positive for the traditions of football for Linesville, Lake, and Valley but it's been a positive for soccer. When I played or when we played last year most of the kids are not from Valley, but we go by Valley. It's nice to see all the players rally around new colors and a new identity and so far it's been good for us," said Assistant Ryan Kozlowski.

"Consider it a new start and a new history. So far Conneaut Eagles soccer is a playoff caliber program and we will look to continue that tradition next year and for years to come," continued Kozlowski.

The Conneaut Eagles (9-7-2), in their first playoff appearance as a new program, will take on General McLane (10-6-2) at Franklin 5 p.m. next Wednesday.

"McLane is the favorite but have an easy conference after themselves and Harbor Creek. They only have one more win then us on the season. We've had our ups and downs, some big wins and some big losses. But, what the players need to understand is that the playoffs is a new season and there 3 games away from a D-10 title. A chance to put that in the new school cabinet and come back 20 years from now and tell your kids, 'look what dad won.' It's up to them if that's enough to inspire them," commented Assistant Coach Kozlowski.

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10/20/2012: Hickory 3- Conneaut 1

10/20/2012: Hickory 3- Conneaut 1
CONNEAUT MEN'S SOCCER BLOG
By Ryan Kozlowski, Conneaut Men's Assistant Coach

Hickory scored early and Conneaut came out flat on a freezing last day of the season.

The only bright spot on a cold day was when Tanner Houck played a good ball through to Richard Moore, who finished once again, to make it 1-1 early in the second half.

But, instead of energizing Conneaut, the Eagles gave up two more goals to end the season on a sour note.

Nevertheless, 9-7-2 is a winning record and much better than the 2-16 of the previous season. The Eagles may still have an outside chance at playoffs.

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10/18/2012: Meadville 3- Conneaut 2

10/18/2012: Meadville 3- Conneaut 2
CONNEAUT MEN'S SOCCER BLOG
By Ryan Kozlowski, Assistant Men's Soccer Coach

The Conneaut boys (9-5-2) felt confident that they would have an easy time with Meadville at home for Senior Night.

They beat Meadville 2-1 earlier in the year at Meadville's Bender Field and Conneaut appeared to be on a role while Meadville at 2-13 were not.

But, while everything came to Conneaut easily yesterday against Commodore Perry, the Eagles looked out of sorts against the Bulldogs and struggled.

Freshman standout Cottrell McDonald for Meadville got the Bulldogs going with a goal 15 minutes in and would get a second late in the game to lead the Bulldogs to a 3-2 win.

Meadville went up 2-nil at half.

The second half started off well enough for Conneaut; as Eagles senior Josh Betts strike from 30 yards out deflected over the Bulldogs shot stopper and made it 2-1 with about 37 minutes left in the game.

Conneaut controlled most of the second half, desperate to win the game, but couldn't find many more legitimate scoring opportunities as Meadville's defense did a good job of frustrating the Eagles.

As it goes in soccer, Conneaut had about 80 percent of the possession second half but were caught off guard on a counter; as a nice ball that found Cottrell McDonald, who got one on one with the keeper, led to  a calm finish to put the game to bed at 3-1 with about 7 minutes left.

"Meadville is the best 2-13 team I've ever seen. They have players who can play in Cottrell, Sam, and Dane Cessna. They worked hard and deserved the win. We were tired but should have came with the same intensity that we did yesterday and unfortunately Meadville had a little more in the tank, and appeared to have more direction to their play," said Conneaut assistant Ryan Kozlowski.

Tyler Bone (assisted by Nick Stockton) picked up an insurance goal with a minute and a half left to make it 3-2.

Conneaut dropped to 9-6-2 and put their playoff chances in jeopardy, but would have a chance to rebound and get into double digits wins Saturday against Hickory.

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10/17/2012: Conneaut 5- Commodore Perry 1

H.S. SOCCER: Eagles continue playoff aspirations with big win

By Pete ChiodoMEADVILLE TRIBUNE

LINESVILLE — Being a Class AA squad in a Class A region, the Conneaut boys soccer team is well aware that it’s going to have to finish the season strong if it wants to be considered for a playoff spot in a couple weeks.

And Wednesday against Commodore Perry, it was easy to see the urgency in the Eagles’ effort as they routed the Panthers 5-1 during a Region 1 matchup at Conneaut Area Senior High School.

“Yeah, we’re trying to get to the playoffs,” said Eagles forward Richard Moore. “It’s my senior year. I haven’t made it yet. ... And this was probably one of our better games. Everyone’s adrenaline is rushing. We’re right there.”

With yesterday’s win, Conneaut is now 9-5-2 on the season and 6-3-1 against Region 1 opponents. The Eagles have two matches left, both against non-region teams — today they host Meadville and on Saturday they travel to Hickory.

