Girls lax bounces back with 3 straight blowout wins
By Jay Turner
The CHS girls lacrosse players are hitting their stride as they reach the halfway point of the season. (Mike Tureski photo)
Coming off a tough two-game stretch that included one-goal losses to both Braintree and Quincy, the CHS girls lacrosse team had the perfect get-right week and certainly made the most of it, demolishing Kelley-Rex foes Taunton and Attleboro by the combined margin of 32-7.
The Canton girls then made it three straight games with exactly 16 goals and single-digit goals allowed as they rolled past the winless Stoughton Black Knights 16-2 on the road earlier this week. The three wins pushed the Bulldogs’ record to 6-1 in league play and moved them past Oliver Ames for sole possession of second place in the Hockomock Davenport Division.
“Our biggest strength the last few games has been the fact that they are really starting to play together and as a team,” noted head coach Casey Bradley. “In our last three games, we had at least seven different goal scorers. They are starting to look for that extra pass and are really playing selflessly.”
While there have been no shortage of standout performers — led by seniors Emily McCabe and Ella Yeaton — the Bulldogs have also benefited greatly by the emergence of several talented youngsters, including a pair of budding stars in the midfield in freshmen Nora Giannacopoulos and Kayleigh Koen.
Giannacopoulos already has several multi-goal games in her first half season of varsity action, and Koen has been making plays all over the field during the Bulldogs’ recent winning streak. Koen has also picked up her scoring as of late, netting a pair of goals against Taunton and a hat trick against Stoughton.
“Kayleigh has really gained a lot of confidence and is stepping up for us both offensively and defensively and also on the draw circle,” noted Bradley.
Also earning praise from the Canton coach as one of the team’s unsung heroes is sophomore Annie McLean, who has excelled in a defensive role. “Annie has taken her new role on defense very well and steps up for us on the circle when we need to change things up too,” said Bradley.
The Bulldogs have also gotten excellent goaltending from sophomore starter Ashley Balunas, and freshman Olivia McCabe looked sharp in her debut against Taunton, recording six saves to earn her first varsity win in the cage.
On the offensive end, Yeaton and Emily McCabe added to their team-leading totals with nine goals apiece in the three recent wins, while junior Devan Spinale and Koen tallied six goals each. Giannacopoulos and Lauren Shatkin had another nine between them, including at least one goal in all three games, and sophomore Sally Hoban chipped in with two against Taunton and another versus Attleboro. Also getting on the scoreboard for Canton in the past week were Shannon McGrann, Maggie Dailey, Sierra Abbott and Maggie McCready.
After dominating three of the weaker teams in the Hockomock League, the Bulldogs now face a much tougher road ahead with a game this week against Davenport leader Foxboro (10-1) and remaining contests against D1 Natick, King Philip and Marshfield.
Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=109247
Posted by Jay Turner
on May 4 2023. Filed under High School, Sports.
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