D3 South
#20 Foxboro, 7 @ #13 Cardinal Spellman, 9 – Final – Foxboro twice rallied to tie the game but the Cardinals took the lead for good with a pair of runs in the sixth inning. The Warriors took a 2-0 lead but Spellman responded with five runs. Foxboro rallied to tie it 5-5 with three runs in the top of the third but again, Spellman answered with two runs to take the lead back. Foxboro tied the game with two runs in the top of the sixth but the Cardinals pushed the go-ahead runs across in the bottom half. Devin Hassett had three hits, three RBI, and a run scored, Joe Cavaleri (two runs) and Robert Theriault each had two hits and Chad Bearce added a hit, RBI, and two runs scored.
Softball D1 South
#19 Attleboro, 1 @ #14 Bishop Feehan, 3 – Final
D2 South
#23 Foxboro, 6 @ #10 Holliston, 3 – Final – Hannah Davis went 4-for-4, including two doubles, and stole a base to lead the Warriors to a win in the preliminary round of the tournament. Morgan Sylvestre and Lexi Buckner each added two hits apiece for the Warriors, who had 12 total hits as a team. Emma Rohan tossed a complete game without issuing a walk while striking out one.
D2 South
#5 Oliver Ames, 15 @ #4 Plymouth South, 11 – Final – Oliver Ames scored seven goals in the first half and then found the back of the net eight times in the second half to upend Plymouth South. Colin Bourne led a well-balanced Tigers attack with four goals, Eric LeBlanc scored three times and Owen Gallager, Frankie Ireland, Sam Stevens and Hunter Costello each chipped in with a pair of tallies. Head coach Ben Devlin added his defense had a strong game as well.
#6 Canton, 11 @ #3 Sandwich, 10 – Final – Canton orchestrated a second half comeback to stun third-seeded Sandwich. The Bulldogs trailed 8-4 in the third quarter but rattled off a 7-0 run to take the lead. Senior captain Kevin Albert scored the fifth goal in that run as time expired for put Canton up 9-8, its first lead of the game. Sandwich pulled within a goal with just over three minutes left but a strong defensive effort prevented the tying goal. Head coach Bill Bendell added that Charlie O’Connor and Nick Mackay had big days at the face off X for Canton.
Girls Lacrosse D1 East
#2 Franklin, 16 vs. #7 Lexington, 4 – Final – Franklin raced out to an 8-2 lead at halftime and duplicated that score in the second half to beat Lexington and advance to the D1 East Semifinal. Erin Walsh (four goals, two assists) and Annie Walsh (five goals, assist) tied for a team-high six points while Kelsey MacCallum (four goals, assist) chipped in with five points. Katie Jones had three goals and one assist for the Panthers and Corrine Lewis had a strong game defensively with two caused turnovers. Franklin will host #3 Concord Carlisle on Monday at 5:00.
#5 King Philip, 6 @ #4 Lincoln-Sudbury, 11 – Final
Boys Tennis D1 South
#1 North Attleboro, 5 vs. #16 Natick, 0 – Final – North Attleboro opened up its playoff campaign in style, winning all five matches in straight sets. Richard Bermudez earned a 7-6 (2), 6-4 win at first singles, Christian Bermudez picked up a 6-0, 6-2 win at second singles, and freshman Jonah Manso didn’t lose a game at third singles in a 6-0, 6-0 win. Ben Pfeffer and Vikram Senthilkumaran earned a 6-2, 6-0 win at first doubles and Alex Pfeffer and Sam Gallagher notched a 6-0, 6-2 victory at second doubles.
#12 Mansfield, 0 @ #5 Newton North, 5 – Final
Girls Tennis D1 South
#8 King Philip, 0 vs. #9 Newton North, 5 – Final
Boys Volleyball Central
#5 Milford, 0 @ #1 Natick, 3 – Final
CANTON, Mass. – After a mid-April matchup against the Pembroke Titans, the Canton Bulldogs knew their Division 2 South playoff matchup on Tuesday was not going to be easy.
“We played Pembroke earlier in the season and beat them 8-6,” said Canton head coach Bill Bendell. “We had some guys missing but they were good and we knew they were going to get better and they have a great coach. We knew it was going to be a dogfight when we looked at the seeding, we were like ‘Ah man, this is not going to be easy,’ there were some other matchups we would’ve preferred.”
The result for the Bulldogs on Tuesday was eerily similar to the first go around, as they pulled out an 8-7 victory in a hard-fought matchup.
The scoring came fast for Canton, as senior captain Charlie O’Connor took the opening faceoff and scored himself to give the Bulldogs a lead just eight seconds into the game.
“I wanted to set the tone for our team, make sure we had the momentum going our way,” O’Connor said. “I did what I could, ran down, they didn’t play me on the fast break and just took it to the net, shot and it went in.”
That wasn’t O’Connor’s only big play of the afternoon. After a strong defensive play by Gabe Galeotos and a clear by Brendan Albert with under a minute to go in the first half, Canton used a timeout with 29 seconds left to try and draw something up.
After the original shot was turned away, the ball laid unattended in the crease where O’Connor was able to play clean-up crew, scooping it into the net with one second remaining.
“The play right before halftime, we drew a couple things up, if they do this we’ll do this and we executed perfectly but they played really good defense, so they took away what we were trying to run,” Bendell. “Then our captain Charlie O’Connor knocked that ball in with one second left and that’s the game, that’s the game winner if you look at it that way.”
“I just brought out my inner hockey instincts almost,” said O’Connor. “Coach always says play to the whistle if the ball is on the goal line then poke it in…I poked it in and luckily, I kept my feet outside of the crease.”
The last-second goal gave the Bulldogs a 4-2 lead heading to halftime, forcing Pembroke to have to adjust during the break, which is exactly what they did.
The adjustments started with faceoff specialist Aidan Geary, who won eight draws in the second half to help bring the Titans get back into the game.
“[Geary] was really good and they made some adjustments,” Bendell said. “[Charlie] won the first one and scored and set the tone, that was huge, but after that, they really tightened that up and made it a battle. It was tough to get possessions.”
With those extra possessions, the Pembroke offense wasted little time getting back into the game.
After Mike Shaw (two goals, one assist) gave Canton a 5-2 lead, Pembroke’s Ryan Mulhern (two goals) scored in a five on five situation to pull the Titans back within two.
Canton then seemed destined to pull away yet again after a strong save from goalie Jack Connolly and a two-man advantage. However, the two-man advantage didn’t affect the Titans as Patrick Mulhern (three goals, one assist) scored with just over four minutes left in the third quarter.
The Titans then used their own man advantage with a Colin Newton goal and Michael Hendriksen added an even-strength goal just one minute later to cap a 4-0 run, which gave Pembroke their first lead of the game.
Canton then quickly answered when Kevin Albert (two goals, one assist) snuck one in just seconds after the faceoff to tie the game at 6-6 to end the third.
To start the fourth, Albert cashed in on another opportunity with 10 minutes remaining, only to have Patrick Mulhern tie the game just two minutes later. But with just over seven minutes remaining, a shot directed right to Albert who found Griffin Roach in front for what was the eventual game-winning goal.
“We’ve lost some one-goal games with these seniors so they’ve seen that,” Bendell said. “We were at D-Y a couple years ago and had them, then they beat us by a goal. We had Sandwich, it was tied late and they scored with under a minute left to beat us, so we survived and advanced just like they survived against us and advanced.”
Over the last seven minutes, the score remained 8-7 in large part due to Connolly in net. Connolly made four big saves in final minutes of regulation, including one with two seconds left that sealed the victory for the Bulldogs.
“He’s a beast, that was huge,” Bendell said. “The defense at the end of the game was clutch. You know the stick gets a little tight in those situations for some guys, but these guys thrive on that stuff. Jack doesn’t get discouraged, he might have a moment where he puts his head down for one brief moment but he’s still a sophomore, he’s a confident enough kid who plays varsity hockey, varsity football and varsity lacrosse so this is nothing new to him. He loves the spotlight and that was huge, that was clutch.”
Canton boys lacrosse (10-7) will now travel to face the No. 3 seed Sandwich on Thursday at 5:00 P.M.
“We just said to these guys, the first win of the playoffs is the hardest,” Bendell said. “We’ve done that trip before, it’s not an easy trip and they’re a good team. But now you’re playing house money, you got past the first round now we’re the lower seed technically so now the pressures on them to beat us and we’re a tough team, so we’ll see.”
