Canton 1 – Maple Hill 2
The Bears traveled to La Salle institute on November 2 to face the Section II representative Maple Hill. The Bears knew that they would need to play their best soccer to beat the No. 3 ranked team in the state. The Bears started the first half off hot, trading shots and fouls with Maple Hill. One of these fouls resulted in a golden opportunity for the Bears, as they were rewarded a penalty kick. Junior Ryan Jones was unable to capitalize, as his shot was saved before it could go into the intended bottom left corner. Maple Hill took the momentum from the saved PK through the rest of the half, and found the back of the net with around 10 minutes remaining in the first half off of a shot from senior Colby Frazier. The Bears entered halftime down 1-0, with their season hanging by a thread.
Knowing that they needed to score quickly to save their season, Coach Caufield sent a jolt of energy through his players. Jones found fellow junior Ethan Francey, who knotted the game up at 1-1. However, the celebration was short lived because Maple Hill sophomore Avery Morse scored on a breakaway less than five minutes later, to give them the lead back. Despite the Bears attempts, they struggled to break through the Maple Hill defense. Late in the game, Section X defensive MVP Owen Hall was locking down the Maple Hill attacks and giving the Bears some chances, but they were all foiled by some great plays by the Maple Hill goalkeeper. The Bears fell just short, as they ended up dropping their subregional game to Maple Hill, 2-1. Sophomore goalie Jackson Ames had 11 saves.
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