Soccer: Canal Winchester boys moving in right direction
Canal Winchester boys soccer coach Cody Thomas had two takeaways from a decisive win that kept the Indians atop the OCC-Capital Division.
One was that the team still had a large amount of untapped potential, and the other was a familiar feeling he first encountered about this time last year, largely because three players scored their first goals of the season in a 4-1 win over Westerville North on Sept. 20.
“Early in the (2021) season, Chase (Alwood), Evan (French) and Isaiah (Coleman) could all score goals but then all of a sudden Jacob Cressy started to score. Sam Howard and Caden Bjorklund started to score,” Thomas said. “This team has a different identity, but that was one of the signs that we were starting to grow. If teams take away Evan and Isaiah, we know we have more options.”
French had 12 goals and Coleman had seven through 11 games, leading Canal Winchester to records of 7-3-2 overall and 4-0 in the league before playing Westerville South on Sept. 29.
Porter Butterbaugh, Braden Dowden and Howard broke into the scoring column against North, and Butterbaugh assisted Coleman’s goal that made it 3-0 early in the second half.
According to Thomas, that was the first time he had started his “strongest 11 players” because of injuries. Thomas said Dowden was coming off a bout with COVID-19 and Howard — whose goal came from about 30 yards out — has battled injuries on and off this season.
“We wanted to assert our will … and we found ways to make plays,” Thomas said. “We’ve had some games where a center back (Mason Wardell) had his first goal of the season and Wonder Harris (a midfielder and transfer from Harvest Prep) scored a couple, but now we’re starting to see more guys get more goals in. When we started to find our rhythm last year, that’s what happened.”
The Indians, who are seeking their first league championship since 2014 and second consecutive Division I district title, led second-place North and Worthington Kilbourne by a game in the league before Sept. 29. Canal Winchester defeated Kilbourne 4-2 on Aug. 30.
Canal Winchester finishes OCC-Capital play with a home game against Delaware on Oct. 6 and a trip to Big Walnut on Oct. 11.
•With arguably the two toughest OCC-Ohio games on their schedule still to come, Pickerington North girls coach Doug Peterson said his team hit its stride at the right time.
After consecutive losses to Olentangy Liberty and Upper Arlington in late August by a combined score of 6-1, the Panthers entered a Sept. 29 league game against Grove City having not allowed a goal in five contests dating to Sept. 10.
North had 11 consecutive scoreless halves entering Sept. 29, as it fell behind Pickerington Central 1-0 at halftime 19 days earlier but reeled off five unanswered goals after the break to win 5-1. The Panthers then went on to outscore their next five opponents 19-0.
“We took a beating at the beginning against a couple teams, but we’re starting to roll a little better and we’re more dangerous,” Peterson said, lauding his team’s decision-making and overall growth. “We’ve had a lot of shots (in most games). We’re starting to get more dangerous and see more opportunities and how to get them. We’ve been working on forward play and we’ve seen the results. It’s coming along.”
According to Peterson, a handful of underclassmen have helped pace the team offensively, including sophomores Anna Carlisle (midfielder/defender) and Sania Dearing (forward) and freshman Olivia McCuen (midfielder/forward).
The Panthers play host to defending league champion and 2021 state semifinalist New Albany on Oct. 6 before visiting Gahanna on Oct. 11.
•The Pickerington Central boys have dealt with their share of injuries, a spell coach Brett Neiderman hoped would pass by the beginning of October. The upside for Neiderman is that the team’s depth developed by necessity.
“We’ve had a few games where we’ve been without as many as five regular starters. They’ve slowly been coming back, so we’re excited,” Neiderman said. “We’re getting there, and when we do we can compete with some strong teams. We’ve made it a point to say ‘next man up’ and we expect that there won’t be a dip (in performance when backups are on the field).
“That said, it’s tough for the guys who don’t get as much playing time to perform like the top guys. But when they have, it’s allowed us to get some of those good results.”
The Tigers were 8-3 overall and 2-0 in the OCC-Buckeye before playing Groveport on Sept. 29. Central came in with a 14-game winning streak in league play dating to the 2019 season.
Jack Henry had eight goals and six assists through 11 games, while Thomas Addiah had a team-leading 11 goals and Ethan Simmons had nine assists.
dpurpura@thisweeknews.com
@ThisWeekDave
This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Soccer: Canal Winchester boys moving in right direction