Canton junior Griffin Roach scored with 1:38 remaining in the first overtime to lift the Bulldogs to a dramatic victory over Scituate. (Josh Perry/HockomockSports.com)
CANTON, Mass. – With 50 seconds left in regulation, Scituate’s goalie made his first save of the night and the Sailors, who led only once, had the opportunity to win the game. Canton LSM Brendan Albert’s stick check knocked the ball loose as the clock wound down and he managed to flick the ball backwards off the sideline to be scooped up by Matt Martin.
That defensive stand forced overtime in Monday night’s Div. 2 South showdown at World War II Veterans Memorial Field, but the Bulldogs would need another stop if they wanted to have a chance at the win. Canton held on defensively for more than two minutes before snatching possession.
Following a timeout, the Bulldogs put the ball in the stick of junior attacker Griffin Roach behind the cage with classmate Mike Shaw setting a screen to give Roach a step of space. That was all he would need. He drove towards the alley and spun back on his defender towards the goal and finished in traffic to lift Canton to an 11-10 victory.
Here is the overtime goal by Griffin Roach that handed Canton a big win over a potential playoff opponent and moves the Bulldogs closer to tourney qualification #hockomockpic.twitter.com/kTT9EJwn9w
“They’ve been shutting off Mike Shaw, so we thought lets play some two-man game with and what are they going to do?” said Canton coach Bill Bendell of the closing sequence. “There’s no one I want the ball with that’s better than Griffin Roach. It was like slo-mo, we’ve seen it so many times in practice. he bring it so high and then inside roll and buried it.”
About the defensive stand that set up the winning possession, Bendell raved, “If they don’t beat us in transition, then we’re going to be okay because 6-on-6 we’d been playing really well.”
It has been a difficult stretch of the season for the Bulldogs, who lost to division rival North Attleboro by two and Sharon by one. It was also the second straight overtime game for Canton, which lost to King Philip last time out in a game that was a mirror image of Monday night.
“We had that,” Bendell said of the KP loss. “We had possession for like three minutes in overtime and then they had it for 10 seconds and scored.”
He added, “We deserved this one. That’s why the celebration was probably a little excessive but it was all that monkey off our backs.”
Scoring was at a premium in the first half. Dan Cohen got the night started with a man-up goal off a Kevin Albert assist, ripping a shot from straightaway. Scituate scored 90 seconds later to tie it, but Canton regained the lead with six minutes left in the first. Charlie O’Connor raced straight off the bench and down the middle where he received a pass from David Allen and held it until finishing on the edge of the crease.
The Sailors tied it again three minutes into the second, but Roach scored his first of the night with a drive to the cage from the right side, spinning past his marker and flicking a shot over the goalie. Scituate hit the post and Canton missed a chance off a turnover when Kevin Albert’s pass sailed over Shaw’s stick.
Cohen opened the scoring in the second half to build a two-goal lead, but Scituate answered back with three straight goals to take its first and only lead of the night at 5-4. Sophomore Jack Connolly made a big save and outlet pass to Cohen for a transition goal that tied the game and stole back momentum. Connolly finished the game with 16 saves.
“He’s a monster,” said Bendell. “I thought he played out of his mind. That’s one of the reasons the zone can be so effective is he takes up a lot of the cage, he’s athletic, he makes clears very well and now we’re going the other way.”
Cohen added an assist on a man-up situation a minute later with a perfect skip pass to Shaw on the left wing and the attacker patiently picked the near post corner to make it 6-5. Nick MacKay forced a turnover at midfield with a minute left in the third and ran around in the offensive half trying to use up the rest of the clock, but then the long pole dodged past his tired marker and scored with three seconds left in the third.
Bendell said of Scituate, “They never went away. At one point we had a two-goal lead near the end and I thought okay this is going to be it. They kept coming.”
The teams traded goals to start the fourth quarter, with Cohen scoring his fourth of the night. Scituate then scored two in a row to even the score at 8-8. Allen struck the post with a rocket of a shot, but the carom went right to a teammate, Kevin Albert, who found the back of the net with a lefty shot on the run.
Again, Scituate tied the game and had the chance at the lead but Connolly made one of his four fourth quarter saves. Albert was again the player to step up and put the Bulldogs in front with a similar effort to his first goal.
“When things were stalling is when Kevin said, I need to make a play and he scored a couple of big goals,” said Bendell.
Things got nervy at the end, especially with the way things had been going in close games in recent weeks, but the Bulldogs were able to pull out a much-needed win. Bendell said, “In my head, I was thinking that I just hope our guys believe because we were close against North Attleboro, close against Sharon. We had those games in hand and let them slip away, so we needed this. This is karma.”
It was also a win over a potential playoff opponent. Bendell added, “We needed a resume win this year. Not to take anything away from the teams we’ve beaten but we didn’t have that marquee win. This is a good team that we beat. We can build on this.”
Canton (4-5, 6-6) will be back home on Wednesday against Taunton, now needing two wins in the final four games to seal a tournament berth.
Baseball
King Philip @ Oliver Ames – Postponed to Tuesday, 5/22 at 3:45.
Softball
Oliver Ames @ King Philip – Postponed to a time and date to be determined.
Sharon @ North Attleboro – Postponed to Saturday, 4/21 at 11:00AM
Boys Lacrosse
Canton, 3 @ Natick, 10 – Final – Canton trailed by just two (4-2) at halftime but were done in by penalties in the second half. Mike Shaw, Charlie O’Connor, and Dan Cohen each scored for the Bulldogs.
Foxboro, 10 vs. Scituate, 4 – Final – After a back-and-forth first half that saw Foxboro take a one-goal lead (5-4), the Warriors pitched a shutout in the second half to beat Scituate and advance to the finals of the Chowda Cup to take on Catholic Memorial. Bobby Yerardi had three goals for Foxboro while Brendan Tully and Louis Piccolo each scored twice. Jake Addeche made seven saves in net.
Franklin, 13 vs. Lexington, 5 – Final – Franklin turned a close game into a comfortable win with a dominating fourth quarter. The Panthers led by just two goals, 6-4, after three quarters but scored six unanswered goals during the final frame to get the victory. Head coach Lou Verrochi said Jacob Alexander was unbelievable at the faceoff X, winning 19-of-22 attempts. Jake Davis and Eric Civetti recorded hat tricks and added an assist, Chase Tanner netted three goals, and Nitin Chaudhury chipped in with two tallies. Connor O’Rourke made seven saves in the win.
Mansfield, 6 vs. Falmouth, 8 – Final
Milford vs. Bellingham – Postponed to a time and date to be determined.
Girls Lacrosse
Foxboro, 13 vs. Medfield, 4 – Final
Mansfield vs. Natick – Postponed to a time and date to be determined.
North Attleboro vs. Walpole – Postponed to a time and date to be determined.
Boys Tennis
Oliver Ames @ King Philip – Postponed to a time and date to be determined.
Sharon @ North Attleboro – Postponed to a time and date to be determined.
Girls Tennis
King Philip @ Oliver Ames – Postponed to Tuesday, 4/24 at 3:45.
North Attleboro @ Sharon – Postponed to a time and date to be determined.
Boys Volleyball
Milford, 3 vs. Brockton, 1 – Final – Juniors Joao Boaventura, Josh Orellana, and Zach Browne all notched double-digit kills as the Hawks defended home court against the Boxers with a 3-1 (25-13, 13-25, 25-23, 25-23) win. Boaventura had a team-high 14 kills, 15 digs, and two blocks while Orellana added 13 kills and Browne finished with 10 kills.
Baseball
Attleboro, 6 @ King Philip, 2 – Final – Attleboro senior James Weir shined on the mound, allowing just two hits with four strikeouts in a complete game effort. Weir earned the win with just one earned run allowed. Eoin Kelleher (double) and Dakota Kirby each had a pair of hits for the Bombardiers along with an RBI each. Jon Candiales added a pair of hits and three runs scored for Attleboro.
Foxboro, 3 @ Sharon, 8 – Final – Sharon junior Noah Kamens tossed a complete game without allowing an earned run to help the Eagles pick up their first win of the season. Kamens stuck out four while walking three in the win. Senior Drew Naisuler went 2-for-2 with two runs scored and an RBI while junior Jared Reef added two hits, an RBI, and a run scored.
Canton, 2 @ North Attleboro, 6 – Final – North Attleboro broke open a tie game with three runs in the top of the fourth and then escaped a bases-loaded jam in the fifth to earn a win over Canton. In his varsity debut, senior Ben Arrighi came on with the bases loaded in the top of the fifth and induced a ground ball to get out of the inning. Arrighi then escaped another bases loaded jam in the top of the seventh to earn the save (2.1 IP, 0 R). Jeff Gale went a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate, including a triple, and had an RBI single in the sixth inning to put Big Red up 6-2. Nick Sinacola added two hits while Peter Cohen earned the win on the mound. Canton’s Matt Casamento had a two-run home run in the third that tied the game 2-2.