Should Conneaut win out, the team will have 11 wins. But the Eagles have to stack that up against a pretty crowded Class AA field, which includes Harbor Creek, General McLane, Wilmington, Franklin, Warren and Saegertown, each of which have double-digit wins on the year.

“We have some good wins this year,” said Conneaut coach Alan Wise. “We beat Saegertown. We beat Kennedy Catholic. And if we can beat Meadville (today) we’ll have beat them twice, a triple-A team. So, I hope our case holds up for the playoffs.

“But we’ve still got to do our job. We’ve got to win (today) and Saturday in Hickory.”

The Eagles wasted precious little time getting down to business yesterday against Perry (6-10, 4-7 Region 1). Just 53 seconds into the match, the Eagles had the Panthers’ net surrounded. Panthers goalie Trent McErlane deflected a shot by Conneaut’s Tyler Bone, but the rebound went right to Ethan Mona, who tapped it across the goal line.

Bone got his turn about 17 minutes later. Brandon Jackson forwarded a pass to Bone, who was all alone near the right sideline. Bone angled in and had a one-on-one with McErlane, whom he then stutter-stepped around and toed the ball into the net to push Conneaut’s lead to 2-0.

The Eagles added to that lead with around seven minutes remaining in the first half. Moore got behind the defense on a deep forwarding pass. McErlane stepped out to intercept it. Both players battled for the ball.

It squeaked free and both dived for it — McErlane with his hands, Moore with his cleats. Moore managed to kick the ball out of McErlane’s grip and it rolled to Tanner Houck, who was all alone near the right side of a wide-open goal. He buried it.

“Not to be selfish, but I was trying to go for my goal,” said Moore. “But I ended up kicking (the ball) off their goalie’s hands and then Tanner Houck went and put it in.”

Moore would eventually get a tally of his own halfway through the second period. He was well to the side of the goal when he batted a bouncing pass out of the air in front of him with the side of his foot, and that shot curled around McErlane and ripped the twine. Tanner Dittrich had the assist.

“Richard had a nice blast,” said Wise. “It was like, ‘Where did that come from?’”

Perry came up with its only goal about nine minutes later on a score by Seth Jaussen. But Conneaut pushed it back to a four-goal lead with 4:49 to play, when Dittrich, getting a nice forward feed from Kyle Ledford, beat McErlane on a one-on-one.

“I’m happy for the boys,” said Wise. “We made a couple formation changes this week and I think it’s helped. It definitely helped in the Kennedy game (on Monday) and it helped (Wednesday).

“So, we’re waiting for the big game (today) against Meadville. That’s a big rivalry. You might as well take the records and throw them out the window for those two teams. ... I think every game we played them the last four years has been a one-goal game.”

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10/15/2012: Conneaut 1 - Kennedy Catholic 0

10/15/2012: Conneaut 1 - Kennedy Catholic 0 
CONNEAUT MEN'S SOCCER BLOG
By Ryan Kozlowski, Conneaut Men's Assistant Coach

Kennedy Catholic came into this contest with a 12-1-1 record, while Conneaut's up and down season had them at a respectable 7-5-2.

With that in mind, many probably wouldn't have pegged the Conneaut Eagles traveling to Kennedy Catholic and putting up a win with the season that the other Eagles (of the golden variety) were having.

Yet a total team effort by every Conneaut Eagle that stepped on KC's soggy field led to Conneaut's best performance of the season.

Tanner Williams, Tommy Mullen, Josh Betts, and Chris Toth were resolute in defense.

Cole Snodgrass, Brandon Jackson, and Ethan Mona challenged in midfield.

While a striker triumvirate of Richard Moore, Tyler Bone, and Tanner Houck created havoc by pressing the back four of Kennedy with speed and pressure.

Overall, Conneaut had 10 shots on goal to Kennedy Catholic's 8, and the Conneaut Eagles had the better chances while KC rarely threatened.

Nevertheless, goalkeeper Nick Stockton had to be on the top of his game at moments and his clear outs to the strikers were spot on.

Conneaut pressed and pressed, and worked the over the top ball, but couldn't find a breakthrough.

Until the 63rd minute, as Conneaut's Tanner Williams pressed up the right side and then switched a beautiful ball to a wide open Cole Snodgrass who snuck unmarked on a back post run.

Snodgrass trapped the ball..
Then there was a second or two pause on the field..
As no one in the Conneaut or Kennedy Catholic camps could probably believe how open Snodgrass was, let alone Snodgrass..
Then it was just Snodgrass vs. KC's goalkeeper Cianci..
And Cole ripped a shot into the right back post and wheeled off in celebration.

