Canton booters played to their potential in 2012

CANTON – On paper, it looked like a mismatch.

Two-time defending state champion Somers was welcoming the Canton boys soccer team to their field for a Class S quarterfinal contest. The host Spartans had already beaten Canton twice this year by four goals – 6-2 in early September and 5-1 in late October.

But this wasn’t the same Warrior team that Somers had faced.

Canton took a 2-0 lead in the first 20 minutes on a pair of goals from Ben Corbett. “We had them on their heels,” Canton coach Bill Phelps said.

Somers, as most championship teams do, didn’t panic. They took a breath and got to work. They scored a goal and added a second before halftime. “All great goals. We had no chance to stop them,” Phelps said. Ten minutes into the second half, they scored again to take a 3-2 lead.

Canton (11-8, 9-7 NCCC) couldn’t get the equalizer and was eliminated. Somers continued on to play in the Class S championship game for the third straight year.

But it was a signature moment for a Canton team that learned to play together this season and played to its potential. Their best wasn’t good enough on this afternoon but it was their best effort.

“This team really overachieved in my opinion,” Phelps said. “They got everything they could, every ounce out of every position out there this year. This wasn’t a group of 12-month a year players. They worked hard. They worked together.”

It took time for this group to come together. James Spatcher, a veteran player at the premier level, joined the team this fall. He is a big-time goal scorer, a rare commodity at the high school level. Spatcher finished the season with 31 goals, the second-highest single season performance in school history. Only All-American Karl Schilling scored more — 33 in 2003.

It took time for Spatcher to learn to play with his teammates and vice versa. The Warriors lost three of their first four matches to Ellington, Somers and Suffield.

“It wasn’t all about Jimmy,” Phelps said. “It was about the people who got the ball to Jimmy, the people that took the passes from Jimmy. It was about the defenders helping to keep the ball out of the net.”

By the middle of the season, things began to click. In an eight-game stretch in the middle of the season, Canton went 6-2 as Spatcher scored 22 goals. He wasn’t alone. Junior Alex Davey had nine in that stretch with Corbett adding four. First-year goalie Tyler Lange had four shutouts. Canton beat Avon for the first time in 10 years, 4-2, with Spatcher scoring three goals.

Keith Loureiro was outstanding as the stopper and center defender – helping to stop opposition drives and get Canton runs started.

Somers did beat Canton by four goals in the second-to-last game of the regular season but the Warriors were missing five starters. Postponed by rain and snow, the game was rescheduled quickly and some players couldn’t get away from job commitments.

In the Class S tournament, Canton topped Parish Hill in the first round, 4-1 with three goals from Spatcher and a goal from Davey. But the Warriors had to face No. 3 seed Housatonic the next day in Falls Village.

Canton took an early 1-0 lead on a goalie from Davey but Phelps was beginning to see the toll of back-to-back games on his team. Housatonic tied the game and it went into overtime. Spatcher made the difference at the end. With less than 15 seconds left, he beat two defenders to the ball near midfield and sped toward the goal with two defenders just a step behind.

He ripped a shot at the goal that deflected off the goalie and right back at Spatcher’s feet. Continued to move forward, he belted the ball into the net with two seconds left in overtime for the 2-1 victory.

“He was determined,” Phelps said. “He was going to make that happen.”

That brought Canton face to face again with Somers. The Warriors got ahead early. Defender Keith Gobbin shut down Luke Alvero, who had several goals this year against Canton. Alex Boon van Ostade clamped down on Joseph Pantuoso. Eventually, Somers broke through and earned their 3-2 decision.

But Phelps was pleased with his team’s effort.

“We did everything we wanted to do, everything we could do,” he said. “There wasn’t one player who I could say didn’t have their best game. That is truly rare.”