Taunton, 3 @ Mansfield, 1 – Final – Mansfield took the lead in the bottom of the first inning but Taunton answered with three runs in the top of the second to earn the win. Jack Moynihan earned the win on the bump, scattering five hits with five strikeouts and just on unearned run allowed. Josh Lajoie didn’t allow a hit in two innings of relief, striking out four to earn the save. Offensively, Trevor Pietrzyk (2-for-4) knocked in one run and Jacob Crawford had two RBI. Moynihan also had a hit and scored a run. For Mansfield, Sam Nugent went 2-for-3 and Tyler Dalton had an RBI single. Sophomore John Carney struck out five without allowing a hit in 3.2 innings of relief.
Stoughton, 10 @ Milford, 3 – Final – Stoughton’s offense exploded for seven runs in the top of the eighth inning to pick up a victory on the road. Sophomore James Genest went 3-for-5 (double, run, RBI), while Ruben Gonzalez (double, run), Robbie Seaman (double, two runs), and George Currier (run, RBI, SB) each had two hits. Sophomore Michael Nazzaro chipped in with a two-run double. Zak Paquette started for Stoughton and went 5.1 innings, allowing three runs (1 earned) on five hits with seven strikeouts. Junior Evan Gibb got the win pitching 2.2 scoreless innings allowing just one hit.
Softball
King Philip, 7 @ Attleboro, 1 – Final – King Philip’s Elise Pereira allowed just four singles and one run while striking out 12 batters to lead the Warriors to a win on the road. Brianna Lacy paced the offense with three hits, including a home run. Faith Turnese added two hits and Sydney Phillips had two RBI in the win.
North Attleboro, 20 @ Canton, 0 – Final – Bella Erti (three innings, one hit allowed) and Jaclyn Buckley (two innings and two hits allowed) combined for the shutout for North, which has scored at least 20 runs in each of its two games this season. Ashley Cangiano and Olivia Capobianco each went 3-for-3 with a homer and two RBI, while Abby Warren went 3-for-3 with two triples and six RBI. Erti also went 3-for-3 at the plate and drove in a pair and Emily Nardelli had one RBI and three runs scored. North coach Bill Wallace said Andrea Miceli had a great game in the field.
Sharon, 7 @ Foxboro, 18 – Final – Foxboro seniors Hannah Davis and Mandy Ryan, and freshman Nicole Theriault each had three hits to pace the Warriors to a big win at home. Junior Emma Rohan recorded 10 strikeouts for the Warriors.
Oliver Ames, 3 @ Franklin, 15 – Final (6 inn.) – Franklin scored five runs in the first inning and never looked back to secure its first win of the season. The Panthers tacked on four more in the second, five more in the fourth and a single run in the sixth inning. Kylie Bouzan and Meg Caron finished with two RBI apiece while Emily Valentino earned the win, striking out four while scattering six hits. For Oliver Ames, Marissa Guarino was 1-for-2 with a double and a run scored, Kayla Georgeu added a double, and Katie Abreu scored a run.
Mansfield, 4 @ Taunton, 13 – Final – Taunton sophomore Jaylin Couto allowed just one earned run on four hits in four innings of work. Couto also struck out four while Kelsey White finished with three innings of no-hit ball with three strikeouts. McKenzie McAloon (3-4, two doubles, three RBI), Hanna Aldrich (2-3, two doubles, three RBI), Jaime Brown (2-3, double), Kya Enos (1-2, two RBI), and Kelsey White (triple, two RBI) paced the Tigers’ offense. Grace Benton went 2-for-3 on the game for the Hornets, recording half of the team’s hits on the day.
Milford, 4 @ Stoughton, 1 – Final – Milford rallied for four runs in the top of the seventh inning to escape Stoughton with a win. The Hawks put the bat on the ball but Stoughton played phenomenal defense to keep them off the board for six innings. In the top of the seventh, Emily Hartman (2-for-2, run) led off with a double, Shannon Cormier walked and Maddy Bonvino loaded the bases with a bunt single. Kelley Reichert gave Milford the lead with a two-run single and Sabrina Haarstick gave the Hawks insurance with another two-run single. Antonia Bonina had another strong day offensively, going 3-for-3 while Reichert earned the win, striking out seven with three hits allowed and just one unearned run. Stoughton took the lead when Nikki Coppola led off the bottom of the first with a walk, took second on an error and scored on a ground ball to short from Jordan Lyons. Gina Carafa tossed a complete game for Stoughton, allowing just six hits.
Boys Lacrosse
Franklin, 18 @ Attleboro, 0 – Final
Milford, 2 @ Canton, 14 – Final – Canton senior Charlie O’Connor made his season debut and didn’t lose a face off, scoring two goals as well, to help the Bulldogs pick up a win over visiting Milford. The Bulldogs had eight different players score a goal including junior Teddy MacDonald, who notched his first career goal. Freshman goalie Dylan Coyne had a shutout in net in the fourth quarter for Canton.
Stoughton, 1 @ Foxboro, 19 – Final – Louis Piccolo recorded six points while Andrew Whalen and Pete Conley each picked up five points as Foxboro improved to 4-0. Piccolo had three goals and three assists, Whalen scored once and had four assists, and Conley scored four times and chipped in with one helper.
Mansfield, 10 @ King Philip, 14 – Final
Oliver Ames, 7 @ North Attleboro, 17 – Final – North Attleboro senior Jason McNeany dominated the face off X (18-for-20) to help the Rocketeers pick up a win at home over OA. Sophomore Andy DeMattio scored five goals, Damien Curtis scored four goals, and McNeany added four points in the win. Nate D’Amico made eight saves in net for the Rocketeers. Eric LeBlanc had three goals for Oliver Ames while Shane Kilkelly found the back of the net twice.
Sharon, 14 @ Taunton, 0 – Final – Brothers Brett and Drew Litner each finished with six points to pace the Eagles to a win on the road. Brett had five goals and one assist while Drew had one goal and five assists. Kadin Nestler added three goals for Sharon while Johnny Greenberg posted the shutout.
Girls Lacrosse
Taunton, 2 @ Sharon, 15 – Final – Sharon coach Shara Ginthwain called the Eagles’ win a “total team effort,” as eight different players scored goals. Sabrina Robbins had another strong overall game with three goals, three assists, and six ground balls, while Emma Eberhardt also finished with a hat trick and three assists and added 10 draw controls as well. Freshman Jenna Goldstein made it a hat trick of hat tricks for the Eagles and Cass Barbera chipped in with six ground balls. Taunton’s Hannah Moniz and Alana Tavares each scored once while Lorna Li made 11 saves in net.
Attleboro, 3 @ Franklin, 20 – Final – Halle Atkinson and Shannon D’Arcangelo each recorded three goals to pace the Panthers to a win at home. Alex Field scored her goal of the season while Victoria Quinn had a strong game in midfield with four draw controls. Grace MacCallum anchored the defense with three ground balls.
Canton, 7 @ Milford, 6 – Final – Maggie Connolly scored a first half hat trick to help the Bulldogs pull out their first win of the season and first under new coach Laurie Chabot.
Foxboro, 10 @ Norwell, 11 – Final
King Philip, 12 @ Mansfield, 8 – Final – KP made it three wins in three games to start the season with six different players finding the back of the net. Katie Crowther and Caroline Klim each scored three goals for the Warriors, while Alli Meehan added two goals and an assist, Dana Truini had a pair of goals, Jess Sullivan had a goal and an assist, and Olivia Tormey scored in the win. Caroline Watson made 13 saves in the win.
North Attleboro, 18 @ Oliver Ames, 10 – Final – For Oliver Ames, Ella Hogan and Olivia Piazza each netted three goals while Chloe Kilkelly and Sofia Masciarelli added two goals apiece.
Boys Tennis
King Philip, 5 @ Attleboro, 0 – Final – King Philip lost a total of three games in singles play on its way to a sweep on the road at Attleboro. Marco DiStefano won 6-2, 6-0 at first singles, Nick Putney didn’t lose a game in a win at second singles and Jack Cannon took a 6-0, 6-1 decision at third singles. The team of Nick Ihley and Nate Ihley registered a 6-0, 6-1 win at first doubles and Zak Ryan and Jake Mager made their varsity debuts with a 6-2, 6-2 win at second doubles.
