Unbeaten field hockey tops Franklin in a thriller

After opening the season with eight relatively effortless wins, the CHS varsity field hockey team finally met its match when it hosted the undefeated Franklin Panthers last Thursday at Memorial Field.

Mike Barucci photo

However, when it was all said and done, the Bulldogs still prevailed, winning 2-1 in dramatic fashion on a pair of last-minute goals by junior Meghan McKenna and senior Emma Compagna.

“It was an awesome game,” said head coach Fior Griffin, whose team improved to 9-0 while handing Franklin its first loss of the season.

Canton actually controlled possession for much of the first half, but a heads-up play by a Franklin forward — who took advantage of a rule change governing free hits that players are still getting used to — put the Panthers up 1-0 midway through the half.

It was the first time that Canton has trailed in a game all season; however, it did not deter the Bulldogs, who seemed to be knocking on the door all game.

“I thought we had really good possessions and good ball movement,” Griffin said. “There was a lot of activity in the circle and a lot of really good passing.”

The momentum turned even more in Canton’s favor when Franklin’s top skill player, Katy Cronin, had to leave the game with an ankle injury late in the first half. But the visitors refused to quit, and with five minutes left in the game, they had a one-goal lead and possession of the ball in their attacking end.

Still confident but with time running out, the Bulldogs made a late push and finally struck paydirt at the 1:33 mark with a game-tying goal by McKenna. Thirty seconds later, senior midfielder Michelle McNeil delivered a perfect pass to a sprinting Compagna, who one-timed it past the keeper for the game-winning score.

It was a dazzling finish in what was clearly the Bulldogs’ most impressive effort to date, and afterwards Griffin could not say enough about the resiliency and poise of her players.

In addition to Compagna and McKenna, who seemed to will their team to victory with an otherworldly finish, several other players delivered memorable performances, including defenders Stephanie Rizzitano, Casey Considine and Allie Martin. Meanwhile, talented senior Hailey Gaughan “was everywhere,” according to Griffin.

“[Gaughan] had what I think was the best game I’ve seen her play in four years,” said Griffin. “I thought she played phenomenal. She’s fast normally, but I think she was even faster that day.”

The win capped off another perfect week for the Bulldogs, who also dominated Attleboro 5-0 on Tuesday behind a hat trick by Becky Lazaro.

Several reserve players saw extended action in the win, and goalie Kolleen White even got a chance to play forward in the second half as Caitlyn Hathaway took over in net.

The team was scheduled to get back to action last night with a home game versus Sharon, followed by away games Friday at Foxboro and Saturday at nonleague Dedham.

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Posted by Jay Turner on Oct 12 2011. Filed under High School, Sports. Both comments and pings are currently closed.