Shut out: Ashland blanks New Philadelphia in Ohio Cardinal Conference boys soccer
If bonus points were awarded for time of possession, the Ashland boys soccer team would have won the match by double digits.
Controlling the ball for almost 80% of the game, the Arrows cruised to a 3-0 victory at home Tuesday evening over Ohio Cardinal Conference foe New Philadelphia.
“One of the things New Philly has done in the past and what they did to us last year was put a lot of bodies behind the ball,” said Ashland coach Dustin Hosler. “And what that does is make it difficult for that final play and scoring is going to be a little more difficult. But it is going to open up the middle of the field, and that is where we possessed the ball a lot tonight.”
Arrows with a slim 1-0 halftime lead
Owen Sharick rifled home a shot in the back left corner of the net from 25 yards out at the 16:46 mark of the first half for the game’s only goal through 40 minutes.
Ashland (8-5-1, 5-1) kept Quakers goalkeeper Nathaniel Demuth busy all game, firing 12 shots in the first half alone and 18 for the game with Demuth credited with 12 saves.
Sharick’s tally came after Demuth made a beautiful save of a potential Ashland scoring opportunity with 18:40 in the first half.
“New Philly is very disciplined and stay in a pack,” Hosler said. “And because of all of that we were able to switch the sides of the fields pretty much at will. It is their style of play that allowed us to get the kind of openings that we had tonight. Their condensed middle allowed it to open up the outsides for us.”
Conversely, Ashland keeper Bryce Thompson had a quiet night at net as New Philly (5-6, 1-4) got off only two shots the entire game, with Thompson getting credit for a pair of saves.
“We told them tonight that when you have that many behind the ball and when a team packs it in like that, you have to look for your outside shots and you have to find a way to break them,” Hosler said.
“Owen really stepped up and had a heckuva shot outside the 18.”
Ashland pulls away in second half
Ashland’s Ayden Behrendsen accounted for both second-half goals (26:41 and 11:33) to put the game away. The second half was a carbon copy of the first half with the ball rarely on the Arrows defensive side of the pitch.
Hosler said a small adjustment by New Philly got the offense in gear.
“We wanted to get on the board early,” he said, “and it took a little longer than we wanted. And that was not for lack of opportunities. We were looking for the crosses in and that started opening things up a little bit for us.
“They changed their formation up a little bit and pushed a little more forward. And that opened up more opportunities for us at the back.”
“Tonight this all started in pregame,” said Ashland senior Roman Ramirez. “We came out with a lot of energy. We knew this was going to be a big game after our devastating (3-3) tie with them last year.
"Offensively we were able to spread them wide because we knew they were going to be playing very deep. We just kept it wide and were able to find the back of the net a few times. We have been able to move the ball really well this season.”
This article originally appeared on Ashland Times Gazette: Ayden Behrendsen, Owen Sharick score goals for Ashland in OCC win