North Attleboro, 5 @ Canton, 0 – Final – North Attleboro picked up its third win of the season, sweeping Canton on the road. Senior Richard Bermudez won 6-1, 6-0 at first singles and Christian Bermudez won with the same score at second singles. Freshman Jonah Manso won 6-0, 6-0 at third singles. The team of Ben Pfeffer and Vikram Senthilkumaran won 6-0, 6-1 at first doubles and Alex Pfeffer and Sam Gallagher teamed up for a 6-2, 6-0 win at second doubles.
Sharon, 5 @ Foxboro, 0 – Final – Sharon picked up its third win of the season with a sweep on the road against division foe Foxboro. Fred Bondar notched a 6-1, 6-2 win at first singles, Andre Olivei picked up a 6-0, 6-2 win at second singles and Danujan Thirumavalavan didn’t lose a game at third singles. Junior Max Brody and senior Russell Rapaport won 6-0, 6-2 at first doubles while Sharon’s pairing of Ashwin Sreevatsa and Arie Chinnappan, won 6-0, 6-0 at second doubles.
Oliver Ames, 0 @ Franklin, 5 – Final – Franklin earned a clean sweep, dropping just one game in the five matches. Rohan Herur and Saketh Saripalli each won 6-0, 6-0 at first and third singles, respectively. Liam Marr recorded a 6-0, 6-1 win at second singles for the Panthers. The team of Tyler DiPalma and Derek Wu (first doubles) and the pairing of Tony Calderone and Dan Angermeier (second doubles) each won 6-0, 6-0.
Mansfield @ Taunton, 3:45
Milford, 0 @ Stoughton, 5 – Final – Stoughton picked up its first win of the season, sweeping Milford. Freshman Waseem Sablon picked up a 6-1, 6-1 win at first singles, junior Erik Anderson recorded a 7-5, 6-1 win at second singles and LJ Fernandiz won 6-3, 6-3 at third singles. Stoughton’s team of Hassan Khan and Andrew Chiang won 6-1, 6-1 at first doubles and the pairing of sophomores Brendon Buckley and Mike Veliotis won 6-0, 6-3 at second doubles.
Girls Tennis
Taunton, 5 @ Mansfield, 0 – Final – Taunton won in straight sets in all five matches to notch a victory on the road. Jillian Pagliuca won by default at first singles, senior Vanessa Rosa won 6-1, 6-3 at second singles, and freshman Jocelyn Pagliuca earned a 6-2, 6-3 win at third singles. The team of juniors McKenzie Lucie and Sam Martin won 6-3, 6-3 at first doubles for the Tigers and senior Amanda Pugh and junior Brianna Fevrier won 6-1, 6-0 at second doubles.
Attleboro @ King Philip, 3:30
Canton, 1 @ North Attleboro, 4 – Final – North Attleboro picked up a pair of wins in both singles and both doubles to beat Canton. Senior Jordan Willis won 6-0, 6-0 at first singles and senior Katie Ovoian won 6-1, 7-5 at second singles. The team of seniors Leah Marceau and Shurobhi Nandi won 6-0, 6-3 at first doubles while juniors Mae McLaughlin and Tara Nair emerged with a 6-3, 6-1 win at second doubles. Canton freshman Rachel Kupferman won 6-0, 6-1 at second singles.
Foxboro, 2 @ Sharon, 3 – Final – Sharon emerged with a 3-2 victory in a showdown with division rival Foxboro. The Eagles picked up wins at second singles and both doubles matches. Lulu Yuan won 6-0, 6-0 at second singles, Katie Merport and Emily Wen prevailed with a 6-2, 6-1 win at first doubles and Rithika Neti and Sophia Fein teamed up for a 6-2, 6-2 win at second doubles. Foxboro’s Sophia Prinos won 6-2, 7-5 at first singles and freshman Pam Nelson earned a 6-0, 6-2 win at third singles.
Franklin, 0 @ Oliver Ames, 5 – Final – Oliver Ames defended its home court with a sweep of visiting Franklin. Sarah Leger won 6-1, 6-0 at first singles, Tate Hadges took a 6-0, 6-1 decision at second singles and Maura Kiernan didn’t lose a game in a win at third singles. The team of Kristin Bloumbas and Emily Yu recorded a 6-2, 6-0 win at first doubles while Rachel Stryke and Olivia Groebe prevailed 6-1, 6-1 at second doubles.
Canton’s David Allen (44) fires a shot between OA defenders in the first half. (Ryan Lanigan/HockomockSports.com)
CANTON, Mass. – In the opening game of the season for both teams, Canton held off a second half push from Oliver Ames to record a 12-6 win on Thursday afternoon.
The Bulldogs built a four-goal advantage over the first 24 minutes of action, taking a comfortably 7-3 lead into halftime. But Oliver Ames came out with renewed energy in the second half, scoring a pair of goals in the third while blanking Canton’s offense to make it a two-goal game (7-5) heading into the final frame.
But Canton responded well, scoring its first of four straight goals less than two minutes into the fourth to fend off the Tigers’ comeback effort.
“[OA] came out ready to go in the second half,” said Canton head coach Bill Bendell. “It’s the first game, which is part of it, but OA came out with grit in the second half and was ready to go. They took it to us in the third. Then we woke up a bit in the fourth, realized the game wasn’t over and went on to finish it. I’m really happy to come away with the win. We made our share of mistakes so we still have plenty to work on too.”
Canton started the contest strong, scoring the opening goal less than a minute in when junior Griffin Roach charged up the middle and ripped a shot into the back of the net just 55 seconds in.
The Bulldogs kept their foot on the pedal as junior Mike Shaw took advantage of an OA turnover and scored from in close after a nice shot fake, Roach took a handoff from classmate Matt Martin, changed direction to get past a defenseman and rifled one in, and Ryan Sullivan took a feed from Shaw before firing a low shot, giving Canton a 4-0 lead eight minutes into the game.
Oliver Ames picked up some momentum before the end of the quarter by getting on the board. Sophomore Shane Kilkelly dodged past a defender, faked a shot to draw the attention of two others and then slipped a pass right in front to classmate Hunter Costello for a goal in tight.
The Tigers capitalized on that momentum to begin the second quarter, cutting the deficit to two when senior Owen Gallagher used his speed to wrap around the goal and a bounce shot to make it 4-2 just 32 seconds into the frame.
Canton sophomore David Allen extended the advantage back to three when he scored from a tight angle with 6:40 to go in the first half, only for Kilkelly to answer just over 30 seconds later. Kilkelly backed his way towards goal and used a nice spin move to create space for his shot.
Roach had the answer for Canton, scoring back-to-back goals in under a three-minute space. Just a minute after Kilkelly’s strike, Roach rushed up the middle and fired a bounce shot that snuck just under the bar. The junior cashed in again up the middle, whipping a hard shot to make it 7-3 heading into halftime.
“He’s a stud,” Bendell said of Roach. “He’s a junior captain for us, he can go left or right hand, he gets back and plays defense. He’s just an all-around great player, he’s the hardest worker on the team…exactly what you want from a captain.”
OA got off to a strong start in the second half when senior Jack Lang put the Tigers on the board 38 seconds in, making it 7-4. That goal seemed to set the tone for the period as OA controlled for the majority of the 12 minutes.
But it wasn’t until the final two minutes that OA cashed in again. Sophomore Frankie Ireland made a nice hustle play at midfield to gain possession and then came sprinting into the zone. He found Costello in the middle, who instantly returned the pass on a give-and-go and Ireland tucked his shot from in close just under the bar at a tight angle it to make it 7-5.
“In the third quarter we started executing our offense,” said OA first-year head coach Ben Devlin. “We controlled the ball a little bit more, we worked it around, and we were running our offense the way its supposed to be run. In the fourth, we started to press a little. We were chasing the score. I think the kids thought the deficit was a little bit more than it was so they started to force a little bit. We started playing aggressive and they were able to beat it at times.
“Bill [Bendell]’s a smart coach, we know his offense can kill a lot of clock so we had to press. It all came down to execution…when we won ground balls, won faceoffs and ran our offense, we were right in the game.”
Canton put an end to that momentum early in the fourth. Albert found Shaw cutting through traffic in front less than two minutes in to make it 8-5.
“We were better when we moved the ball and moved around,” Bendell said. “We did a ton of standing around on offense. We tried changing formations…the guy with the ball would end up just standing, or maybe he was moving but then everyone else was watching. I think that’s early stuff, but we talked about moving off the ball a little bit more in the second half. It got better as the game went on, and then in the fourth, they had to press us and that made us move more.
Roach (with 8:14 left), Albert (7:43) and sophomore James Murphy (5:49) scored in succession during the fourth to pull away from the Tigers. Costello added his second, again on an assist from Kilkelly with 2:35 left.
Albert completed his hat trick with just over a minute left to cap the scoring.
