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Defense helps Canton beat No. 1 Old Lyme and move into Class S final

Canton's Emma Charron (23) and Devon Daubert (22) celebrate after a second half goal in Canton's 15-11 semifinal win over No. 1 Old Lyme Tuesday.

Canton’s Emma Charron (23) and Devon Daubert (22) celebrate after a second half goal in Canton’s 15-11 semifinal win over No. 1 Old Lyme Tuesday.

SOUTHINGTON, June 7 – It’s no secret that the Canton High girls lacrosse likes to score goals – lot of goals.

Junior Grace Giancola came into Tuesday’s Class S semifinal against No. 1 Old Lyme with 101 goals. Senior Emma Charron had 52 with Kaelyn Oliver scoring 40. “We like to go, go, go,” Warriors head coach Sean Cole said.

However, what helped secure Canton’s first-ever trip to the Class S state championship game was their defense. The Warriors surrendered just one goal in the final 10:56 of the second half and didn’t allow a goal in the final 5:02 of the first half to help No. 4 Canton beat Old Lyme, 15-11.

Canton (17-3) will play NCCC rival Somers on Saturday at Jonathan Law in Milford at a time to be announced. It will be Canton’s second championship game appearance in three months. The Canton girls basketball team beat Thomaston for the Class S state title in March at the Mohegan Sun Arena.

“I’ve said several times that it is defense that wins you hardware,” Cole said. “(We) handed the pressure. We played a little hungrier throughout. Their hearts were in their throats a bit in the first half but we told them that a run would be coming from (Old Lyme).”

Emma Charron scored four goals and had two assists as Canton advanced to the Class S championship game for the first time.

Emma Charron scored four goals and had two assists as Canton advanced to the Class S championship game for the first time.

The Warriors got off an outstanding start, scoring three goals in the first five minutes of the game. But Old Lyme (19-2) scored the next four goals to take the lead and with 5:02 left in the first half, they held a two-goal lead, 7-5.

“It got to us at one point and we took a timeout and took a team deep breath,” Charron said. “We said focus.”

Added Oliver, “We needed to relax. The game wasn’t over. We knew what we had to do. We needed to pursue it and we picked ourselves up as a team and worked together. We refocused and played like we can play.”

Canton didn’t give up a goal the remainder of the first half. Charron scored a goal with 4:29 remaining and Oliver scored off an assist from Anna Holland with 1:38 left in the first half to tie the game at 7-7. Holland scored her eighth goal of the year and first of the postseason off an assist from Allie Molsanto with 53 seconds left to give the Warriors an 8-7 lead at the break.

Canton needed and got contributions from players across the field. With Giancola getting plenty of attention from the Wildcat defense, Charron and Oliver scored four goals each. Allie Molsanto (two goals) and Ashley Potter scored their first goals of the year. Giancola finished with three.

Charron said an entire practice was devoted to offensive alternatives if Giancola was smothered by the opposition’s defense. “We knew that was coming and we were prepared,” she said.

Canton's Katrina Giotsas (16) and Sarah First (11) celebrate with goalie Amanda Gottlieb after beating Old Lyme, 15-11 on Tuesday.

Canton’s Katrina Giotsas (16) and Sarah First (11) celebrate with goalie Amanda Gottlieb after beating Old Lyme, 15-11 on Tuesday.

Canton’s defense stood tall, too. Sophomore Katahdin Whitney got the assignment to shadow Old Lyme’s best scorer – Sloane Sweitzer, who came into the game with 74 goals and 51 assists. Sweitzer finished with three goals and four assists. Canton goalie Amanda Gottlieb made nine saves including three big saves in the second half that kept the Wildcats at bay.

Twice in the second half, Old Lyme cut the Canton lead to one goal. But each time, the Warriors responded quickly. After Lauren Quaratella scored with 22:36 left in the game, Potter scored her first goal of the year with 19:43 left for a 10-8 advantage. Two minutes later, the Wildcats again cut the lead to one, 10-9, on a pretty goal from Sweitzer to Quaratella with 17:07 left in the game.

Devon Daubert scored from the top of the crease to extend the lead to two and Giancola made it a three-goal game scoring 26 seconds later off a restart for a 12-9 advantage.

Old Lyme cut the lead to two, 12-10, but Giancola and Charron added goals to extend the lead to 14-10. And in the final eight minutes, Canton effectively ran out the clock by passing the ball around the circle and goalie cage.

“That was no surprise. They were up and time was ticking away,” Swietzer said. “We practiced doubling (the person with the ball) but that’s hard when the clock is ticking down and it’s the last minutes of the game.”

NOTES: Canton will play Somers (17-4) in the championship game for the fourth time this season. No. 3 Somers beat No. 15 St. Joseph-Trumbull, 12-10 in the second game of a doubleheader at Southington High on Tuesday. … The Warriors beat the Spartans in April, 14-4, but lost in May, 12-11 in overtime. Canton dominated Somers in a 14-4 decision in the NCCC Tournament championship game about two weeks ago. … Somers is making its second trip to the state finals. The Spartans lost to New Fairfield, 11-5 in the Division II title game in 2005.

Canton 15, Old Lyme 11
At Southington
Canton (17-3)                8  7  — 15
Old Lyme (19-2)            7  4  — 11
Goals: Canton – Devon Daubert, Grace Giancola 3, Emma Charron 4, Kaelyn Oliver 4, Anna Holland 1, Ashley Potter, Allie Molsanto 2; Old Lyme – Lauren Quaratella 3, Sydney Cowell 3, Anna Mesham 2, Sloane Sweitzer 3; Assists: Canton – Charron 2, Oliver 1; Old Lyme – Quaratella, Mesham, Sweitzer 4; Saves: Amanda Gottlieb (C) 9, Hannah Guenther (OL) 10

 

 

Gerry deSimas, Jr., is the editor and founder of The Collinsville Press. He is an award-winning writer and has been covering sports in Connecticut and New England for more than 30 years.

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