CHS field hockey team unbeaten at mid-season

The Canton High field hockey team kept up its undefeated streak with two more wins last week — 2-0 against King Philip and 1-0 over Oliver Ames — and a 1-1 tie against Mansfield. The girls’ season record now stands at 8-0-1.

In the game against KP, the girls started off with a strong passing game and with great speed in moving the ball up field, coach Fior Griffin said. Junior Michelle McNeil scored the game’s first goal just before the end of the first half. Senior captain Emily Dillon scored the team’s second goal with an assist by junior Haley Gaughan.

“The score doesn’t tell the whole story,” Griffin said. “We possessed the ball the majority of the time, especially in the second half.”

The girls did not play with the same ease in their game against Mansfield.

“When we showed up, we just couldn’t seem to get it together,” Griffin said. “We were half a step too slow to get the ball, or we went to receive the ball and missed.”

Mansfield scored in the sixth minute of game play, and Griffin said panic set in among the Canton girls. She gives the team credit, however, for sticking with Mansfield throughout the game and preventing the Hornets from scoring a second goal.

With one minute left in the game, freshman Alex Dillon came up big and scored the Bulldogs’ first goal to tie the game at 1-1.

While disappointed in the result, the girls quickly bounced back in their game against Oliver Ames. Griffin said some of the girls struggled because of the grass field, but still managed to play solid defense and prevent OA from scoring. McNeil scored the game’s only goal in the second half to lead the Bulldogs to a victory.

Standout players last week included freshman Casey Considine and senior goalie Sarah Healey. Griffin said Considine shows impressive poise, especially for a freshman, on defense.

“She does the simple things,” Griffin said. “It’s nothing big and fancy, but she does her job to stop the ball.”

Healey, now in her third season as goalie, has emerged as one of the team’s unquestioned leaders, telling girls where to move to optimize defensive play.

“You can hear Sarah halfway down the field,” Griffin said with a laugh. “At the end of the Foxboro game, the team’s coach complimented her and said she owned the cage.”

At the halfway point in the season, Griffin said she and the team are happy with their game play thus far.

“We’re at the top of the Hock and on track to meet the goals we set out at the beginning of the season,” she said.

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