“Our guys were really amped up for the game, they knew they had a chance to win it,” Devlin said. “We knew if we executed, we could win. I was encouraged by our scrimmages, I thought we looked really good. But we just didn’t put it on the field today and execute at our best.”
Bendell also noted he felt that freshman TJ McCabe’s performance at the faceoff X was a big factor in helping the Bulldogs earn the win. Canton senior Charlie O’Connor, the team’s normal FOGO specialist, is out hurt and Bendell said McCabe filled in admirably.
“One of the things I thought we did well today was on faceoffs,” Bendell said. “With Charlie out hurt, TJ took them and he competed on every single one and that really gave us a chance.”
Oliver Ames (0-1, 0-1) will try to bounce back on Friday when it hosts Foxboro.
2017 Record: 8-10 2017 Finish: Missed playoffs Coach: Kevin Koppy
After coming up just one game shy of the postseason, Attleboro is aiming to make the playoffs for the first time in program history in 2018.
The Bombardiers doubled their victory total from 2016 to 2017, going from four to eight in the win column. Attleboro returns 11 players from last year’s squad and has a total of 12 seniors on the team. Now in its fourth year, interest in the program is growing rapidly with 17 combined freshmen on either varsity or the JV roster.
There will be a lot of experience on the defensive end for Big Blue. Junior captain Trevor Koppy is back for his third year as the Bombardiers’ starting goalie. He turned away 306 shots last year with a 64% save percentage. In front of Koppy, senior captain Dan Perry is back to anchor the defensive unit which features all seniors.
“Dan is a physical defender that has excellent field awareness and leads by example,” said AHS head coach Kevin Koppy. “He’s constantly hustling and fighting hard for loose balls.”
Perry is joined by classmates Jim Nordberg and Chris Reynolds on close defense while Matt Potter will man LSM and Matt Jiminez brins an extra long pole presence to the defensive unit. Another returner is senior Kyle Henry, resuming his role as the team’s primary faceoff man. Henry had a successful 2017 season in that role and Big Blue will rely on him to spark the offense once again.
Seniors Jimmy Burke and Aidan McKenna, junior Cam Littig, and sophomore Thomas Shipman return to the midfield for Attleboro. Big Blue will have some new faces on the attack with seniors TJ Infante, Shane Joubert, and Aidan Downey leading the way. Freshman Mike Strachan and Matt Perry will also be involved in Attleboro’s attack.
2017 Record: 8-10 2017 Finish: Missed playoffs Coach: Bill Bendell
The Bulldogs found themselves in an unfamiliar position at the end of last season: on the outside looking in for the postseason.
Canton is looking to get back into the postseason this year after coming up just one game shy of qualifying. The Bulldogs won three straight to give themselves a chance but fell just short on the road against Abington in the final game of the season.
Using that as motivation, look for the Bulldogs to be right back in the mix this season. Leading the way will be senior captains Kevin Albert, Charlie O’Connor, and Griffin Roach. All three patrolled the midfield last season but could see time in other spots depending on how the lineup comes together.
O’Connor will step in to handle faceoffs but could miss some time early along with defensemen Brian Ghostlaw and Brendan Albert. Until Canton gets back to 100%, it will rely on senior Gabe Galeotos, junior George Kent, and sophomores Nick Mackay and Jace Emma to provide protection in front of sophomore goalie Jack Connolly. Connolly had a superb freshman season in the cage for the Bulldogs and will try to build upon that his season.
Junior Mike Shaw is back for his third year on attack for Canton, providing experience and leadership up front. Juniors Matt Martin and Dan Cohen, along with sophomores Chris Lavoie and David Allen will also figure into the Bulldogs’ offense this season.”
“We have a great group of kids this year with a nice blend of experienced players and new faces,” said CHS head coach Bill Bendell.
2017 Record: 11-9 2017 Finish: Reached D2 Central/East First Round Coach: Matt Noone
It’s safe to say Foxboro head coach Matt Noone is optimistic about the 2018 season.
The Warriors graduated just three players total and return their starting goalie, the entire defensive unit, and top three scorers from a season ago. Foxboro’s record was a bit deceiving based on how much talent they had, with five one-goal losses and two two-goal losses. The Warriors were dropped in the opening game of the playoffs by just one goal after holding a multi-goal lead in the second half.
With so much of the line up back, Noone is hoping to turn those close losses into wins.
“We’re going to be a better team than we were last year,” Noone said. “We have to play within our system, and do the simple things…if we do that, we will be very good and very tough to beat. If they don’t, we’ll be losing those one-goal games again.”
It all starts with defense in Foxboro with Jake Addeche returning in the cage for his third season. Addeche (185 saves) is one of the best goalies in the region and will have a very experienced defense in front of him. Senior Pat Kaveny and junior Pat Stapleton will anchor the defense, both with equipped with plenty of skill and experience, while sophomores Ronnie MacLellan and Matt Lathrop each already have a year of varsity experience under their belts.
Junior Brendan Tully (24 goals, 15 assists) will pace the Warriors in the midfield (“His lacrosse IQ is off the charts,” Noone notes). Tully can help transition Foxboro from defense to offense, and his ability to keep possession helps the Warriors control the tempo. Tully is complemented in the middle by seniors Louis Blake and Mike Collins while both Shayne Kerrigan and Bobby Yerardi will be in the mix as well.
Offensively, the Warriors look to be well-balanced with Louis Piccolo (25 goals, 13 assists) back this year along with senior Mike Moses (18 goals, 20 assists), junior Pete Conley (15 goals, 23 assists) and senior Andrew Whalen.
2017 Record: 16-5 2017 Finish: Reached D1 South First Round Coach: Lou Verrochi
Expectations are high for the 2018 season based on the talent the Franklin Panthers boast this year.
“We return a very good team,” said FHS head coach Lou Verrochi. “We have a very good and deep bench too, we’re looking forward to the season.”
The long list of returning talent starts with All-American and 2017 HockomockSports.com Player of the Year Eric Civetti. Civetti (Rutgers commit) has been tormenting opposing defenses since his freshman year. He scored 70 goals and notched 24 assists as a sophomore, and then netted 79 goals and 21 assists last year, totaling 194 points between the two years. The Panthers will also boast senior Zach Alexander and freshman Matt Lazzaro on attack.
The midfield will be loaded with two talented lines available. Captains Kyle McEniry (10 goals, 21 assists) and Chase Tanner (29 goals, 10 assists) will be joined by the speedy Nitin Chaudhury (24 goals, 10 assists) on the Panthers first unit while Jake Davis, Johnny O’Glishen, and Owen Palmieri give Verrochi an incredibly talented second unit.
As if the midfield wasn’t loaded enough, the Panthers have 2017 HockomockSports.com Underclassman of the Year Jacob Alexander back to dominate the faceoff X. Alexander, who is committed to play at Bryant University, has dominated at the X for the past two years and really gives the Panthers an advantage in terms of getting possession. “He’s arguably the best FOGO in Mass,” Verrochi noted.
The defense will be anchored by junior Patrick Morrison (Rutgers commit) along with Trevor Raffin, Jack McGrath and Spencer Briggs. Sean Lazzaro will be our top LSM while the Panthers have plenty of talent as SSDM with Will Harvey, Ben Kolb, and Aaron Mollo in the mix. Backstopping the team in goal will be Colorado commit and captain Connor O’Rourke (169 saves, 64% save percentage).
2017 Record: 13-9 2017 Finish: Reached D1 South Quarterfinals Coach: Hal Bean
The Warriors will be looking to replicate the success they had in the 2016 season again this year.
After finishing 9-2 in league play (second in the Kelley-Rex), the Warriors had an impressive postseason run, competing with top-seeded and eventual sectional champ BC High in the D1 South Quarterfinals.
A big reason why KP has had a lot of experience over the past four years is goalie Paul Macrina. Macrina is now manning the cage at Drexel University, so there are big shoes to fill in the cage this season for KP.
King Philip also has to find replacements for the production lost by LSM Zach D’Amico, attack Tim Watson (56 goals, 28 points – second in the Hockomock League), and defenseman Connor Khung – the first two selected to the 2017 HockomockSports.com First Team and Khung apart of the Second Team.
All is not lost though as the Warriors have junior Colin DeVellis back to spearhead the attack. DeVellis was fourth overall in the Hockomock League in points last season, scoring 22 goals and notching 36 assists (58 points). Another key piece will be senior Nate Minkwitz, who can make an impact on both ends of the field. Minkwitz had 13 goals and five assists last season and will aim to improve on that. Expect LSM Wesley Bishop and midfielder Aidan Bender to factor in this season as well.
