'Dogs wrap up 3-game road trip unbeaten

A 2-2 draw Saturday night at Foxboro was followed up by a 1-0 win over Sharon on Monday to wrap up a 3-game road trip with 2 wins and a draw, improving the squad's record to 5-1-1.

Both contests were physical battles and the Bulldogs were up for each of them.  Sharon doggedly defended in their own and and were very dangerous on the counter-attack but the Bulldogs back-four and goalkeeper Alejandro Correal thwarted each Eagles chance. Correal had a huge save in each half keeping the game scoreless until Simon Cruz scored the game-winner with 10 minutes to play. The goal came off of a Paul Corcoran throw-in which was flicked on to Cruz by Griffin Roach. Cruz then calmly knocked it by the Eagles goalkeeper.

The Foxboro contest on Saturday saw the Bulldogs take the lead twice before surrendering it each time. Paul Corcoran scored in the opening minutes on a crazy sliding shot from the 18 which beat the Warrior goalkeeper to the near post. But the Bulldogs surrendered a penalty kick shortly after allowing the Warriors to tie up the game. The 'dogs took the lead again when TJ McCabe made a great individual play on the right flank and found a darting Cruz heading to the near post. Cruz then buried his chance into the back of the net. A late, great strike from Foxboro tied the game a 2-2- Final.

The 'dogs will host unbeaten and highly touted Mansfield on Wednesday at 6:30pm.

Dogs grab big road win over KP

The Boys Soccer team won its 3rd straight game on Friday afternoon, 2-1 at King Philip. It was a tale of two halves and the Bulldogs had the better of the play in the first half and the Warriors had the majority of the chances in the 2nd half.  But a sweet finish by Griffin Roach on a corner kick from 30 yards out inside 10 minutes remaining was the difference as the 'dogs held on to win 2-1.

The first half saw lot's of Bulldog chances but both teams ended up finding the back of the net.  The Warriors struck first about 20 minutes in when a miscommunication between the Canton backs and goalkeeper led to an open net goal for KP.  The Bulldogs showed great resilience coming back just minutes later as Paolo Ruggeri calmly finished with a banger from about 30 yards out.

Matt Giglio and Simon Cruz were critical to controlling midfield play throughout the strong first half. Mike Mazzola and Cooper Ashcraft dealt with lot's of KP numbers and pressure throughout the 2nd half. It was a great team effort.

Things don't get any easier and there is no rest for this group as they travel to Foxboro tonight (Saturday, September 22nd) to face the Warriors, who are one of the most dangerous attacking teams in the Hock. 7:00pm kickoff at Ahern Middle School.

Bulldogs make it two-in-a-row

Monday afternoon saw the Boys Soccer team defeat visiting Stoughton 2-0, giving the team its 2nd straight home shutout win. The game was controlled by the Bulldogs from start to finish, but the home team was stymied by a great performance by the Black Knights goalkeeper- Mason Eschleman, who recorded 17 saves on the day.

Griffin Roach struck first for the Bulldogs as he blasted a side-footed volley into the back of the net off a Paul Corcoran throw-in with 15 minutes left in the first half. Simon Cruz would double the lead early in the 2nd half off of a great pass from Corcoran off of a corner kick.

Alejandro Correal  made a big save late to preserve his shutout. Paolo Ruggeri, Dylan Baird, Matt Giglio and Cruz were very strong in controlling the midfield through the game.

The team has 3 days off before a challenging stretch of games beginning with a trip to KP on Friday afternoon. The team will play 3 games in 4 days and 5 games in 8 days.

Dogs bounce back with home shutout win

Junior Alejandro Correal earned his first career shutout on Friday night as the Bulldogs defeated a very tough Franklin team at home, 2-0.  

