On Thursday, October 1, the Bears played an away league game against the Malone Huskies. They lost 1-0 in a closely contested match.
The Huskies opened the game with an early chance on a chip shot into the net. Goalkeeper Sean McCluskey got a piece of it as it deflected off of the crossbar and out. The next 20 minutes remained even with play being mostly in the midfield and few scoring chances for either side.
Canton started to pick up the ball movement later in the half. Junior Max Decoteau had many rushes up the side for the Bears. Shots from senior Aaron Rosales and freshman Wyatt Francey were denied and a free kick shot from 35 yards out by striker Griffin Coakley was saved by the Huskies. In the 37th minute, senior Will Andes returned from injury and checked into the game giving the Bears a jolt of energy on the offensive side of the ball.
In the final seconds of the first half, the Huskies stole the ball off of a Canton giveaway and took a shot from outside the 18-yard line. The contested shot slid into the lower-right corner of the net giving Malone a 1-0 halftime lead.
The Bears took more midfield possession coming out of halftime but struggled to break through Malone’s defense. After a yellow card for Wyatt Francey, he shot a free kick just wide of the net and a dangerous cross from Andes also missed.
Canton came incredibly close to a goal during the 63rd minute when there was a scramble for the ball in front of the net after the Malone goalkeeper bobbled the ball but it was cleared by the defense. The Bears kept the pressure on through the half to try to force a tying goal. A missed header from Wyatt Francey and a shot over the crossbar from senior Colden Francey came close to tying up the game nearing the end but turned out unsuccessful.
McCluskey made a breakaway stop in the 78th minute to keep the Bears in the game but time expired before Canton could score. The Bears took another league loss after their dominant second half wasn’t enough to even the game.
The Bears will continue to look for their first league win in their rematch against the Huskies at home on Friday, October 9.