2017 Record: 12-7 2017 Finish: Reached D1 South First Round Coach: Tim Frias
Mansfield returns a good amount of talent from last year’s playoff squad so the Hornets will certainly be looking to book a return trip as well as compete for a Kelley-Rex title.
The Hornets return one of the most dangerous attackmen in the area in senior Hunter Ferreira. Ferreira’s combination of size, speed, and strength – as well as finishing ability – make him a must-watch for opposing defenses. Most will dedicate two defensemen his way but Ferreira still finished fifth in the league in points with 34 goals and 19 assists. Ferreira will be joined by returners Aidan Sacco and Mike Reed, giving the Hornets an experienced three-headed monster on offense.
The midfield is also loaded with experience behind returning starters Joe Cox (19 goals, 14 assists) and Danny DeGirolamo (17 goals, 15 assists). Cox, who was named to the 2017 HockomockSports.com Second Team, muscles his way through opponents, while DeGirolamo can use his speed to cause problems. Haig Megerdichian, Brett Kessler, Connor Quirk, and Brad Grant will all see time in the midfield as well.
Tommy Donnelly will anchor the defensive unit but the Hornets will have some new faces in back. Dan Plugis and Chris Copponi will both see a lot of minutes for the Hornets in front of goalie Jack Munroe, who stepped in last season and impressed in the cage.
“Our strength this year will be at the midfield with lots of legs,” said MHS head coach Tim Frias. “We should be good in transition as well.”
2017 Record: 4-13 2017 Finish: Missed playoffs Coach: Jacob Scordato
Milford hasn’t had a ton of success overall since it joined the Hockomock League, but new head coach Jacob Scordato is hoping to change that going forward.
Scordato takes over a team that had just four wins a year ago and is the third coach in the past three years for the program.
“Our players are focused on making our program a successful one,” Scordato said. “Boys lacrosse in the Hockomock is known for being a tough league, and Milford lacrosse is going to be making a lot of noise from here on out.”
Although the Hawks don’t have an incredibly deep roster, the optimism stems from the experience returning on offense. UMass Boston commit and senior captain Andrew Gallagher (16 goals, 7 assists) will be a key weapon up front along with junior captains Ryan Hazard (41 goals, 10 assists) and Josh Ligor.
Scordato also expects junior newcomer Brendan White, who has had successful football and basketball seasons so far this school year, to make a big impact on offense for Milford. Defensively, Milford will rely on senior captain and midfielder Chase Blanchette.
2017 Record: 16-3 2017 Finish: Reached D2 Central/East Quarterfinals Coach: Kevin Young
North Attleboro graduated a lot of talent from last year’s squad, so it’s no surprise head coach Kevin Young believes this season will be a big challenge for his young squad.
Although he expects it to be a challenge, the Rocketeers have built a strong program and will likely be in the mix for the division title with Foxboro. Big Red will be anchored by defenseman and captain Tom Lockavitch (Roger Williams commit) and senior LSM Max Fontes. Both Lockavitch and Fontes had tremendous junior seasons and were both honored by HockomockSports.com (first and second teams, respectively). Sophomores Brett Labonte and Will Yeomans will round out a strong defensive unit.
One of the biggest tasks will be filling the void left in goal with Hock MVP and long-time starter Dan MacDonald now graduated. The Rocketeers have three goalies in the mix with Young noting all are working hard to claim the starting spot. Junior Jack Puccio and sophomores Nate D’Amico and Jake McNeany will all be in the mix.
Captain Tommy Lindstrom (Springfield commit) will pace the offense with the help of sophomores Jack Connolly and Andy DeMattio. Faceoff specialist Jason McNeany (Cocker College commit) is also back and will be a key piece of the offense. Nick Ward, Damien Curtis, and Dan Conroy should carry the transition in the midfield with help from Ryan Rajotte and Matt McSweeney.
2017 Record: 8-10 2017 Finish: Missed playoffs Coach: Ben Devlin
Oliver Ames nearly made it two straight years in the postseason but came up just one game shy of qualifying in 2017. So the goal is simple for the Tigers in 2018: get back to the tournament.
The Tigers return their top six scorers from last season, and now with a year more experience under their belts, should be ready to take on some of the top defenses in the league.
Assistant coach Ben Devlin takes over the reigns of the program, and the familiarity should help make for a smooth transition. Senior captains Eric LeBlanc (30 goals, 13 assists) and Owen Gallagher will spearhead the attack while senior captain Jack Lang will make an impact on both ends of the field while also handling faceoff duties. Junior Colin Bourne and sophomores Sam Stevens and Shane Kilkelly give the Tigers varsity experience in the midfield. Sophomore Frankie Ireland and freshman Remi Creighton will also figure into the mix on offense.
Devlin will have holes to fill on the defensive end but its excited about the skill that the Tigers have. Shane Murphy, Cullen Gallagher, and Matt Saba will be relied upon to carry the defensive unit while Rory Madden will handle LSM duties after missing last season. Nick Gillis will take over for Sean Cosgrove in net after impressing at the JV level.
“We are a couple years into rebuilding this program, which is difficult while playing in such a tough conference against some of the best players and coaches in the state,” Devlin said. “We’re young and inexperienced, but talented on defense. All I can ask is for my kids to play to their capabilities. If we do that I think we can win enough games this season to reach our goal.”
2017 Record: 7-11 2017 Finish: Missed playoffs Coach: Jon Shocket
New head coach Jon Shocket is excited and optimistic that the 2018 season will be a successful one on the lacrosse field for the Sharon Eagles.
Shocket believes the Eagles have the lacrosse IQ and skill to get back to the postseason after missing out on qualification by two wins. A big reason for the optimism is the senior class.
“I have a really good senior group,” Shocket said. “If everyone buys into the system and trusts the process, this should be a fun season. This year, we have to make better decisions and move the ball around. It’s about working as a team instead of as individuals.”
The Eagles have experience at all positions on the field, starting with returning goalie Johnny Greenberg. Greenberg enters his third year as the starting goalie and will have good size in front of him. Both Sam Spencer and Coleman Loftus stand at 6’2 and look to be key pieces in the Eagles’ defensive unit.
In the midfield, Jimmy Fitzhenry, Chase Waxman, and Spencer Hall give the Eagles a well-balanced and experienced group. The three provide a combination of speed, strength, and skill that will help Sharon transition from defense to offense. Junior Matt Callan will handle faceoff duties while freshman LSM Tyler Freidman will be in the mix as well.
Senior Brett Litner brings a strong shot to the offense and will be tough to stop on the inside. Classmate Kadin Nestler gives the Eagles speed on the outside and makes the move from midfield to attack this year. Freshman Drew Litner rounds out the Eagles’ attacking unit.
2017 Record: 4-12 2017 Finish: Missed playoffs Coach: Pat Healey
After winning four games in its inaugural season at the varsity level, Stoughton boys lacrosse is hoping to continue heading in the right direction this spring.
The Knights picked up wins over Milford twice, Taunton, and Norton and will look to be in competition with those squads again this year. Leading the blue collar group will be captains Justin Ly, Sean Doherty, and Danny Nakhili. Ly is a three-sport athlete that is willing to do the dirty work, Nakhili provides a lot of leadership in the midfield and uses his speed to give the offense a boost, and Doherty will handle the faceoff duties and provide an offensive punch.
Twins Nate and Alex Wilson bring skill to the long poles, Marty Barrett and Josh Cohen will be key pieces on defense, and Charlie Morgan, Luke Bainton, and Mike Tracey will all be in the mix offensively.
“I’m hoping for more wins,” said SHS head coach Pat Healey said in an interview with Stoughton Media Access. “Last year we got four under our belt which is great for a first-year program. We brought up a lot of freshmen this year from the youth program. But baby steps, this is a tough league so we’ll do as best as we can.
Now in its third year as a varsity program, Taunton is aiming to progress day by day to continue to build the program.
The Tigers went without a win last season but bring seven starters back with another year of success on their belts. Junior goalie Ryan Williams returns in cage to give the Tigers a familiar face on the defensive end. Williams has been manning the cage for Taunton since the team moved to a varsity schedule.
In front of Williams will be junior Justin Demoga, a captain, that handles close defense. Head coach Brendan Chambers noted Demoga is great with positioning, takes a great approach, and is willing to learn and improve every day. Chambers noted Demoga will be tasked with menacing opponents’ best attack throughout the season.
In the midfield, junior captain Dylan Nichols provides leadership and experience for the Tigers. Nichols has the speed to make an impact on both ends of the field and Chambers is hoping for some offensive production out of the junior. Nichols will be joined by senior Chris Kanabayashi who will contribute to the offense with his hard shot.
