CANTON, Mass. – Canton and Milford both went into Saturday morning’s divisional crossover match at WWII Veterans Memorial Field with two losses from their opening two games. Both wanted to record their first victory to build momentum for the long season ahead.
After sharing four goals in the final 15 minutes, including two in the final five, they had to settle for a first point. Serena Borges put Milford in front with three minutes to play but almost immediately from the kick off Canton leveled thanks to Anne Hoban and the game finished in a 2-2 draw.
“A tie is better than a loss,” said Canton coach Idris Senyonjo. “I think it’s going to have the next couple of games at home and I think we can build around that. I think this point can help us build a little momentum.”
It was a match filled with chances on both ends. The hosts had the first opportunity when Allie McCabe had a shot from distance that forced a save out of Milford keeper Yvonette Lima. After 15 minutes, the Hawks should have had the lead when Kaylee Whitney pounced on a short clearance by Canton goalie Marissa Staffiere and crossed to freshman Paige Caldon, but her header went wide of the open net.
Canton was attacking down the wings, trying to get in behind Milford’s young outside backs. Hoban, who has moved from defense to forward this season, hit a low cross from the left that Lima did well to cut out at the feet of Gabriella Herivaux. A couple minutes later, Emma Cahill got forward on the right and crossed for Hoban, but Lima was able to get behind the close-range shot.
“She never saw a day of varsity soccer before this year,” Milford coach Lou Colabello said of Lima. “She had 14 saves the first game, 16 saves the second game, and today she kept us in the game. She’s an athlete.”
After Milford went close from a Borges corner that bounced in the six-yard box, Emily McCabe forced Lima into a good save on a long free kick and then McCabe set up Hoban with a cross to the back post only for the header to go wide. Dani Atherton beat her marker on the right and crossed to Caldon, but the freshman couldn’t get enough on it to put the shot on net. Atherton again showed her skill to beat one defender on the right and tee up Brooke Ferreira for a shot from 20 yards out that landed on the roof of the net.
“We had more possession, more in their half, and just didn’t utilize it enough,” Senyonjo explained. “I think that’s going to be our biggest issue is that we don’t have many goal scorers this season. We’re going to have to find ways to use the chances we get. We let other teams get back into the game. If we finish some of those chances, maybe it could have gone differently.”
The first half was end-to-end and the chances kept coming in bunches for both sides after the break.
Just four minutes into the second half, Brianna Guerreiro was able to open space for a cross on the right and she picked out Caldon at the back stick. The ball was redirected back across goal and was going to sneak inside the post before Allie McCabe was able to clear off the line.
Two minutes later, Emily McCabe nearly broke the deadlock with another free kick, slamming one off the bar. Hoban then got free on the left side of the box and forced Lima into a good save. In the 52nd minute, Hoban again got loose in the left channel, running onto a through ball and forcing Lima into a sliding block.
The opening goal finally came in the 65th minute. Hoban found space on the left and crossed it to Herivaux in the middle of the box. The senior striker didn’t make clean contact but knocked it on target. Lima was able to make a full stretch save, but could only palm it into the path of Han Hong and she smashed in the rebound to make it 1-0.
Momentum was short-lived. Milford had a corner two minutes later and Borges was able to pick out Amy Oliveira. Her header deflected off a Canton defender on its way to goal, wrong-footing keeper Elyse Broderick and finding the back of the net.
Atherton nearly put the Hawks in front with five minutes to go. She got loose on the right and slid a shot past Broderick but not past Allie McCabe, who had her second goal line clearance of the game. Two minutes later, the Hawks pulled in front. Atherton created the opening, this time on the left side, and played the ball into Borges on the edge of the box. Borges took a nifty touch to get the ball onto her right foot and then curled a shot into the far corner.
It felt like the game-winner, but Canton created an almost immediate equalizer. As with so much of the Bulldogs attack, Hoban got in behind the Milford defense and the senior opened up her body and calmly side-footed her shot to Lima’s left.
Colabello said, “It goes back to knowing how to win in this league. When you get that lead, especially on the road, the confidence has got to be that we’re going to win. You can’t hope to win or try not to lose. You make a mental mistake and people are going to make you pay for it.”
Even though there was less than two minutes remaining, there was somehow still time for Emily McCabe to force Lima into yet another save and for Atherton to bend a shot that went narrowly wide of the bottom corner.
“One of the things to be really proud of is that we didn’t give up,” Senyonjo “That’s one of the things that we did in the first couple games. We gave up a couple goals and it went down and out whereas today I think there was belief that we could get a goal. Responding like that should get them pumped up for the next game.”
“Is it a good tie?” Colabello asked. “Surely after the two losses, and we haven’t beaten them in two years. Today was the best effort [of the season] for sure.”
Canton (0-2-1) will be back at home on Monday when it hosts Stoughton. Milford (0-2-1) will also be home on Monday for a visit from Attleboro.
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