Field hockey team repeats as sectional champions

Canton High School’s field hockey team shut out ninth-seeded Medway 2-0 on Saturday at Taunton High School to become the south sectional champion for the second consecutive year. The unbeaten Bulldogs (20-0-1) are seeded second and have yet to be scored upon in the state tournament.

Coach Fior Griffin said her team knew the championship game wouldn’t be easy — Medway upset top-seeded Bishop Stang in the quarterfinal round.

The girls came out strong in the first half with good passing, but game play seemed slower than in other tournament games. Griffin attributed the slower pace to the warmer weather, which caused her starters to tire faster. With such talent and depth on the bench, however, Griffin was able to continuously rotate and sub throughout the game, lessening the weather’s impact on the girls’ performance.

Junior Michelle McNeil scored the team’s first goal 11 minutes into the first half off an assist by senior captain Nikki Wanless.

Eleven minutes into the second half, senior captain Alli Guenthner netted the second goal off another Wanless assist.

Earlier in the week, the team dominated in a 4-0 victory against 19th seeded Dedham. The two teams met at the beginning of the season, and Canton had a similarly strong performance. Three minutes into the semifinal game, senior captain Emily Dillon scored off a penalty stroke. The score remained 1-0 until half time.

“The pace of the game was good in the first half,” Griffin said. “But in the second half we completely dominated. I think Dedham crossed the 50-yard line once or twice in the second half.”

Canton netted three additional goals, one each from sophomore Emma Compagna and juniors McNeil and Haley Gaughan. Compagna and Wanless provided assists.

In what seems like déjà vu, the girls were ssheduled to play Watertown in the state semifinals on Tuesday night.The Bulldogs lost to Watertown 1-0 in the state semifinal game in 2009.

Griffin isn’t looking at the game as a repeat of last year.

“I don’t want the girls to get wrapped up about the fact we’re playing Watertown again,” she said. “I want them to think about the things we can control — how we pass, how we communicate — to play Canton field hockey and get the win.”

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Posted by Jeffrey Cattel on Nov 18 2010. Filed under High School, News, Schools, Sports. Both comments and pings are currently closed.