Junior Noah Kuczewski is making the jump from JV to varsity and will be one of the Tigers’ main pieces on attack. Chambers is also relying on junior captain Joel Delgado, who put a lot of time in during the offseason to improve, to be an important part of the offense.
“Our goal this year is to continue to build on what we did last year,” Chambers said. “We want to increase our lacrosse IQ and try to be more competitive in all our games. Ideally, we’ll win a couple games and get better every day.”
Canton’s Charlie O’Connor tries to get his stick on a loose puck in front of the Somerset-Berkley goal. (Ryan Lanigan/HockomockSports.com)
CANTON, Mass. – When the end of February rolls around, and March on the horizon, expectations in Canton are sky high.
The Bulldogs have been the most successful team in the Division 2 South bracket over the past decade, reaching the semifinals nine times and the finals four times. Only one team made the finals more (Franklin) in that span but no one has been as consistent as the Bulldogs.
With another playoff season upon us, the Bulldogs made a statement that they plan on making another deep run.
#2 Canton dominated from start to finish, skating past D2 newcomer #15 Somerset-Berkley with an 11-0 decision.
“A lot of these guys have been here before, they want it,” said Canton head coach Brian Shuman. “They know there are expectations and pressure. As much as we like to say there aren’t seeds and everyone is 0-0, they expect a lot of themselves so it was good to see them work through those first 10 minutes when they weren’t playing up to their potential and comeback and have a good second period.”
Canton scored a pair of goals in the first period but delivered the knockout blow with seven goals in the second period. The Bulldogs scored the first two goals of the period just 22 seconds in and then buried three goals in a period of 92 seconds later in the frame.
“I thought the first 10 minutes or so we played very nervous,” Shuman admitted. “You could feel it on the bench, they weren’t talking on the bench, they weren’t talking on the ice.”
But after those 10 minutes, Canton went on cruise control.
Sophomore Owen Lehane finally broke the statement just over 10 minutes into the game. He took possession behind his own goal, skated the length of the ice and past the defense but had his bid in close denied.
While the puck bounced around in front of goal, Lehane alertly got back into position at the blue line. The puck popped free onto the stick of the sophomore and he ripped a low shot through traffic to give Canton a 1-0 lead.
The Dogs capitalized on the momentum, adding a second tally with under a minute to play. Off of an offensive zone faceoff, junior Ryan Nolte was the draw clean right back to sophomore Johnny Hagan. Hagan skated between the circles and fired a wicked wrister top shelf to make it 2-0.
“I think goal scoring is equally as mental as physical,” Shuman said when asked how scoring the first goal changes his team. “All it takes is to squeeze the stick a fraction of a second too long or squeeze the stick half a pressure too tight and that makes all the difference. When you get the first one, and then the second, guys start to relax a little more and make some more plays.”
It didn’t take nearly as long for Canton to find the back of the net in the second period. Nolte won the opening draw back to Hagan who skated along the boards on the left side. He tossed a pass back in front to Nolte and the junior played the puck off of his skate and onto his backhand and flipped in his shot to make it 3-0.
Nolte gained possession of the puck himself on the ensuing faceoff. After losing it briefly, he picked the puck back up again, circled into the center of the ice and rifled a wrist shot in for a 4-0 lead just 22 seconds into the second.
Canton continued its offensive pressure with a fifth goal less than five minutes into the second. Sophomore Jack Connolly dumped a puck in, senior Jack Goyetch did well to keep possession, eventually getting it back to Connolly. The sophomore delivered a shot through traffic that senior Bubba McNeice got a tip on, making it 5-0 with 10:05 to play.
The Bulldogs went on the power play for the first time in the game shortly after their fifth tally and cashed in late with the man advantage. After a lengthy possession in the offense zone, senior Matt Casamento to across the blue line to junior Brad Murphy. Murphy took his time, allowing the forwards to get possession in front of goal. Murphy then released his shot and Joe Robinson redirected it off the post and in to make it 6-0.
The offense continued to dominate for Canton, especially its top line of Hagan, Nolte and Timmy Kelleher. Just a minute over Robinson’s tally, Nick Allen dumped the puck in deep, Hagan touched it along to Nolte, Nolte lifted a pass in the air in front of goal and Kelleher batted it out of the air and into the net to make it 7-0.
“That was a good start, that’s the line that’s getting that’s sort of getting a lot of the production this year,” Shuman said of the Hagan-Nolte-Kelleher line. “Ryan Nolte had the two goals and Johnny Hagan threw that nice pass to Timmy Kelleher for one. That line seems to get the big goals for us when we need it, to get us going. They like to be the go-to line.”
Off the ensuing face-off, Tommy Ghostlaw won it back to Murphy, who connected up ice to Chris Lavoie. Lavoie skated to his left and fired a wrist shot to make it 8-0.
Less than two minutes later, Goyetch found the back of the net himself to make it 9-0 with 4:42 left in the period.
In the third period, Charlie O’Connor and Ryan Colby set up Kevin Murphy on the right side, and the senior drilled his shot off the post and in. The Dogs added a final goal when Colby tipped in a shot off the stick of senior Brian Ghostlaw.
Bulldog senior Quinn Gibbs made one save in two periods of play while senior Niko Donovan turned away two chances in the third period.
Canton boys hockey advance to the D2 South Quarterfinals and will take on either #7 Westwood or #10 Oliver Ames. The Dogs are familiar with both teams, sharing a home rink with the Wolverines while splitting the season series with the Tigers. The game is scheduled for Saturday with the time and location to be determined.
“Our side of the bracket is brutal, anybody can beat anybody,” Shuman said. “OA has proved that, Westwood has proved that. The difference among these teams is razor thing. Whoever plays well on any given night can get the win. From now on in there are going to be some tough games.”
Canton won its third Joseph Quinn Tournament in the past four seasons thanks to a pair of third period goals from junior Ryan Nolte. (Josh Perry/HockomockSports.com)
RAYNHAM, Mass. – For the fourth straight year, Canton found itself in the final of the annual Joseph I. Quinn Memorial Tournament at the Raynham IcePlex, but the Bulldogs also found themselves down a goal to the host team, Coyle & Cassidy, heading into the third period.
Junior forward Ryan Nolte scored 21 seconds into the third to tie the game and then he popped up with just 54 seconds left on the clock with the tournament-winning goal, handing Canton a 3-2 win, its third Quinn Tournament title in the last four seasons, and a chance at the top seed in Div. 2 South.
“It was a good comeback,” said Canton coach Brian Shuman. “It was a great third period. We responded well in the third and I’m proud of the guys for that.”
The Bulldogs got off to a perfect start to the game. Nick Allen’s shot from the blue line was kicked aside but right to the stick of forward Timmy Kelleher. The sophomore knocked in the rebound for a 1-0 lead just 34 seconds into the game.
While Canton got the early strike, Coyle did not allow the Bulldogs to control the game, quickly regaining the momentum in what turned out to be an evenly played period that did not feature many clear-cut scoring chances.
“We were talking about learning our lessons from past games,” said Shuman. “We went up early and I think we took our foot off the gas a little bit. We got fired up on the bench and we talk about good starts but you’ve got to have a good start and sustain it.”
Kevin Murphy and Jack Goyetch each had shots on target midway through the first, Murphy from the slot and then Goyetch following up the rebound, but both shots were turned aside. With 1:17 left in the first, Coyle finally connected on a long outlet pass, catching the Canton defensemen wide and pushed forward, and Drew Arpin made it count with a five-hole finish on goalie Quinn Gibbs.
Canton came out of the gates on fire in the second period, despite having to kill off an early penalty. Shorthanded, Nolte created havoc on the forecheck and forced a turnover that he nearly put away with a wraparound chance and then John Hagan was denied as he got to the rebound.
Five minutes into the second, with Canton clearly in control of play, the Bulldogs made a mistake trying to clear the puck out of the defensive zone. It hit Jacob Ducharme on the leg and he was able to step forward clean through on goal. His backhand effort slipped under Gibbs for a Coyle lead against the run of play.
“It doesn’t matter shots in the end, who had zone time, puck possession, all that matters is the scoreboard and after two we were down,” said Shuman. “We were panicking a little bit. We just said, this time of year, you can’t let one- or two-goal deficits get in your head. You just have to take it one goal at a time.”
Canton had plenty of chances to tie the game in the second, outshooting Coyle 15-2. Sophomore Chris Lavoie had a shot from the left circle tipped just past the top corner and into the netting and Nolte took a shot from the same spot on a 3-on-1 break that was comfortably saved. Despite dominating play in the period, the Bulldogs went into the third down by a goal.
