CHS boys soccer falls short in Div. 2 south opener
By Jay Turner
Simon Cruz was outstanding in the Bulldogs’ tournament loss to Dartmouth. (Mike Barucci photo)
A CHS boys soccer season that began with high hopes and so much promise — and featured a number of impressive achievements along the way — ended abruptly Sunday night with a hard-fought but ultimately disappointing first round loss in the Division 2 south sectional tournament.
Seeded fifth in the 16-team bracket after a 10-4-4 campaign, the Bulldogs drew a favorable home matchup with No. 12 Dartmouth (9-8-1) but just didn’t get the bounces they needed in an eventual 1-0 loss at Memorial Field.
“We played well but just didn’t create enough,” said an admittedly disappointed coach Danny Erickson a day after the game. “In the state tournament, you’ve got to get some bounces, and [Dartmouth] kind of got a bounce on a weird deflection off a restart, and that was pretty much the difference.”
Erickson thought the game was evenly played with both teams generating a similar number of scoring chances. Dartmouth, however, was able to capitalize on one of its chances late in the second half while the Bulldogs were unable to break through against the Indians’ stout goalkeeper.
Canton’s best chance at a goal came midway through the second half on a beautiful effort by senior captain Griffin Roach, who just narrowly hit the post. “If it was just two inches to the right it would have been a different game,” said Erickson. “But soccer is a pretty penalizing sport when that thing doesn’t go in, and it gave that team some life.”
Erickson thought the Dartmouth players were a talented and “hard-nosed” group who ultimately deserved the win. At the same time, he thought his own team competed hard and he reserved particular praise for senior Simon Cruz, who capped off his Bulldog career with a standout performance. “Simon was the man of the match for us,” said Erickson. “He was our best performer and the best player on the field in that game.”
Cruz, who garnered All-Hockomock honorable mention honors this season, was part of a star-studded group of seniors that also included senior captains and league all stars Roach, Paul Corcoran and Paolo Ruggeri. Together, the four players accounted for 29 of the team’s 33 goals in 2018 and had a “humongous” impact on the program over the past four years, according to Erickson.
In addition to all-league honors, Roach and Corcoran were also both named Eastern Mass. all stars and Roach was named to his second consecutive All-State team, becoming just the second CHS boys soccer player to earn multiple All-State selections. He also placed second in the Hockomock in scoring this year and finished tied for fourth all time on the Bulldogs’ career scoring leaderboard with 52 points. Corcoran was also very prolific throughout his career and finished tied for eighth on the list with 48 total points.
Also making their mark on the program in recent seasons were fellow seniors Mike Mazzola, Avery Minkin, Huy Pham, and Nathan Achildiyev. Together, the Class of 2019 made three consecutive tournament appearances and combined for 31 total victories.
“They were an awesome group of seniors and we’re going to miss all of them greatly,” said Erickson.
Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=45061
Posted by Jay Turner
on Nov 10 2018. Filed under High School, Sports.
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