CHS field hockey team wins inaugural Hockomock Classic

With three more victories last week, Canton High’s field hockey team finished the regular season undefeated — 16-0-1— and the winner of the inaugural Hockomock Classic.

After winning the Davenport Division of the newly divided Hockomock League, Canton faced off against Mansfield, the winner of the Kelly-Rex Division, in Saturday night’s first-ever crossover contest.

“We’d been looking forward to this since the beginning of the season,” coach Fior Griffin said. “We wanted to win, beat number one in Kelly-Rex and make a statement: We might be small, but we’re still as good as the big schools.”

Mansfield scored eight minutes into the first half and kept the lead well into the second. Griffin said the Hornets had the best defense the girls had seen this season.

“Our forwards and mids had to work hard to get offensive movement,” she said.

With 3:32 left in the game, Canton was awarded a stroke after Mansfield’s goalie covered the ball in a save attempt. Griffin gave Emily Dillon the stroke, and she scored a goal to tie up the game. Then, with 21 seconds left on the clock, junior Haley Gaughan scored the Bulldogs’ winning goal.

“I was pleased with the way we played, even though we were down by one most of the game,” Griffin said. “We didn’t play hesitant or scared. We played a smart game.”

Canton started the week with a 4-2 win over Foxboro. Freshman Alex Dillon scored 11 minutes into the first half, giving the Bulldogs the momentum in a game that had started out slow. By the end of the half, Canton had a comfortable 3-0 lead. Foxboro answered with two goals in the second half, but the Bulldogs added one of their own and came away with the 4-2 victory.

Scorers for Canton included Dillon, who had two goals, freshman Kelli Stigas, and sophomore Meaghan McKenna. Senior captains Emily Dillon and Alli Guenthner and juniors Becky Lazaro and Michelle McNeil each provided assists.

The team also started off slow in the game against Franklin. “It always seems hard to get our first goal,” Griffin said. “The second always comes soon after.”

A perennially difficult opponent, Franklin pressured Canton’s offense for much of the first half. The Bulldogs prevailed, however, with Lazaro scoring two goals and Gaughan netting the third. The Canton offense shut down the Franklin offense and the Bulldogs came away with a 3-0 win. McKenna and Gaughan finished the game with one assist each.

Now, with the regular season complete, the girls are looking forward to the postseason, but Griffin said they won’t be making any changes.

“We’re going to stay with the things that have gotten us this far,” she said. “I’m really happy with the group this year. We’re just looking forward to the next few weeks.”

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Posted by Jeffrey Cattel on Nov 4 2010. Filed under High School, Sports. Both comments and pings are currently closed.