Boys’ lacrosse team blanked by Franklin Panthers

By Dan DeBlasio

Coming off a multiple-loss week and having dropped three straight games, the Canton High School boys’ lacrosse team was in desperate need of a win when it traveled to play Franklin High School on Tuesday.

The Bulldogs knew that to reverse their fortunes and put an end to the losing streak they would have to play their best game, as they were going up against a top-tier program.

“Franklin is one of the best teams in the Hockomok League,” head coach Bill Bendell said. “We knew going into the game that it was going to be a big challenge for us.”

The challenge proved to be too much for Canton on this day, as the team was dominated by Franklin in all facets of the game. The Bulldogs fell behind early and were never able to get on track, failing to find the back of the net and being shut out 11-0.

“They outplayed us in every phase of the game and I think the final score reflects that,” Bendell said.

Despite the lopsided result, the Bulldogs did have a handful of positive performances in the match. Starting defenseman and senior captain Chris Thomas was forced to take over in net after starting goalie Devin Costa suffered an injury. Thomas turned away 20 shots in between the pipes and stepped up to fill the gap respectably.

In addition, many freshmen, including Matt Lennon, Nick O’Connor, Andrew Mansfield, and Rich Nee, saw quality minutes and made positive contributions on offense and defense.

“Some good news that came out of this game is that we are a very young team and we showed flashes of things we are capable of,” Bendell said. “I was very impressed with our freshmen players who continue to improve and play vital roles on our team.”

The road does not get any easier for the Bulldogs this week as they face off against two teams currently competing for the Hockomok League title. Canton was scheduled to travel to Mansfield on Monday and will  host Foxboro on Friday.

Canton should be back to nearly full strength with most of the players who suffered injuries set to return. The Bulldogs will need superb performances from everyone on the roster if they hope to get back into the win column and find a way to turn their season around.

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Posted by Canton Citizen on Apr 29 2010. Filed under High School, Sports. Both comments and pings are currently closed.