Boys’ soccer clinches 7th straight postseason berth
By Jay Turner
Senior captain Michael Denehy leads the Bulldogs with 10 goals and 7 assists. (Mike Barucci photo)
Coming off back-to-back losses to Hockomock opponents Stoughton and Taunton, the CHS boys’ soccer team rebounded in a big way last week with a convincing win and two come-from-behind draws to improve to 6-5-2 on the season.
The Bulldogs’ lone victory of the week over nonleague Tyngsborough was a big one as it qualified the team for the postseason tournament for the seventh consecutive season. The boys also left themselves in good position to at least make a run at second place in the Davenport Division with four games left to play. Now only one point behind Sharon in the standings, Canton will face a huge slate this week with consecutive road games against both the Eagles and first-place Oliver Ames.
Last week, the Bulldogs proved they are capable of scoring in bunches as they pounced on the Tyngsborough Tigers en route to a 6-1 victory.
The visitors did not waste any time either, as senior captains Mike Denehy and Matt Lennon both netted goals within the first three minutes to give Canton an early 2-0 advantage. Tyngsborough managed to cut the deficit in half at about the 10-minute mark, but it was “all Bulldogs after that,” according to head coach Danny Erickson.
Denehy went on to score his second goal of the game just 30 seconds into the second half, and Damian Kozak and Eric Wong both had a goal and an assist while Wolph Gustave notched his first career goal.
The goals were much harder to come by two days later against Mansfield; however, Canton was able to battle back from a 1-0 halftime deficit and salvage a point against the hard-nosed Hornets thanks to a successful penalty kick by Denehy.
Junior goalkeeper Art McNally made several big saves down the stretch, including what Erickson described as an “amazing breakaway save” to help preserve the 1-1 draw.
The final game of the week proved to be just as exciting as the Bulldogs came through with two huge goals in the second half to earn a 3-3 tie against visiting Milford.
The Davenport Division’s newest member, the Hawks had owned the first matchup between the two squads and were neck and neck with Canton in the standings heading into Saturday night’s rematch.
The game got off to a promising start for the Bulldogs as Damian Kozak buried a pass from Denehy in the opening minutes of the first half to give Canton an early 1-0 lead. But the visitors managed to tie it at 1-1 before halftime and then came out flying in the second half, scoring two quick goals to take a 3-1 lead.
“At that point, we could have packed it in, but the boys responded with a spirited effort for the remainder of the game,” said Erickson.
Kozak scored his second goal to make it a one-score game, and then Denehy followed with the equalizer at the 20-minute mark to complete the comeback.
It was the second game-tying goal in as many games for Denehy, who now leads the team with 17 total points, including a team-best 10 goals and seven assists.
After their two big road games this week — at OA Wednesday and at Sharon Friday — the Bulldogs will close out the season with games against Foxboro on October 23 and Stoughton on October 26.
Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=16856
Posted by Jay Turner
on Oct 18 2012. Filed under High School, Sports.
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