Girls’ soccer team opens with 2 impressive wins
By Jay Turner
Soccer phenom Lauren Berman heads a stacked Lady Bulldogs squad this year. (Mike Barucci photo)
With several top-flight players returning and a roster that is dangerous from top to bottom, the CHS girls’ varsity soccer team is poised for a breakout season in 2011. And the girls certainly looked the part in their first week of action as they improved to 2-0 with impressive wins over Duxbury and division foe Sharon.
Led by three-year starter and 2010 league scoring champion Lauren Berman, the Bulldogs looked sharp right out of the gate, displaying the kind of skill and toughness that has second-year head coach Paul Turner genuinely excited about the season ahead.
“We were good last year,” said Turner, “but looking at the start so far this year, I think we’re better.”
Turner was particularly encouraged by the team’s performance in the home opener against Duxbury, a perennial winner and a team that had beaten the Bulldogs 4-1 last season.
This time, Canton set the tone from the opening kickoff, and even after falling behind 2-0 at the half, the game never seemed to be in doubt.
“I thought we were clearly the better team,” said Turner. “We started out absolutely brilliantly. We barely let them see the ball for the first seven or eight minutes.”
In the second half, the Canton attack was equally relentless and led to four unanswered goals — one each from seniors Kayla Laughlin, Vicki Tondre and Kensey Waterman, and the fourth from junior Brianna Duserick.
All four girls are expected to be key contributors this season, especially with Waterman moving up to midfield from center back, a position now manned by talented freshman Hailee Duserick, Brianna’s younger sister.
On Friday, the girls traveled to neighboring Sharon, where they picked up their first road win — a 3-0 shutout against an Eagles squad that Turner described as “competitive, physical and feisty.”
The game was still scoreless in the 33rd minute of play when Tondre scored from about 25 yards out to give Canton the 1-0 lead. Laughlin then netted her second of the season about five minutes later to make it 2-0 heading into halftime.
In the second half, the girls had several chances to extend the lead, but they struggled to find the net until Berman broke through with a late goal to seal the victory.
Although it was not as complete a performance as the opener against Duxbury, Turner was impressed with the overall effort on both sides of the ball and was particularly encouraged by the play of junior goalkeeper Kelly Bradley, who he said “came up massive” in the win and definitely earned herself another opportunity to start.
Looking ahead to the rest of the season, Turner said the team plans to take it one game at a time; however, he is thrilled with the early results and fully expects to be a factor come tournament time.
“We could certainly make some noise in the playoffs,” he said, “and we’re good enough to win the league if we keep working hard and improving.”
This week, the Bulldogs were scheduled to host Foxboro on Tuesday and then travel to Mansfield on Friday for a 6 p.m. game.
Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=7988
Posted by Jay Turner
on Sep 14 2011. Filed under High School, Sports.
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