Starting the third with a power play, the Bulldogs wasted no time in getting level. Hagan had the first chance on the edge of the crease but the puck was blocked right to Nolte at the far post and he roofed his close-range shot to make it 2-2 just 21 seconds into the third.
Shuman explained, “You saw there with the power play at the end of the second period, we had a 5-on-3, we were panicking and just throwing shots on net from bad angles and I think those guys showed some poise [in the third] and made a good shot.”
The game settled into a similar pattern with Coyle trying to sneak players behind the aggressive back line of the Bulldogs, but the defenseman continuing to make plays to keep the Warriors from getting off shots. Jack Connolly, Owen Lehane, Matt Casamento, Charlie Malloy, Brad Murphy, and Allen all made big plays to stop Coyle in the neutral zone or at least keep the Warriors from getting a clean look. Gibbs faced only three shots in the final 30 minutes of the game.
Malloy also had one of Canton’s best chances in the third with a blast from the point that was saved to the corner. Charlie O’Connor also had a couple of chances but multiple times hit the side of the net in the third. Allen had Canton’s best chance after he stepped up into the attack with Kelleher and Hagan, but his one-timer missed the net by inches.
Just seconds after Hagan saw a shot that looked destined for the top corner gloved to the back boards, Nolte again found himself in a battle on the edge of the crease and managed to find the back of the net with the go-ahead goal.
“It’s great when one of your most skilled players is also one of your best defensive players,” said Shuman of Nolte, who he praised for his all-around performance. “Ryan played great defensively this game and his goals just came from being in the middle of the ice. A lot of times, Ryan will make a move, deke, and beat guys but he also needs to score in those dirty areas and he had a couple today.”
It was the second time in the past three games that Canton had scored a game-winner in the final minute, a trait that could be the difference between a potential tournament run and an actual one.
Canton (15-2-4) will wait for the result of a coin toss to see if it ends up with the top seed in Div. 2 South.
Baseball
Attleboro @ Oliver Ames – Postponed to Tuesday, 5/16 at 3:45.
Canton @ Sharon – Postponed to Tuesday, 5/16 at 3:45.
Milford @ Foxboro – Postponed to Thursday, 5/25 at 3:45.
Mansfield @ Franklin – Postponed to Thursday, 5/18 at 7:00.
King Philip @ Taunton – Postponed to Tuesday, 5/16 at 3:45.
North Attleboro @ Stoughton – Postponed to Tuesday, 5/16 at 3:45.
Softball
Oliver Ames @ Attleboro – Postponed to Tuesday, 5/16 at 3:45.
Sharon @ Canton – Postponed to Wednesday, 5/24 at 3:45.
Foxboro @ Milford – Postponed to Friday, 5/19 at 4:00.
Franklin @ Mansfield – Postponed to Tuesday, 5/16 at 3:45.
Taunton @ King Philip – Postponed to Tuesday, 5/16 at 3:45.
Stoughton @ North Attleboro – Postponed to Tuesday, 5/23 at 3:45.
Boys Lacrosse
North Attleboro, 11 @ Attleboro, 1 – Final – North Attleboro outscored Attleboro 7-0 in the second half to pick up a non-league win. Tommy Lindstrom orchestrated the offensive attack, registering five assists while Zach McGowan scored twice and added two helpers. Paul Yeomans (two goals, one assist) finish with three points while Jason McNeany (goal, assist), Colin Young (two goals) and Jack Dakin (two goals) each had two points. Owen Costello and Zac Doucette each scored once and Brett Labonte and Hunter Sarro each had an assist.
Canton, 5 vs. Braintree, 3 – Final – Canton outscored the visitors 4-1 in the second half to pick up a win on senior night and keep its postseason hopes alive. Senior Dan Dillon led the charge, notching three assists and scoring the game-winning goal with just over three minutes left to play. Senior Ryan Lodge and sophomore Mike Shaw each netted a pair of goals to round up Canton’s attack. Freshman Jack Connolly made 11 saves in net while CHS coach Bill Bendell praised the work of junior Charlie O’Connor at the face off X and the defensive work of senior Michael Pigeon.
Foxboro, 8 vs. Westwood, 9 – Final (OT)
Franklin, 11 @ St. John’s Shrewsbury, 12 – Final (2OT) – St. John’s rattled off a 5-0 run in the second half to create an 11-7 cushion but the Panthers answered, scoring four straight goals over the final 5:45, capped with a goal from freshman Jake Davis with just seven seconds left to send the game into overtime. The Panthers won the face off at the beginning of each overtime period but couldn’t covert and the Pioneers netted the winner with 1:02 to go in the second overtime. Eric Civetti led Franklin’s offense with seven goals and one assist, Packie Watson scored twice and had one helper and Nitin Chaudhury scored once. Sam Arsenault, Jack Platner and Kyle McEniry had had one assist while Jacob Alexander won 19 face offs.
King Philip vs. Bishop Feehan, 6:00
Milford, 8 @ AMSA, 4 – Final
Oliver Ames, 9 @ Pembroke, 8 – Final– Oliver Ames freshman Shane Kikelly and junior Owen Gallagher each recorded a hat trick to pace the Tigers’ offense. Senior Liam Brown, junior Eric LeBlanc and freshman Sam Stevens rounded out the scoring with a goal apiece.
Sharon vs. Holliston, 3:45
Taunton, 2 @ Norton, 14 – Final
Girls Lacrosse
North Attleboro, 17 @ Attleboro, 3 – Final – Erin Holley paced the Rocketeers, who had 11 different goal scorers in the win, with four goals and a pair of assists. North also got five assists from Katie Lindstrom, a goal and three draw controls from Julia Noreck and two goals and two assists from Camille Pizarro.
Franklin, 8 vs. Westwood, 7 – Final – Franklin freshman goalie Gianna Cameron made 15 saves and FHS head coach Kristin Igoe Guarino had high praise for her defensive unit, anchored by Dana Lewandowski and Grace McDermott. The win marked the Panthers’ first ever win over Westwood, the defending D1 state champions. Caroline Lounsbury led the offense with three goals, Erin Walsh netted two goals and Annie Walsh recorded a goal and an assist. Jordan Jette had two helpers and Kendall Reardon and Kelsey MacCallum both found the back of the net once.
Taunton, 14 @ Norton, 6 – Final – Taunton eighth grader Alana Tavares scored a team-high eight goals and assisted on three others to pace the Tigers to a win on the road. Kayla Phillips netted a hat trick, Abbey Kingman scored twice and Annie Tate (two assists) found the back of the net once. Lorni Li turned away 12 shots in goal for the Tigers.
Boys Tennis
Sharon, 5 @ Canton, 0 – Final – Sharon won all five matches in straight sets, losing a total of just seven games on the road. Griffin Fein won 6-1, 6-1 at first singles, Fred Bondar notched a 6-0, 6-1 win at second singles and Andre Olivei recorded a 6-0, 6-0 win at third singles. The team of Alex Romantz and Alberto Olivei won 6-1, 6-1 at first doubles and Sammy Kirshenbaum and Max Brody prevailed 6-0, 6-2 at second doubles.
Oliver Ames @ Attleboro – Postponed to Tuesday, 5/16 at 3:45.
Foxboro @ Milford – Postponed to Tuesday, 5/16 at 3:45.
Franklin @ Mansfield – Postponed to Tuesday, 5/16 at 3:45.
Taunton @ King Philip – Postponed to Wednesday, 5/24 at 3:45.
Stoughton @ North Attleboro – Postponed to Tuesday, 5/16 at 3:45.
Girls Tennis
Canton, 0 @ Sharon, 5 – Final – Sharon dropped just one game in total among three singles matches to beat Canton. Nupur Shukla won 6-0, 6-0 at first singles, Emily Zhang captured a 6-0, 6-0 win at second singles and Lulu Yuan won 6-0, 6-1 at third singles. The team of Sydney Gordon and Lauren Glass won 6-0, 6-1 at first doubles and Sachi Bhasin and Akhila Sanadi won 7-6, 7-0 at second doubles.
Attleboro @ Oliver Ames – Postponed to Tuesday, 5/16 at 3:45.
Milford @ Foxboro – Postponed to Tuesday, 5/23 at 3:45.
Mansfield @ Franklin – Postponed to Tuesday, 5/16 at 3:45.
King Philip @ Taunton – Postponed to Wednesday, 5/24 at 3:45.
North Attleboro @ Stoughton – Postponed to Tuesday, 5/16 at 3:45.
Boys Volleyball
Milford, 3 @ Xaverian, 0 – Final
Taunton, 3 vs. Barnstable, 2 – Final
