Canton's Rachael Brunk dribbles through Pioneer's  Megan Schectman (15) and Nora Katterman. (photo by Ed Wright)

High Skill, Low Score

Canton, Pioneer battle to 0-0 draw

BY ED WRIGHT
April 23, 2010, 11:55 p.m.

  A typical Canton-Ann Arbor Pioneer girls soccer game unfolded on the PCEP varsity soccer field Friday night.

  The match featured a lot of action, tons of skill, but not a lot of scoring.

  Actually, there was no scoring, thanks in large part to Canton's second-half goal-keeper, Kayla Bridges, who  managed to leap high and deflect a Margaret Nemetz shot that was headed toward the upper-left corner of the net with 2:10 left in the game.

  The scoreless draw left Canton with a 4-1-2 mark.

  Bridges shared the shutout with Samantha McPartlin, who expertly stopped everything that came her way in the opening 40 minutes.

  Pioneer goal-keeper Kaitlyn Bedolla was equally efficient, stopping six Chief shots.

  Canton defender Traci Breitmeyer enjoyed a stellar night which was typified in the game's 26th minute when she single-handedly defused a Nora Katterman's rush up the left side.

  Chief forward Allyson Krause was a threat all night. She barely missed on back-to-back scoring chances with six minutes left when her rebound of a Lindsey Winters corner kick sailed just high.

  Forty-five seconds later, she teed the ball up from 25 yards out, but the ball slid just wide of the left post.

  Canton had successive corner kicks from each side of the net with just under 13 minutes to play, but despite dangerous entry passes from Winters and Jessikah McClendon, the Chiefs couldn't connect.

  Bridges' second-best save of the night came with 6:40 left when she smothered a bouncing ball a split second before Clark could connect with her right foot.