Boys’ soccer alone atop division after beating OA
By Jay Turner
Junior Matt Lennon has helped ignite the Bulldogs' offense. (Mike Barucci photo)
Other than a speed bump on Wednesday against King Philip, the CHS boys’ soccer team kept rolling right along last week, earning shutout victories over North Attleboro and Oliver Ames to remain unbeaten at 4-0-3 overall.
They had hoped to win all three contests, but by settling for a 1-1 draw against KP, the Bulldogs suddenly found themselves in a tie with Oliver Ames atop the Davenport Division heading into Friday’s showdown at Memorial Field.
It was their first real test of the season, and the Bulldogs passed with flying colors, knocking off the undefeated Tigers with a pair of second-half goals by seniors Chris Murray and Matt Malloy to take over sole possession of first place. Goalkeeper Colby Gavigan and the defense also did their part in the 2-0 victory as Gavigan picked up his fourth shutout of the season.
Canton, in fact, allowed just one goal all week, and it came during a stretch in the first half against KP in which the Bulldogs looked nearly unstoppable.
“We came out and played brilliantly for the first 10 to 15 minutes,” said head coach Danny Erickson. “It was one of those cases where they just got in our end, took a shot, and scored to go up 1-0.”
Canton was able to tie it up just before halftime on an acrobatic kick by junior Mike Denehy, but neither team managed another goal and the game ended in a 1-1 draw.
Erickson said afterwards that his team was disappointed with the final score; however, he gave credit to the Warriors as a “very tough, hardnosed team” and arguably the second-best team in the league behind Canton over the past few seasons.
Earlier in the week, the Bulldogs traveled to North Attleboro and turned in a dominant performance against the Red Rocketeers, winning 5-0 behind a three-goal effort by Denehy. Senior Cam Huber’s goal in the first half from about 25 yards out made it 1-0, and Murray extended it to 2-0 on a penalty kick before Denehy blew open the game with three straight in the second half.
Counting the three games last week, Canton has now won four of its last five while outscoring opponents by a combined total of 17-2. This week, the team was due to travel to Stoughton on Tuesday, followed by a home game against nonleague Westport on Saturday beginning at 7 p.m.
Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=8394
Posted by Jay Turner
on Sep 28 2011. Filed under High School, Sports.
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