Plymouth goal-keeper Kyle Brindza (green shirt) can't quite reach Brandon Barfuss's (5) blast that broke the scoring ice Monday night. (Ed Wright photo)

Rocks, 'Cats battle to 2-2 draw

  On a field lined with blue, black and white balloons, an offensive party broke out Monday night on the P-CEP varsity soccer pitch.

  Given the two teams' history of lock-down defense, it was definitely a surprise party.

  Andrew Yoder's second goal of the night -- a one-time header off a perfect Caleb Divens corner kick with 15:08 left -- earned Plymouth a 2-2 draw with Salem.

  The Rocks had scored just over three minutes earlier when Jake Pascarella turned on his jets to chase down an Andrew Roth through ball. Pascarella pulled off a slick stop-start move on a defender and ripped a ground-hugging screamer past Wildcat goal-keeper Kyle Brindza.

  The tie left both squads with identical 2-1-2 records with key match-ups lurking later in the week.

  Plymouth will host Northville Wednesday night in a KLAA Kensington Conference cross-over that should be fun to watch.

  Salem will tangle with always-tough Warren DeLaSalle on Thursday night.

  "I saw some good and bad out there tonight," said Plymouth coach Jeff Neschich. "We're still making some mistakes and there were a few intercommunication things, but it's early. We'll get that stuff weeded out.

  "Overall, it wasn't a bad result tonight. Salem has a very dangerous team. That No. 2 (Pascarella) up top is very fast, very dangerous."

  Salem coach Ed McCarthy was less than thrilled with his team's defensive effort, which can be explained in part to the absence of standout defender Tommy Halewicz and tireless mid-fielder Dan Martin, both of whom were sidelined by injuries.

  "I'm disappointed we gave up two goals, but it just wasn't the two goals," said McCarthy. "We gave up way too many quality scoring chances to Plymouth. They could have scored a couple more times in the second half. If we continue to allow that many quality scoring chances, it's going to be difficult to win."

  Defense was the name of the game for the first 26 minutes on a sweltering hot night that featured no breeze and plenty of sweat.

  The scoreless deadlock was broken at the 13:29 mark of the first half when Salem's Brandon Barfuss struck a perfectly placed free kick that tucked into the top-right shelf, just past the outstretched arms of diving Plymouth goal-keeper Kyle Brindza.

  Pascarella set up the free kick 45 seconds earlier when he was brought down in the box by a Plymouth defender.

  The opening six minutes of the second half were action-packed, to say the least.

  Salem sophomore keeper Erick Beas preserved the Rocks' 1-0 advantage two minutes into the second stanza when he elevated high to punch away a rising laser off the foot of Joey Klonowski.

  "That was a fantastic save," said McCarthy. "Normally when you get a save like that, it's enough to win you the game. That was a sure goal, but Erick took it off the board. Normally, the defense rallies around a play like that, but we just gave up too many quality chances."

  Two minutes later, Plymouth threatened again, but Derek Austin's frozen rope from 22 yards out ricocheted off the cross-bar.

  The Wildcats' high-pressure attack finally struck gold with 34 minutes to play when Yoder pushed the ball into the net after securing the rebound of a Nick Russ attempt.

  "That was a nice bang-bang combination play by Andrew and Nick," said Neschich. "At halftime, we moved Andrew from the mid-field to up-front, and it paid off."

  Pascarella continued his explosive start to the season when he used his speed to give the Rocks a 2-1 lead with 18:26 left.

  Pascarella nearly struck on a pair of earlier runs, but he was called for offsides both times.

  "Those were really close," he said of the offsides calls. "On the goal, I saw the defense was bushed, I made the run and Drew did a great job of getting me the ball."

  "I've really been delighted with the play of our forwards -- Jake and Chris Dierker," said McCarthy. "They've been the strength of our team so far. One game one guy is doing it; the next game the other guy is doing it."

  Yoder rose to the occasion (literally) with 15:08 on the clock when he elevated to meet Divens' textbook corner and head it past a diving Beas.

  Both teams manufactured decent threats in the final moments -- Plymouth's came from Yoder again while a Dierker re-direct was gobbled up by Brindza on the doorstep.

  Brindza's booming goal kicks -- some carrying at least 60 yards -- entertained the crowd throughout the contest.

  "We're going to have to learn how to take advantage of those," said Neschich.

  McCarthy said he expects Martin and Halewicz to be ready for Canton on Sept. 11.

  Ed Wright can be reached at (734) 453-1980 or info@plymouthcantonsports.com.
  

Salem keeper Erick Beas goes high to snare a Plymouth scoring attempt in the first half. (Ed Wright photo)

Plymouth's Andrew Yoder pushes the ball upfield. (photo by Ed Wright)

Plymouth's Brent Zuzo settles the ball as Salem's Jeff Cantin moves in. (Ed Wright photo)

Salem's Jake Pascarella gets a leg up on Plymouth's Zach D'Agostino during Monday night's game. (Marion Krutty photo)

Brandon Barfuss is congratulated by teammates after converting a free kick late in the first half of Monday's 2-2 draw with Plymouth (Marion Krutty photo)