Almost a perfect 10 for CHS boys’ soccer team

When the calendar reads October and earning a tie on the road is considered the first slip-up of the season, it is safe to say that the Canton High boys’ soccer team is in excellent shape. Ten games into the 2010 campaign, Canton may no longer have a perfect record, but the Bulldogs will settle for remaining unbeaten.

After a 2-2 tie at King Philip last Monday, Canton rebounded with consecutive 2-0 shutout wins at Mansfield last Wednesday and against Oliver Ames Friday. The team is atop the Hockomock League Davenport Division standings with a 9-0-1 record. After the win at Mansfield, Canton has already qualified for the state tournament – faster than any team in program history.

“We talk a lot about the fact that we don’t take [qualifying for the tournament] for granted,” head coach Danny Erickson said. “We have loftier goals than that, but it’s certainly an important milestone whenever it happens.”

Last Monday, Canton entered the game at King Philip with a 7-0 record and went into the half with a 2-1 lead, after Ramon Ambrosio and Michael Denehy both scored for the Bulldogs. But playing into a heavy wind in the second half, Canton failed to capitalize on any scoring opportunities, and King Philip scored the game-tying goal with only 1:20 left to play.

Canton bounced back two days later at Mansfield. Heading into the battle with the Hornets, Erickson said he considered the first half of that game “the most important half that we were going to play up to that point in the year.” Jimmy Kelly scored late in the first half to give the Bulldogs a lead they would not relinquish, while Denehy added an insurance goal late in the second half.

“[I wanted to] see what kind of team showed up after that result [last] Monday,” Erickson said. “It was our first setback on paper of the year, the first point we dropped, so coming back against Mansfield was a real important move for us.”

With last Friday’s win, the Bulldogs swept the season series with divisional rival Oliver Ames. Canton did all of its scoring in the first half, with Matt Malloy and Scott Levy netting goals (first career goal for Levy). Goalie Colby Gavigan picked up his second straight shutout and seventh overall on the season. He now has 18 for his career, good for second all time in program history.

Erickson credited Nate Seto for his work in the backfield, as well as Malloy’s performance in the midfield and Kelly’s play while filling in for an injured Igor Perun. The team played at Stoughton on Tuesday and hosts Attleboro, the newest addition to the Hockomock, on Friday.

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Posted by Jeffrey Pickette on Oct 14 2010. Filed under High School, Sports. Both comments and pings are currently closed.