Big two-win week sets up exciting final week

Two big wins last week improved the CHS Boys Soccer team record to 9-3-3 and sitting just two points behind first place Oliver Ames in the Davenport with two league games remaining. 

Canton 4, Stoughton 1- Monday, October 18th- The Bulldogs scored twice in each half, bettering the visiting Black Knights by a 4-1 margin. Jacob Crugnale ('22) scored one in each half while also setting up Erik Valdovinos' ('22) first half tally. Jake McCabe ('23) pulled off his first of two scary good corner kick goals of the week to round out the scoring. 

Highlights of game vs. Stoughton

Canton 4, North Attleboro 0- Wednesday, October 20th.- The 'dogs exploded for 3 send half goals to put away what had been a very close game with a tough visiting NA team- who had been riding a three game winning streak. Valdovinos returned the favor to Crugnale in the first half with a great ball after attacking the endline- Crugnale attacking the ball into the back of the NA net. The 2nd half goal explosion began when  Zach Dowling ('22) played a gorgeous ball behind the NA defense and McCabe was able to poke it past the keeper. McCabe would then score once again with some individual corner kick magic (crazy good!). Dylan Baird ('22) calmly finished off a ball that came to him at the top of the box rounding out the scoring for the Bulldogs.  Another great day in the midfield for Charlie McKinney ('22) and Carson Eagles ('23). 

Highlights of game vs. North Attleboro 

The team will head to Sharon on Monday for a 3:45 game against a tough Sharon squad before finishing up the Hock schedule with a trip to Foxboro on Wednesday at 6:30pm.  The final regular season game of the year will be at home vs. Randolph on Friday night at 7:00pm. 

Dogs extend unbeaten streak to five games

Two solid road results this past week, a 2-1 win over Kelley-Rex first place Attleboro and a 0-0 draw with Davenport first place Oliver Ames extended the Boys Soccer team's unbeaten streak to five games and moves the team to the brink of tournament qualification. 

Attleboro 1, Canton 2-  The Bulldogs traveled to Attleboro on Wednesday to face the Kelley-Rex- leading Blue Bombardiers, who had been red-hot, riding an 8 game unbeaten streak.  But that streak would come to an end as the Bulldogs came out flying and never looked back. Both teams shared large portions of the game with the ball but the Bulldogs were able to capitalize on their opportunities. Senior Erik Valdovinos ('22) found the back of the net and assisted on a Jake McCabe ('23) goal giving the Bulldogs a 2-0 lead. They would surrender a late goal but hold off a charging Attleboro squad down the stretch. Dylan Baird ('22) had a great game for the Bulldogs. 

Oliver Ames 0, Canton 0- Friday saw the two top teams in the Hock Davenport go toe-to-toe for 80 minutes but neither team could break through, leading to a scoreless draw. Giovanni Ruggeri ('11) came up big a couple times in the Bulldog goal in preserving the shutout. The trio of Jay Kelleher, ('22) Ashton Cetoute ('23) and Zach Dowling ('22) were all very clean on the day in the back for the Dogs. 

The Dogs now sit at a mark of 7-3-3 with five games remaining. The team will host Stoughton on Monday night at 6:30 and host North Attleboro on Wednesday at 6:30 where we will honor our seniors on their Senior Night. 

POSTPONED! 2010 Sectional/Hock Champs to be honored at George Thomas Night- 10/29/2021- 6:45pm

UPDATE- I'm sorry to announce that since I have recently tested positive for Covid-19 (a breakthrough case),  I will be in a quarantine and this event will NOT be able to take place. I am so sad that we will not be able to celebrate GT and the 2010 team this year. We will definitely do so in 2022! Also- keep an eye out for information on our alumni game to be played in GT's memory in November. 

ATTENTION Bulldog Boys Soccer Fans, Friends, Families and Alumni:

Friday night, October 29th, the Canton High School Boys Soccer team will be celebrating an amazing Championship team from the past while also honoring former Bulldog- George Thomas IV. 

The game vs. Randolph, which will be the final regular season game of the season, will kickoff at 7:00pm.

Coach Jon Girolamo, Danny
Erickson and George Thomas
pre-game in 2010 State Semi-Final

PRE-GAME- Don't be late!!!!!!

A pre-game ceremony will take place at roughly 6:45pm which will honor the life George Thomas- former Bulldog player and long-time assistant coach- who passed away this past February at 38 years old. Please click here for a blog entry from the time of his passing.  

We will be accepting donations that night for a fund which has been established in George's memory.

Members of George's family will be in attendance to support the Bulldogs and to share in this celebration of George's impact on the CHS Boys Soccer program.  His sons George V and James will be serving as honorary captains. 

PLEASE plan on arriving for the game by 6:30 in order to be present for this ceremony. Let's make sure the Thomas Family feels the Bulldog love!

