Road woes, home dominance continues for boys’ soccer

Update: Sam Larson and the CHS boys’ soccer team kept the undefeated Oliver Ames Tigers at bay Tuesday night, battling OA to a 0-0 draw in an important divisional showdown. The Bulldogs are now one win away from a playoff berth with three games remaining.

After two more road losses and a home victory last week, the CHS boys’ soccer team continues to confound observers with more than three-quarters of the season already in the books.

Going into this week, the Bulldogs were just above .500 for the season with a record of 7-6-1, with one of its earlier losses turning into a victory by forfeit after an Attleboro player was ruled ineligible by the MIAA.

Including the Attleboro forfeit, Canton is now a perfect 6-0 at home but a mere 1-6-1 on the road, and head coach Danny Erickson is at a loss to explain why.

“We have been two different teams this year,” he said, “a home team and an away team.”

Last week was just the latest example as the Bulldogs lost at King Philip and Milford but dominated Mansfield, arguably the best team in the Hockomock’s Kelley-Rex Division, by a 4-0 final Wednesday afternoon at Memorial Field.

It was only the second time this season that a team had solved the Hornets, and it was as thorough a victory for Canton as the score would suggest.

Wolph Gustave led the way for the Bulldogs with two goals — one in each half — and Pat Hession collected the first goal of his career. Junior captain Damian Kozak also had a goal in the win, giving him a team-leading nine points for the season. The defense did its job as well in front of senior goalie Art McNally, who earned his fourth shutout in the last five games and fifth overall.

Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, the feel-good performance against Mansfield did not carry over to the Milford game on Friday, as they bowed to the Hawks 2-0 to fall back to third place in the Davenport Division.

Erickson said the team, playing its third game in five days, looked “sluggish” for much of the contest and struggled to finish despite creating numerous scoring opportunities.

“Our road woes continue,” said the veteran coach, whose squad now only has one more chance to redeem itself: at Stoughton in the season finale next Friday.

Erickson said part of the issue has to do with parity among this year’s Hockomock teams. “This is a league full of teams that can beat each other,” he said. “We know what we are capable of, but we’re hoping to finish consistently and strong.”

The Bulldogs have a great opportunity this week to solidify a playoff spot with home games against Oliver Ames on Tuesday and Sharon on Thursday. The team will then host Foxboro next Tuesday before wrapping up the regular season against the Black Knights on Friday, October 25.

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Posted by Jay Turner on Oct 17 2013. Filed under High School, Sports. Both comments and pings are currently closed.