Canton girls U12 soccer team reaches state finals

By Guest

(Front row l-r) Coach Karrie Hylen, Amy Hylen, Alex Lopez, Amanda Signorini, Nikki Wright, Lizzy Tassinari, Mia Gilmore; (back row l-r) Coach Red Costello, Sarai Costello, Paige Drury, Sam Lamarr, Elizabeth Bickett, Olivia Rodman, Lauren Price, Coach Gene Signorini; (missing from photo) Elisa Diletizia

Canton Youth Soccer’s girls U12 United team completed one of the most successful seasons in CYS history this spring. After a slow start to the season with two wins and two loses, the team was undefeated for the remainder of the regular season.

After winning their BAYS section championship, the girls claimed the BAYS division championship by defeating Millis and Sudbury in two playoff games. As the division champion, the team earned a trip to the Massachusetts Tournament of Champions (MTOC) run by MA Youth Soccer. MTOC is held at the end of the spring and invites only the champion of each of the 10 Massachusetts youth soccer leagues to participate.

United was undefeated in three group stage games, defeating Melrose 4-0, North Andover 5-0, and Sandwich 8-0. By winning their group, United advanced to the final four played on Sunday.

Sunday’s semifinal game was against a very physical and talented Medway team. After jumping out to a 2-0 lead at halftime, Canton held on to win 3-2. The win came at a cost, however, as the team was physically and emotionally drained. After only a couple of hours to recover, the team had to face Cold Springs (Belchertown) in the championship final. After jumping out to a 1-0 lead in the first half, the team tired late in the second half, giving up a corner kick goal. With the score tied at 1-1 at the end of regulation, the teams went to overtime. With less than a minute remaining before moving to penalty kicks, Cold Springs scored the winner off another corner kick.

While it was a tough way to end the season, the team has much to be proud of. No other Canton team has advanced to the championship game.

“These girls have a lot of heart,” said Coach Red Costello. “They played hard every game despite being outsized by most opponents. They always played up to the final whistle and pulled out several games during the regular season in the last few minutes.”

With the core of the team having been together for over three years, there was a lot of chemistry on the team. “The girls really put it all together this season,” Costello said. “They trained hard and had fun while doing it. They truly are a great group of kids. I couldn’t be more proud of them.”

Share This Post

Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=30318