HALF-TIME-

During a halftime ceremony, we will be honoring the 10 year anniversary of the 2010 Bulldogs' Championship season (delayed a year due to Covid) Players and coaches from that team will be in attendance so we can honor them in a brief halftime ceremony.  It will be great to see and honor members of this amazing team.

The 2010 squad won the Hock Davenport, the Hockomock Cup, advanced to the EMASS Final and amassed a record of 18-1-3 with the only loss coming in the EMASS final. 

We hope to have a great crowd at this event! Please spread the word!

Go Dogs!

Dogs pick up two big wins

It was a great week for the CHS Boys Varsity Soccer team as the squad hosted Davenport foe Foxboro on Wednesday and Kelley-Rex crossover opponent Mansfield on Thursday.  Both the Warriors and the Hornets were off to great starts on the season as the Warriors were tied with the Bulldogs in 2nd place in the Davenport while the Hornets were unbeaten on the season, surrendering only two goals in their first nine games. The Bulldogs were up for the challenge as they edged the Warriors, 2-1 and blanked the Hornets, 3-0. 

Canton 2, Foxboro 1

Both teams headed into Wednesday night with four league victories to date.  The Bulldogs played on their front foot from the opening whistle, creating many chances but they could not finish early. It took some magic by leading scorer Jake McCabe ('23), who danced his way up the endline off of a corner kick, beating three Warrior defenders before poking a goal into the top corner. The team would take the one-goal lead into the break but it was Foxboro who came out firing in the 2nd half, scoring on a Bulldog defensive lapse early in the 2nd, knotting the game at 1-1.  Midway through the 2nd, McCabe found Erik Valdovinos ('22) in the box with a great service. Valdovinos would bring it down with his chest, get tripped up with a Foxboro back, pop back up and bury the game-winner.  Dylan Baird ('22) and Brian Shea ('23) were key in the Bulldog midfield. 

CANTON-FOXBORO HIGHLIGHTS

Canton 3, Mansfield 0

The story on Thursday night was the Canton attack as the unbeaten Hornets had only conceded 2 goals in their first 9 games, but the Bulldogs exploded for 3! The Dog's had the advantage in territory and possession for most of the contest but were only able to capitalize on one in the first half.  It was McCabe's tenacity that got him this one as he powered through a busy Hornet goal area to score on a chance off of a Valdovinos touch.  The 2nd half saw the Bulldog maintain possession but it was the Hornets that got closest to score early as CHS goalkeeper Giovanni Ruggeri had to make a finger tip save that would hit the bar to keep the Green and White in the lead. The 'dogs would score twice in the final 15 minutes on goals by Jacob Crugnale ('22) and McCabe. 

Ruggeri and the back line of Jay Kelleher ('22), Ashton Cetoute ('23) and Zack Dowling ('22) earned the team's 3rd shutout of the season. 

CANTON-MANSFIELD HIGHLIGHTS

The team has another BIG week ahead as they travel to Attleboro (6-1-3) on Tuesday and to Oliver Ames (8-1-1) on Friday.  The Bulldogs currently sit in 2nd place in the Davenport with a overall mark of 6-3-2. 

Boys CHS Soccer mid-season update- 10-2-2021

The CHS Boys Soccer blog has been slacking!  Sorry not to keep up-to-date with all of the action over the past couple of weeks. Here is a recap:

9/22/2021- 4-1 win over Taunton- After defeating Stoughton on September 20th, the team sat at 2-2-1 and returned home to face unbeaten Taunton High School. The Dog's were hungry, coming out of the gates strong, notching two goals in the first 10 minutes- one by Caden Mirliani ('23) and one by Jacob Crugnale ('22).  Taunton cut the lead in half before the break but the 2nd half saw the Bulldogs come out strong again, scoring 2 goals on corner kicks within one minute of each other. The first was scored by Dylan Baird ('22) and the second by Carson Eagles ('23)- his first career tally.  

CLICK HERE for Taunton GAME HIGHLIGHTS

9/24/2021- 0-0 draw at North Attleboro- The 'Dogs traveled to NA on that Friday to play their 3rd game in 5 days and it was clear that the legs were not there.   Both teams were a bit on the flat side as chances were few and far between.  The Bulldogs did control most of the 2nd half but squandered the 2 or 3 legitimate scoring opportunities that were created.  The teams had to settle for splitting the points. Giovanni Ruggeri ('22) earned his second shutout of the year and the back three of Ashton Cetoute ('23), Jay Kelleher ('22) and Zack Dowling ('22) were clean on the day. 

9/27/2021- 1-3 loss at King Philip- In what was the team's most disappointing performance to date, the Bulldogs went down early in Wrentham and never quite got back into things. The Warriors withstood some great, sustained Canton pressure and attacking soccer for the initial 15 minutes of the game and managed to counter effectively, flipping the game in their favor with some great transition play. The Dog's fell down early, 2-0 then found the back of the Warrior goal on a great combination play resulting in a great ball from Baird to Erik Valdovinos ('22) who buried his first goal of the season. A miscommunication early in the 2nd gave KP the two-goal cushion and the game didn't change much the rest of the way resulting in a disappointing road result for the Green and White. 

