The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
High school boys soccer regional final capsule
CHAGRIN FALLS AT WARREN HOWLAND
What: Division II regional final When: 3, Nov. 7
Where: Warren Howland, 200 Shaffer Drive NE, Warren Records: Chagrin Falls 18-2, Warren Howland 19-0-1 What’s next: The winner will take on Lexington or Lima Shawnee in a state semifinal at 7 p.m. Nov. 11 at a site to be determined.
What to look for: Chagrin Falls returns to the big stage of the elite eight for the first time since 2008, eyeing its first state final four berth since 2003.
The Tigers advanced with a hard-fought 1-0 regional semifinal win over Revere, the decisive strike coming from senior midfielder Ian Zitney. Zitney (16 goals, nine assists) drives Chagrin’s engine, a skilled facilitator and finisher. The work rate of fellow senior Ellis Clark (6-4) helps fuel the Tigers’ ability to possess with regularity. While not prolific as far as volume goes, Alex Cantor (7-1) nearly grabbed
a match-winner twice in a district final win over Poland Seminary, and Lance Buescher (3-5) and Zach Lechman (4-2) are adept at finding pockets of space in the attack.
In the defensive third, Chagrin has been on form all year, with 15 clean sheets and seven goals conceded. Senior goalkeeper Jack Stauffer, also a free-kick and goalkick weapon, and a backline anchored by senior center back J.T. Marting (5-4) shifts, communicates and closes down effectively. Howland, the 2019 D-II state runner-up, has been dominant for much of the fall. Its 1-0 D-II regional semifinal win at Bay was its first match decided by one goal or less since a 0-0 draw Sept. 3 with Canfield. Howland boasts a plus-117 goal differential. It has a litany of options in the attack, including Gabriel Altawil (38-21), returning All-Ohio midfielder Jordan Sperling (27-17), Gabriel Lisi (18-15) and Austin Stassinis (14-14).
In what could be a physical match, Chagrin needs to be smart in its 1v1 defending and maximize set pieces (corner kicks and free kicks) to grab this road result.