The first half featured great play from the home-side throughout but things really started tilting the Bulldog's way in the final 15 minutes where the pressure just kept building on the visiting Panthers. Finally, Simon Cruz found himself on top of a loose ball in the box off a Paul Corcoran throw-in, and he tucked it nicely into the side netting.  Correal then had to come up big on a rare first half chance for the Panthers.  The 'dogs had several more chances late in the half to double the lead but had to settle for the one-goal edge at the break. 

That scoreline wouldn't last long into the 2nd half as the home-side came out flying.  Center-back Cooper Ashcraft's clean clearance found TJ McCabe, who combined with Griffin Roach, who then set up Paul Corcoran- who calmly finished his chance making it 2-0 Bulldogs.   The Bulldogs kept control of the game for the next 15 before the visiting Panthers started pushing players forward and pressuring for the final 20 minutes of the game. But Canton was up for the challenge- bending but not breaking as they earned their first shutout of the season. 

Mike Mazzola, Avery Minkin, Nate Achildyev and Ashcraft were also critical in the clean sheet. 

The 'dogs have a busy week ahead as they host Stoughton on Monday at 3:45, travel to KP on Friday at 3:45 and travel to Foxboro on Saturday night at 7:00pm 

Come-From-Behind win and road loss to start off season

A Paul Corcoran goal with just 1 minute remaining in the game capped off a 4-3 come-from-behind win for the Bulldogs over visiting Marshfield on opening night- Wednesday, Sept. 5th- at Memorial Field.

The 'dogs found themselves down 2-0 at the half after some unfortunate bounces went Marshfield's way and found their way into the back of the Bulldog goal. Early in the 2nd half, Paolo Ruggeri scored on a direct free kick from about 30 yards out cutting the lead in half.  But ten minutes later, Marshfield once again took advantage of a Bulldog miscue to extend the lead to 3-1.  Just three minutes later, Griffin Roach calmly finished from the top of the box with his left foot to get the 'dogs right back in it. With just 6 minutes left and the team trailing by 1, Roach got on the end of a great ball by Simon Cruz to loft it over the Marshfield keeper to tie it up. And finally- with 1:10 left, Mike Mazzola played Paul Corcoran in behind the Marshfield's back and Corcoran calmly tucked it in past the goalie for the 4-3 win.

The Dogs were not able to keep the momentum going as they traveled to Attleboro Saturday night and despite playing some great soccer in the first half, came away with a 0-2 defeat. Attleboro came out playing much better in the 2nd half but the Bulldogs hung tough for most of the half- even missing some key chances of our own. But Attleboro would finally break down the Bulldogs backs late in the game scoring with nine minutes to go and again with four minutes to go.

Things don't get any easier for the Dogs this week as they travel to highly touted Foxboro on Wednesday night at 7:00 before hosting Franklin Friday night at 7:30pm.

Good Luck to our Graduating Seniors

Words can't quite capture just how very proud the Canton High School Boys Soccer program is to see our five members of the class of 2018 graduate tonight. This group  has given so much to the program during their time here. During their two final seasons with us, they lead the team to two state tournament bids and a Hock Sportsmanship Award. They are truly amazing role models.

It is so easy to see that all five of them are destined to head out and do great things in the next chapters of their lives.  All of them made all of us still here, better people.  We wish John, Dillon, Chris, Abe and Jake the best of luck and happiness as they leave CHS.  They will always be Bulldogs.

Next stop for each of the boys:

Chris Milne #18- Harvard University

Dillon Anderson #4- University of Richmond

Abe Garber #0- Northeastern University

Jake Verille #11- Bryant University

John Agnitti #20- UMass Amherst

Important Upcoming Meeting for all Interested Soccer Players

Canton High School will be hosting a meeting for any current 8-11th grader interested in becoming a part of the CHS Boys Soccer program this fall- 2018.

The meeting will be held on Friday, June 1st at CHS at 2:45 and will be done by 3:30pm.  It is very important that all interested candidates attend as summer, tryout, practice and schedule information will be shared.

Any student athlete currently in season in the spring should NOT miss a spring obligation for this meeting.

Click here for an informational flyer.