CHS boys soccer climbs standing with 3-0-1 stretch

With another strong win on Monday over Stoughton following a 2-0-1 stretch last week, the Canton High boys soccer team is starting to heat up as it inches its way up the Davenport Division standings.

Junior Paolo Ruggeri (Mike Barucci photo)

Going into last night’s scheduled road tilt with Franklin, the Bulldogs had climbed to 5-2-2 overall and 4-2-2 in Hockomock League play — good for second place behind North Attleboro (5-0-3). The squad has lost only once in its last seven games and has combined for the second highest scoring total in the 12-team Hockomock League with 20 goals.

At the same time, head coach Danny Erickson believes his team is capable of more in all phases of the game, and it starts, he said, with greater consistency — from possession to possession, half to half, and game to game.

“We’re off to a good start as we hit the halfway point,” acknowledged Erickson, now in his 25th season as coach. “But I think we’ve had a hard time getting a string of good play going. We’ve seen a lot of good play; we just haven’t seen a lot of consistent good play.”

Looking at their recent performances, Erickson pointed to the Bulldogs’ 2-0 home win over Sharon last Monday as one of their strongest efforts to date. In that game, Canton came out flying and dominated possession throughout the entire first half and the early part of the second half. Junior standout Griffin Roach tallied both goals in the victory, highlighted by a beautiful backheel goal midway through the second half on an assist from senior captain Jake Verille. The Bulldogs did let down a bit with about 15 minutes remaining and a two-goal lead, but the defense stepped up behind the backfield trio of John Agnitti, Chris Milne and Mike Mazzola, while senior goalie Abe Garber made several late stops to preserve the shutout for Canton.

“That was a complete game for us,” Erickson said of the Sharon win. “We played really good soccer and showed some good character in holding on to a 2-0 lead when they were pushing pretty hard late.”

In their most recent win on Monday, the Bulldog offense exploded as they ran away with a 5-1 victory on the road over a struggling Stoughton team. Junior Paul Corcoran was the star of the day for Canton, collecting a hat trick on three consecutive first half goals and later adding an assist. Simon Cruz also had a big day with a goal and two assists while Roach finished off the scoring with his team-leading eighth goal of the season.

In other recent action, Canton scored a 2-0 road win over nonleague Norwood last Wednesday in 90-degree heat, then turned around the following day to play Foxboro at home, salvaging a 2-2 draw with a late goal. Verille had a goal in both games for the Bulldogs while Corcoran and freshman TJ McCabe netted one apiece. Other key contributors for Canton included Nate Achildyev, Matt Giglio, Cooper Ashcraft, and Noah Konzal.

After traveling to Franklin on Wednesday, the Bulldogs will resume action this Saturday evening, October 7, with a home game against Taunton starting at 6:30 p.m.

Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=37274

Posted by Jay Turner on Oct 5 2017. Filed under High School, Sports. Both comments and pings are currently closed.