9/30/2021- 3-2 win vs. Sharon-The Bulldogs showed true resilience in this one, falling behind early on an Eagles goal in the first 3 minutes of the game. Canton would step up and tie it midway through the first frame as Baird would pick up a loose ball in the box on a great challenge by teammate Jake McCabe ('23), Baird then used some amazing ball mastery to evade the Sharon pressure and bury a perfectly placed ball in the corner of the Eagles' net. The Green and White would fall behind again shortly after but the Bulldogs never quit, combining for a spectacular goal to tie it up before the break. Brian Shea ('23) won a big tackle at midfield, found classmate Mirliani, who played McCabe, who played a perfect penetrating ball to Valdovinos, who got behind the Eagles right back, slotted a ball to Crugnale in the box, who then poked a drop to the path of Charlie McKinney ('22), who hit a perfect shot past the outstretched Eagles' keeper. 2-2 at the half. 

Early in the 2nd, Valdovinos used his speed and determination to get around the Sharon backs and slot a great ball towards the back post that found its way into the goal putting the 'dogs up for good. The Green and White squandered many chances as the game played out but it would take a huge Ruggeri save in the waning minutes to preserve the win. 

CLICK HERE for some great photos of the game compliments of Hockmocksports.com

CLICK HERE for Sharon GAME HIGHLIGHTS

The team sits at the halfway point of the season with a 4-3-2 record with a HUGE match-up with unbeaten  (once-scored upon) Mansfield on Monday at 4:00pm at CHS. 

Dogs hit their stride on road at Stoughton

Monday saw the Boys Varsity Soccer team travel over the border to Stoughton where they exploded for 8 goals in an 8-1 win over the Black Knights. 

The Dogs came out flying from the start and never looked back, netting four goals in each half and putting in a complete game effort. 

Six different Bulldogs scored on the day as there were many opportunities created for the road dogs. Jake McCabe ('23)  had a 4-point day scoring two goals and assisting on two others while Jacob Crugnale ('22) netted two goals of his own- including the goalazo of the day on a ripped left footed shot from just outside the box. Crugnale assisted on a 2nd half goal as well.

Each scoring once for the Bulldogs were:

Charlie McKinney ('22) (unassisted)

Caden Mirliani ('23) (assist- Zack Dowling)

Zack Dowling ('22) (assist- Crugnale)

Drew Garrett ('23) (assist- Jake Morgan ('22) 

Giovanni Ruggeri ('22) and Nick Ruggeri ('24) were strong in the Bulldog goal- only conceding a late first half penalty. 

The win comes on the heals of back-to-back losses last week to Oliver Ames (0-3) and Milford (0-2) and moves the squad's early season record to 2-2-1. 

The Green and White will host Taunton at 5:00pm on Wednesday and travel to North Attleboro for a 3:45 start on Friday. 

Dog's kick off 2021 Campaign with road draw and home win

The CHS Boys Soccer team kicked off the 2021 season this week earning a road draw and a home win.  Wednesday saw the squad head to Braintree and earn a 1-1 draw while Friday night saw the Dogs top a strong Franklin team, 2-0. 

Friday night's home opener was played in front of a supportive Bulldog crowd and the home side did not disappoint. After weathering a blistering start to the game by the Panthers, the Bulldogs gained confidence and more control of the game as time progressed with the two teams heading into halftime with the green and white beginning to create chances.

The 'Dogs came out flying in the 2nd half and converted twice in the first ten minutes.  The first came on a free kick from about 25 yards out, just right of center. Junior Jake McCabe (2023), who had earned the kick on a foul, calmly stepped up and hit an amazing strike over the wall and into the top corner. It was a class strike!  Roughly 5 minutes later, Dylan Baird (2022) found Jacob Crugnale (2022) who created just enough space at the top of the box to get a shot off and he made the most of it, burying it just past the outstretched hands of the Franklin keeper and inside the far post. 

Giovanni Ruggeri (2022) earned his first clean sheet of the season in goal with great defensive performances put in in front of him by Jay Kelleher (2022), Zach Dowling (2022), Carson Eagles (2023) and Charlie McKinney (2022). 

Wednesday's 1-1 draw at Braintree in non-league action featured Jake McCabe's first goal of the season on a beautiful head ball off of a Charlie McKinney corner kick. 

Click Here for highlights of game at Braintree

The team faces Hockomock Davenport powerhouse and defending champion Oliver Ames on Monday at home at 6:30pm.  Tickets available at https://events.ticketspicket.com/agency/6357f6e2-ee7a-4b8b-925e-4ae220d92fb1