Field hockey repeats as south sectional champs

The CHS field hockey team celebrates after winning the south sectional title. (Mike Barucci photo)

Update: Despite a furious comeback from three goals down, the CHS field hockey team came up just short against north champion Watertown 3-2 in the Division 2 state semifinal game, held Tuesday night in Westwood. Congratulations to the Bulldogs on another outstanding season.

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They were the top seed for a reason, and it once again showed in the results as the Canton High field hockey team severely outplayed No. 6 Cohasset in the sectional finals on Saturday en route to its second straight Division 2 south title.

Some schools go decades without an accomplishment of this magnitude, and yet the Bulldogs have now reached this point in five of the last eight seasons while showing no signs of slowing down.

Just about the only drought they can speak of involves the state title itself, which they last won in 2006. However, this year’s squad seems determined to break through after storming through the regular season and then sectionals with a 20-0-1 overall mark.

To get there, the Bulldogs will have to knock off north champion Watertown, which is the same team that ended their season in a 1-0 heartbreaker in 2010.

But head coach Fior Griffin said the girls are ready for the challenge and are excited to have another crack at the undefeated Red Raiders.

“They want to go through Watertown,” said Griffin, citing her team’s refuse-to-lose mentality.

As for Saturday’s sectional final, the Bulldogs looked positively dominant against a one-loss Cohasset squad, scoring early and often to build a 3-1 halftime lead before putting away the game with another two goals in the second half.

The Skippers added a late goal to make it a 5-2 final, but the game was never in doubt, thanks to a relentless Canton attack and an inspired team defensive performance.

Kellie Stigas and Meghan McKenna (Pam Gaughan photo)

The team was led by a trio of seniors: Becky Lazaro, who continued her impressive play this postseason with a pair of goals and an assist, as well as Michelle McNeil (1 goal, 1 assist) and Haley Gaughan (2 assists).

All three players were also a factor in last Thursday’s thrilling semifinal win over No. 5 Dover-Sherborn, which ended in overtime on a goal by sophomore Kellie Stigas.

After falling behind 1-0 early in the first half, the Bulldogs came back to tie it on a goal by Lazaro, with the assist going to McNeil.

Canton then went on to dominate the second half, but despite getting several good scoring chances, they simply could not find the back of the net.

It was the first time in the tournament that the girls had faced any adversity, and Griffin was thrilled with the way they responded.

“I thought they did a nice job staying poised and keeping to our game plan,” she said. “They weren’t flustered; they weren’t playing scattered or nervous. We were confident it was going to work itself out.”

That confidence carried over to the seven-on-seven overtime period as they continued to control the action until Stigas buried her goal off a penalty corner to seal the win.

Several players had a hand in the victory, including junior Meghan McKenna, who assisted on the game-winning score and played excellent defense; Gaughan, who also recorded an assist and barely left the field all game; and senior Emma Compagna, who played four positions in what may have been the best performance of her career.

“I was thrilled with the way we played against Dover-Sherborn,” said Griffin. “They were clearly one of the hardest teams we’ve played all tournament.”

Now all they need is two more performances like that, and the Bulldogs will be celebrating with the 2011 state championship trophy.

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