Thursday, Sept. 21 – Canton 9, Malone 3
On Thursday the Canton Boys Varsity Soccer team traveled to Malone to take on the Huskies. The Golden Bears won by a score of 9-3 improving their record to 6-2.
The Bears jumped on the Huskies quick scoring early into the first half. Senior Forward Ethan Francey curled the ball to the far side of the net off of a corner kick to give the Bears a lead. However, Malone responded quickly after the Bears defense had a breakdown inside their own box. The Bears were taken aback but got on their feet once again and started to play more inside Malone’s end.
Tensions rose and players from both teams had already started to throw around their bodies. Ethan Francey put another one away for the Bears off of a rebound given up by the Huskies goaltender. Pretty soon the Bears started to run away with the half. Senior Matt Tupper got his first of the season when he headed the ball in off a corner kick from Ryan Jones. Matt Tupper scored again late into the first along with Lucas Howie making the score 5-1 at the end of the first half.
The Golden Bears continued to dominate the field moving the ball well along the turf. The Bears were missing their starting stopper but Jonney Mclear filled the position well taking every ball he could out of the air.
Huskies didn’t quit and scored one goal off of a Penalty Kick and the other off of a shot from outside the 18-yard-line. It wasn’t enough though and the Bears were able to put four more away before the end of the second half. Those goals were scored by Matt Tupper, Ethan Francey, and Ryan Jones with two. The Bears had 24 shots on net. The Bears Goaltender, Jackson Ames, had 10 saves on the night.
Tuesday, Sept. 26 – Canton 2, OFA 0
On Tuesday the Canton Boys Varsity Soccer team hosted the OFA Blue Devils winning by a score of 2-0. Both OFA and Canton were undefeated in league play leading up to this game.
Canton got an early lead just a couple minutes into the game. Senior Ryan Jones took a shot from the middle of OFA’s 18-yard-line after a beautiful pass by Saverio Sergi. After the initial goal from the Bears it was an all-out war.
While both teams did a good job controlling the ball it was the Bears defense that really showed their strength for Canton. The Bears’ sweeper, Griffin Scafidi-McGuire, did a wonderful job of clearing the ball out of the Bears’ end and supporting the outside defenders. Both soccer teams had opportunities to add another one in the book. The most prominent chance came from the Bears when a shot taken by Ryan Jones nailed the cross-bar kicking back out. At the end of the half the score was locked in at 1-0.
The game picked up right where it had left off in the second half. It was a high intensity and fast-paced game. The Golden Bears continued to play solid defense, only letting slow shots go through them. On the offensive side of things, Canton was also able to get a couple of shots to the net front but the OFA goaltender took many of them out of the air. With 14 minutes remaining Canton improved their lead to 2-0, putting the game away. The Golden Bears were fouled and Ethan Francey took the direct kick to get a shot on net. Ryan Jones immediately followed up the shot with a rebound to finish the game. The Bears keeper Ames finished the night with nine saves. The Golden Bears had 16 shots on net.
Saturday, Sept. 30 – Canton 3, Potsdam 0
On Saturday morning, the Canton Boys Varsity Soccer team faced off against its Route 11 Rival on Potsdam’s turf. The Bears bested the Sandstoners 3-0.
The Golden Bears had a difficult time feeling comfortable in the beginning of the game. It was not long until Canton was able to get some offense going. While Potsdam’s Sweeper did a good job of keeping the ball from getting inside the Sandstoners 18 the Bears were still able to get shots through and on Potsdam’s net.
The Sandstoners got past the Canton Midfield a handful of times but would often only get weak opportunities. The Golden Bears did a good job of moving the ball down field but could not capitalize on any of the shots they took.
Finally with 13 minutes left in the first half Senior Ethan Francey walked into the Sandstoners’ 18-yard-line when Ryan Jones gave a through pass. At the end of the first half the Bears led 1-0.
The second half was similar to the first in many aspects. The Golden Bears were not able to put the ball away until Saverio Sergi was fouled in the box. Ryan Jones took the Penalty kick for the Bears and while the goalie did get a hand on the ball it still found its way to the back of the net.
Just two minutes later the Bears gained an indirect kick just below midfield. Daniel Creurer took the kick for the Bears and Ethan Francey gave the ball a slight touch. Josh Mclear was quick to move to the ball and put it away. The Bears Goaltender Jackson Ames had eight saves and the Bears had 19 shots on net.
Photos of the Potsdam game are available courtesy of Shelly Pike. Click here.