Yet there were still 27 minutes to play and that's where not only the defense but all 11 players on the field for Conneaut stepped up and played team defense, won the 50-50 balls, and killed clock with clever play after clever play in the offensive third.

Kennedy Catholic's coaches, bench, and fans pleaded and pushed their eleven for an equalizer, but quite simply it wasn't their day; it was Conneaut's.

"This is the level of play our team is capable of when all eleven put their minds to a task. Unfortunately that desire by all eleven to win the 50-50 balls, to put pressure on the defense, and to challenge the other team, instead of laying off, hasn't always been there this season.

If we play like this we can beat 12-1 teams and compete with anyone. Hopefully the players put that in their back pocket and use that to inspire them the rest of this season," stated Coach Kozlowski.

With the win Conneaut improved to 8-5-2 overall and 5-3-1 in conference, while Kennedy Catholic dropped to 12-2-1 and 6-2-1 in conference.

Starters: GK- Nick Stockton, LB- Cole Snodgrass, CB- Josh Betts, SW- Tommy Mullen, RB- Tanner Williams, CM- Ethan Mona, CM- Brandon Jackson, LM- Richard Moore, RM- Brandon Moss, ST- Tyler Bone, ST- Tanner Houck

Substitutes: Chris Toth, Mark McLean, Luke Graham, Nick Moss

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10/13/2012: Eagles Player Of The Week- Rich Moore (Week 6)

10/13/2012: Eagles Player Of The Week- Rich Moore (Week 6)

Richard Moore only had 1 assist to his name before his last four games; but in his last four games Moore has 4 goals and 2 assists.

Moore really got going this week against Sharpsville single handily keeping the Eagles in the game by being involved in all three goals, with two strikes and an assist.

Because of his play in the Sharpsville game, Moore is awarded with the player of week 6 award.

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10/11/2012: Conneaut 3 - Sharpsville 3

10/11/2012: Conneaut 3 - Sharpsville 3
CONNEAUT MEN'S SOCCER BLOG
By Ryan Kozlowski, Conneaut Men's Assistant Coach

Last time Conneaut played Sharpsville at home they won comfortably 4-nil.

Therefore, Sharpsville appeared to be the perfect opponent to get the season back on track after losses to Grove City and Sharpsville.

The (7-5-1) Eagles got off to a great start when Richard Moore's cross found Brandon Moss in the six yard box a minute and 36 seconds in.

Moss stabbed at the ball and found the back of the net.

Eight minutes later, Moore would get on the end of freshman Brandon Haylett's pass (for Haylett's first point on the season and in his career) to make it 2-0.

Things were looking good for the Eagles and for interim Head Coach Ryan Kozlowski; as it appeared the Eagles were well on their way to another 4-nil (or higher) win against Sharpsville.

Then the Eagles defense and goalkeeping got a little lax, allowing a corner kick header and free kick goal later in the first half to allow (2-11) Sharpsville to climb back into the game at 2-2.

Coach Kozlowski kept with the game plan, and continued to keep with it in the second half as Sharpsville converted another dead ball opportunity, with another corner kick header.

"Why Sharpsville got back into the game came to two simple things, the defense wasn't winning the ball battle in their own box and the goalkeeper wasn't winning the ball in his own box. The offense created chances, the defense created a few for the other team," said Coach Kozlowski.

Down 3-2 Conneaut continued to battle and Richard Moore, with 25 minutes remaining in the second half, was once again the man turning the screws.

Moore raced down the right wing with the ball and fired a perfect upper 90 shot into the net to make it 3-3.

Then a few minutes later Moore won a penalty in the box after being tripped up by a Sharpsville defender, here was the Eagles chance to save what should have been an easy win.

Moore raised his hand to take it and Coach Kozlowski figured with two goals and an assist on the day Moore would be the man for the job.

Moore blasted it high.

Conneaut would create chance after chance for the final 20 minutes of the contest, out shooting Sharpsville by a 25-11 margin, but the opportunity to win the game had already passed.

Conneaut would go on to tie 3-3 improving to a 7-5-2 record, 4-3-1 in conference.

Starters: GK- Nick Stockton, LB- Cole Snodgrass, CB- Tanner Williams, SW- Tommy Mullen, RB- Brandon Haylett, RM- Brandon Moss, CM- Brandon Jackson, CM- Ethan Mona, LM- Luke Graham, ST- Tanner Dittrich, ST- Richard Moore

Substitutes: Nick Moss, Chris Toth, Pete Egan, Kyle Ledford, Mark McLean

Notables: * Richard Moore has 4 goals and 2 assists in the past 4 games showing a late season rise in his form

*Chris Toth played excellent in the second half at right back for Brandon Haylett

*Mark McLean and Tanner Dittrich almost scored on many occasions during a 10 minute portion of the second half.

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