The Bears took on Ogdensburg at home for their first game in the season that they will play against the current frontrunners of the section. A weak second half from the Bears saw them give up four straight goals on their way to a 4-1 loss to concede another league game.
Canton immediately established pressure at the open of the first half. An early shot from forward Griffin Coakley was saved but established the tone of the half. The Canton midfield moved the ball well for the Bears to keep possession. Blocked shots from seniors Will McDonough and Aaron Rosales kept the Ogdensburg attack at bay.
After stellar ball movement from midfielder Colden Francey, a free kick was awarded to Canton in which freshman Wyatt Francey curled a shot over the goalkeeper from 30 yards out to score and take the first lead of the game.
The Bears continued to play hard for the remainder of the half to preserve the one-goal lead. Multiple saves from goalkeeper Sean McCluskey and more shots from players such as Rosales showed Canton came out to play.
After the Pee Wee soccer scrimmage at halftime, second half play started back up. The Bears worked very hard but the Blue Devils found another gear. Ogdensburg dominated pressure and possession throughout the half. Canton’s defense played hard but were stuck in their own end for the first 30 minutes of the game without much rest.
In the 58th minute, Ogdensburg was awarded a free kick on the 18-yard line. The shot hit the bottom left corner in the net to tie up the game after pressuring Canton’s defense for long periods of time. The Blue Devils scored again four minutes later off of a scramble in front of the net to take the lead and establish their dominance.
The game became very chippy and physical with multiple yellow cards for Ogdensburg and a Blue Devil sent off with his second yellow card for arguing with a referee which gave the Bears a man advantage for the remainder of the game.
Despite the advantage, Ogdensburg continued to pile on the attack into Canton’s defense. A mishap from McCluskey from in front of the net and another low shot in the final 10 minutes let Ogdensburg notch two more goals and increase their lead to three.
After Stopper Matt Holbrook was sent off with a red card for a physical play on a Blue Devil player, the game concluded in a 4-1 loss. The boys battled hard all game but couldn’t overcome the skillful play of Ogdensburg.
Canton retakes the field in an away game at Franklin Academy in Malone on Thursday at 6:30 p.m.