Boys lax flashes potential in back-to-back blowout W’s

Sophomore Griffin Roach is part of a strong corps of returning midfielders. (Mike Barucci photo)

The Canton High varsity boys lacrosse team kicked off its 2017 campaign last week — one week later than the rest of the Hockomock League — but they are already catching up in the standings after back-to-back lopsided victories over division foes Milford and Stoughton.

While neither opponent is in the same class as Canton talent-wise, the Bulldogs still went out and took care of business — winning by a combined total of 27-4 despite having little outdoor practice time due to the weather and the renovations to the CHS turf field.

“We already seem to have some great chemistry,” noted head coach Bill Bendell, who described this year’s roster as a good mix of talented veterans and promising newcomers, all of which are “unselfish, team-first guys.”

Especially in the Milford win, Bendell thought the team executed at a high level and showed little drop-off when the back-ups were on the field. At the same time, he liked how their two senior captains, Michael Pigeon and Ryan Lodge, set the tone early with a perfectly executed fast break goal right after the opening faceoff.

Pigeon, the Bulldogs’ starting long-stick midfielder, is off to a great start and is arguably the team’s top talent and certainly its tone-setter, while Lodge returns to lead the offensive attack alongside sophomore standout Mike Shaw.

Shaw and Lodge have already combined for 16 goals and 10 assists through the team’s first three games, but there are several other players who can do damage offensively, including fellow attackmen Nick Allen and Dan Dillon.

In the midfield, the Bulldogs go multiple lines deep, led by junior captain Charlie O’Connor, sophomore Griffin Roach, junior Kevin Albert, and seniors Thomas Monagle and Matt McKay. Roach has been particularly impressive in the early going, but Bendell raved about the potential of the entire midfield corps, including breakout sophomore Matt Martin and long-stick middies Brendan Albert and Nick McKay.

Bendell said the talent on this year’s team also extends to the defense, led by three-year starter Gabe Galeotos along with returning players Jonathan Sutton and Brian Ghostlaw and junior newcomer Alec Ragusa. Additionally, the team boasts three goaltenders with varsity-caliber ability in Jack Connolly, Dylan Cunningham, and CJ Martin with Connolly, a freshman, earning the nod as the starter.

Bendell said Connolly won the goalie job “by a hair” over Cunningham and Martin and has played well in all three games so far, including the Bulldogs’ season-opening, 12-6 loss to nonleague Scituate.

In that game, played last Monday at Scituate, the Sailors started fast and led by as many as seven goals early in the second half, but the Bulldogs battled back and outscored their hosts 5-4 for the remainder of the contest.

Bendell said that Scituate, a perennial playoff contender much like the Bulldogs, provided a tough early test for his squad and he thought they handled it relatively well despite the final score. “We showed we can compete with them for sure,” he said.

This week, the team was due to play two more nonleague opponents — Norwood on Tuesday and Milton today at home starting at 11 a.m. Then it’s back to league competition as the Bulldogs jump right into the fire with three tough teams in a row, starting with a night game against Davenport Division leader Foxboro (4-0) on Monday, April 24. The boys also host North Attleboro (4-1) next Wednesday at 6 p.m. and an always tough Sharon squad next Friday at 4 p.m.

“I can’t wait to play those teams,” said Bendell. “It’s going to be like a judgment week, and it’s going to be a lot of fun.”

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