Boys’ lax escapes with two close wins

Sophomore Matt Lennon (left) and senior TJ Lennon (center)

The end result was a couple of hard-fought wins, but the CHS boys’ lacrosse team sure made it interesting last week in home games against North Attleboro and Milton, nearly coughing up a lead in both games before holding on to win by a single goal.

The Bulldogs, who also got crushed last week by division leader Foxboro 11-2, currently stand at 9-5 overall with two games remaining in the regular season.

As for the two victories last week, head coach Bill Bendell said his team will gladly take them, even if both were a little too close for comfort.

On Monday against the Red Rocketeers, Canton got off to a lightning quick start and led by as many as seven early in the second half. But North Attleboro came roaring back, scoring seven of the game’s final eight goals, including all four in the fourth quarter to make it a 10-9 final.

Bendell said afterward that he felt his team became “too aggressive” in the second half after scoring with such ease early on. He also gave credit to the visitors, noting that they “played hard the whole time and had a nice comeback.”

Ultimately, however, Bendell was most impressed with how his team responded after the final NA goal, as they managed to possess the ball for the final 1:12 to seal the victory.

“We could’ve very easily folded there,” he said, “but we did a nice job and held on for the win.”

Sophomore Pat Ward led a balanced offensive attack with four goals and one assist. Other top producers included Matt Malloy (2 goals, 2 assists), Kurt Leavitt (1 goal, 3 assists) and JC Marcone (2 goals, 1 assist).

On Saturday, it was a bit of déjà vu as the Bulldogs nearly squandered a 4-1 lead over visiting Milton; however, after a pair of Milton goals made it 4-3 late in the fourth quarter, Canton once again responded — this time with a final defensive stand to close out the game.

Four different players scored a goal in the win, including senior captain Max Kamin, who was honored before the game along with fellow senior captain TJ Lennon. Malloy, Marcone and Leavitt all had goals as well.

But the big story in this game was the play of defensemen Conor O’Brien and Matt Bagley, who held Milton’s top two offensive players to just one point and generally played their “best game of the year,” according to Bendell. The coach had similar words of praise for goalie Devin Costa, who finished with 12 saves, including “three or four point-blank, one on ones.”

Earlier in the week, the Bulldogs traveled to first-place Foxboro, where the Warriors’ talent proved too much as the game wore on. “They’re definitely the class of the league,” Bendell said of Foxboro, now 13-1 overall. Canton managed just two goals in the loss — one by Ward and one by freshman Ben Lodge, his first of the season.

The Bulldogs will play their final league game Thursday afternoon at Sharon, and it could potentially determine which team finishes second in the Davenport Division behind Foxboro, depending on Sharon’s recent performances.

Canton will then play a “crossover” game with its counterpart in the Kelly-Rex Division on Tuesday, May 24, followed by a makeup game with nonleague Bishop Connolly on Wednesday, May 25.

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Posted by Jay Turner on May 18 2011. Filed under High School, Sports. Both comments and pings are currently closed.