Canton girls lacrosse beats Ellington for first time in state tournament debut

Sophomore Emma Charron had five goals in Canton’s win over Ellington Saturday.

The Canton High girls lacrosse team continues to break down barriers. The Warriors earned their first-ever berth into the CIAC Class S tournament by winning three of their last five games.

In the tournament, Canton sophomore Emma Charron tied her season-high with five goals and the Warriors beat No. 16 Ellington for the first time in team history with a 13-8 victory in Ellington in the first round of the Class S tournament on Saturday.

“We dominated from the first draw,” Canton coach Dee Stephan said. “All the kids played with a lot of heart and hustle. The kids stuck to the game plan, never got flustered when (Ellington) started scoring and just kept their composure and desire really high.”

No. 17 Canton (8-9) advances to the second round where they will take on top ranked and undefeated Old Saybrook (16-0) on Tuesday at 5 p.m. on the road.

Ellington had beaten Canton 10 consecutive times including a two-goal decision about two weeks ago, 11-9. But on Saturday, Canton was able to get the goals that mattered on sunny morning – the game began at 10:30 a.m. (It is prom season).

Senior captain Deirdre Kronschnabel

While Charron had five goals, sophomore midfielder Devon Dauber had a season-high four goals and Grace Giancola had three. Anna Holland scored her first goal of the year after intercepting the ball and firing it into the net. Olivia Sullivan had two key assists.

Canton kept control of the game by winning several draws. Giancola won four while Oliver and Daubert won three each.

“Deirdra Kronschnabel was an amazing leader in spirit voice and play she really rallied the girls and made them believe we were the better team,” Stephan said.

Goalie Amanda Gottlieb made five saves on 11 shots. Canton led at the half by a 9-2 score.

NOTES: Gottlieb and Kaelyn Oliver were named to the All-NCCC team in balloting by the league coaches. Oliver scored a team-record 53 goals in 16 regular season games for the Warriors, including five goals in a single game five times. Gottlieb has been solid in net all season long.