Bulldog field hockey team preps for tough final stretch
By Jay Turner
Freshman Izzy Cusack has made a big impact in the midfield in her first varsity season. (Mike Tureski photo)
After enduring a bout of inconsistency in what has otherwise been a stellar season, the Canton High field hockey team will face quite a tough test as they close out the regular season with three strong opponents in a row.
The gauntlet begins tonight when nonleague Braintree comes to town for a matchup of current 10 seeds — the Bulldogs are ranked 10th in Division 2 and Braintree occupies the same spot at the D1 level according to the latest MIAA power rankings.
Fortunately for Canton, all three of their remaining games are at home, with Davenport Division leader Foxboro due to visit on Monday followed by the Mansfield Hornets on Wednesday, October 26.
While the latter is not exactly a powerhouse, Mansfield is still firmly in the playoff picture at No. 25 in Division 2. Foxboro, meanwhile, owing to its lower enrollment, is classified as a D3 school but is currently ranked No. 2 out of 58 with an overall record of 11-0-2. That includes a 2-0 win back on September 30 against the second-place Bulldogs, who were competitive throughout the contest but couldn’t manage to break through against Foxboro’s vaunted defense.
That unit, through 13 regular season games, has surrendered only three total goals, while the Warrior offense has combined for 58 on the other end. The Bulldogs’ numbers, however, are similarly elite — with an overall scoring margin of 69-17 in 14 games entering last night’s road tilt with Oliver Ames.
Regarding the recent inconsistency, head coach Chrissy O’Connor said it showed up most noticeably in a 2-1 home loss to Attleboro last week. The Bombardiers were just 4-8 going into the contest, but a pair of goals by Attleboro’s Siobhan Landers proved to be the difference as Canton failed to capitalize on its many second-half chances.
Despite the setback, O’Connor said she has a lot of faith in this group and believes they are well positioned to make a deep run come playoff time — if they can stay focused, play their game, and communicate consistently.
To their credit, the Bulldogs rebounded from the Attleboro loss with three consecutive shutout victories, including a hard-fought 2-0 win over nonleague Norwood. Senior captain Audrey Koen seems to have really stepped it up on the offensive end in particular, and as of Monday she had climbed to eighth in the Hockomock League in scoring with 12 goals and eight assists. Fellow senior and team scoring leader Ellie Bohane currently sits in fourth place with 15 goals and 10 assists, while Izzy Digirolamo rounds out the top 10 with 13 goals and five assists. Other key contributors include junior midfielder Maggie McCready (13 pts.) and freshman standouts Carolyn Schiavo (11 pts.) and Izzy Cusack (7 pts.)
Canton’s defensive corps has also been steady all season while goalie Carolyn Durand has been a picture of reliability, racking up 88 saves with an impressive goals against average of 1.34.
Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=93823
Posted by Jay Turner
on Oct 20 2022. Filed under High School, Sports.
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