Late goal from Canton lifts Warriors past Morgan and into second round

Rieley Hoffman (10) scored his 10th goal of the season in Canton’s 2-1 win over Morgan in the Class S tournament Monday.

CANTON, Nov. 3 – They’ve run the drill a thousand times. Bring the ball down the sideline and cross it front of the goal. “He has that do that drill 24/7 in practice,” Canton High’s Nate Hanson said, referring to long-time Warrior boys soccer coach Bill Phelps. “Take it down the line and put it across the middle.”

Late in Monday’s Class S first round soccer contest against the Morgan School, Hanson took a pass from teammate Tanner Clarke and raced down the left side of the field. He drew a few Morgan defenders as he approached the goal.

Hanson, Canton’s leading scorer with 15 goals, could have taken a shot. The Morgan goalie began to approach Hanson looking to cut down the angle. Hanson pushed a quick pass to his right across the goal mouth. His teammate Jacob Dupre was there at the far post.

Racing toward the net, Dupre tapped in the ball with 4:01 remaining in regulation to lift No. 10 Canton to a 2-1 victory over No. 23 Morgan.

The Warriors, who have won their opening tournament game for eight straight years, advance to Wednesday’s second round when they travel to face No. 7 East Hampton (9-4-2) at 2 p.m. on the road.

Canton (11-6) scored with just 5:41 gone in the game when Rieley Hoffman ripped a shot past Morgan goalie Ames Gordon for a 1-0 lead. But they couldn’t build upon it and the Huskies tied up the game on a great individual move from Juan Avila with 27:13 remaining in the contest.

“They were very nervous,” Phelps said of his team. “They had some great opportunities and some great moments. But if look at Morgan, they do a really good job of packing it in and their defense has done a good job.

“It’s a matter of getting relaxed,” Phelps said. “They’re a lot of good kids on this team that weren’t in the tournament last year.”

Canton goalie Joshua Frigo had 13 saves in net to get the win. Gordon had 11 saves for the visiting Huskies. Canton outshot Morgan, 14-13.

Hoffman scored his 10th goal of the season on the second shot of the game.

But Morgan didn’t go away. Frigo had to make a nice diving save just four minutes later and deflected a potential goal away a few minutes later. Teammate Riley Hollis made a save on a ball that got past Frigo with 19:27 left in the first half, kicking it out of the penalty area.

The Warriors led 1-0 at the half but couldn’t extend the lead. Morgan was quick and frequently disrupted the Canton attack. Hoffman twisted his ankle in the second half and didn’t return. He hopes to back on the field Wednesday.

East Hampton, a 2-0 winner over Housatonic on Monday, beat Morgan in September by a 1-0 score in a Shoreline Conference contest.

Canton 2, Morgan 1
At Canton
Morgan (5-7-4)     0  1  — 1
Canton (11-6)       1  1  — 2
Goals: Rieley Hoffman (C), Juan Avila (M); Jacob Dupre (C); Assists: Anthony Chorozony (M), Nate Hanson (C); Saves: Josh Frigo (C) 13, Ames Gordon (M) 11; Shots: Canton, 14-13