Canton's Christy Balewski (4) scored the game-winning goal in Tuesday's 2-1 victory over Ann Arbor Pioneer. (Ed Wright)

Balewski's late goal sends Chiefs into Thursday's Regional final vs. 'Cats

BY ED WRIGHT
June 9, 2010, 10 a.m.

  On a chilly, damp, cloudy Tuesday afternoon when it appeared as if the Canton's girls soccer team's season was slipping through its fingers, Christy Balewski delivered a shot of sunshine.

  And not 13 minutes too soon.

  The Chiefs had a stranglehold on their ticket to Thursday's Regional final throughout much of Tuesday's semifinal contest against visiting Ann Arbor Pioneer thanks to a Megan Trapp goal in the game's second minute.

  For the next 59 minutes, the Chiefs' 1-0 advantage held up thanks to a strong defensive scheme that limited the Pioneers to just a handful of decent scoring opportunities.

  But with 19:46 to play, a bouncing ball - slickened severely by a steady afternoon rain - squirted from the grasp of Canton keeper Kayla Bridges near the 18-yard line and onto the foot of Pioneer's Samantha Voss, who dribbled twice before striking a safe shot into the empty net.

  Six minutes later, Balewski came to the rescue, expertly securing the ball in the middle of a front-of-the-net scrum and directing it past Pioneer goalie Kaitlyn Bedolla for the eventual game-winning goal.

  The goal resulted from a dead-on corner kick from Lindsey Winters.

  The corner kick almost never unfolded as the referee initially rule seconds earlier that the ball had deflected past the end line off a Canton player, thus he motioned for a Pioneer goal kick. However, he later overturned the ruling and awarded the corner kick.

  "It felt amazing when it went in," said Balewski, one of the Chiefs' most-dangerous threats all season. "I played it off the corner from Lindsey and I kicked it to the corner because I saw it was open.

  "It was an awesome feeling. It was a good time for it to come.

  "After we scored, we dropped back and played defense. We weren't going to let them score."

  The victory propelled the Chiefs into Thursday's 6 p.m. Regional title game against PCEP rival Plymouth. The two teams battled to a 1-1 draw in their first encounter this season before Canton upended the 'Cats, 1-0, two weeks ago.

  "Christy has been consistent for us all season when it comes to scoring game-winners," said Canton coach George Tomasso. "It's fitting that she got it today.

  "That whole play is designed to create a scrum in the front of the goal. She was the one on the end of it and she did a great job to keep her focus and get the ball past the keeper.

  "We made a few adjustments the last eight minutes; we got more defensive. But I don't know if it was because they were in panic mode or not, but we were getting the ball past mid-field and into the corners."

  Tomasso defended Bridges, who has been a vital part of the Chiefs' success all spring.

  "It was just an unfortunate mistake in a critical situation with the wet ball and all," the former All-State keeper said. "Other than that, she's stood tall for us all year. If that's her one mistake for the season, that's O.K., because we got away with it."

  First-half keeper Sam McPartlin played well for the Chiefs, extinguishing a Pioneer rush with a diving save five minutes after Trapp's goal.

  She then made a slick stop on Stephanie Schaeberle's fine move mid-way through the first half.

Pioneer goalie Kaitlyn Bedolla hugs the ball just before a Chief can do some damage. (Ed Wright photo) 

Allyson Krause was a threat all afternoon against the Pioneers. (Ed Wright photo)

Several players elevate for a 50/50 ball. (Ed Wright photo)

Canton's Melanie Pickert (right) and Pioneer's Olivia Clark rise to the occasion. (Ed Wright photo)