BACK TO SCHOOL BASH: ‘Cats throttle Cobras, 3-1
Plymouth’s JR Maitland pushes a pass upfield as Canton’s Kassem Ajami pursues the play.
Plymouth’s boys soccer team held its own Back to School Bash Tuesday night, throttling longtime rival Canton with a flurry of highlight-reel goals.
Fueled in the scoring department by seniors Garrett Bazick (two goals) and James “JR” Maitland’s SportsCenter Top 10-caliber net-finder, the Wildcats registered a 3-1 triumph over the Cobras to put an exclamation point on the first official day of school for the Plymouth-Canton Educational Park student-athletes.
After the supremely-talented Bazick deposited the winners’ first goal less than three minutes into the match, he added his second of the night eight minutes later when his scorching riser from the right flank eluded Canton’s diving keeper Nathan Sadowski’s all-out effort to double the ‘Cats’ lead to 2-0.
(To check out video highlights from Tuesday’s match, click here.)
Garrett played like a G.O.A.T.
Bazick’s second goal was assisted by senior Jordan Sneyd, who slid a perfectly-place lead pass to his streaking teammate.
Sadowski, by the way, notched three spectacular saves that made the final score respectable.
Maitland’s goal was a thing of beauty — not only because of his incredible individual effort, but due to a couple of textbook passes by his teammates.
Junior Brendon Burkett started the sequence by stealing the ball from a Canton mid-fielder before sliding a dime to Will Dani, who took two dribbles before touching a pass to Maitland, who timed his break toward the net just in time to avoid an offsides call.
Goal of the Year so far?
Canton’s Connor Stopera stepped in front of Maitland and briefly shielded the Wildcat forward from the ball. However, Maitland countered without breaking stride and deftly maneuvered around Stopera, regaining possession and capping the sensational goal with a sliding right-footed effort that beat Sadowski.
Cobra senior Bruno Delgado cluttered the clean sheet Plymouth keeper Cam Schlaud had built with a goal at the 6:23 mark of the game.
Plymouth is off to a blistering start to the 2024 season as it now owns a 3-0-1 record in the KLAA West Division, trailing only 5-0 Northville. The Wildcats will host the Mustangs Sept.14 in a game moved back from its original Sept. 5 date.
The game served as a fundraiser for the SJ5K non-profit organization that has raised over $1 million since 2011 for Plymouth-Canton families struck by health-related hardships.
Ed Wright can be reached at 734-664-4657 or edwright@socialhousenews.com.
