Undefeated Lewis Mills gets one goal past Canton to advance in Class S tournament

Lewis Mills’ Kelly Winterbottom, left, keeps the pressure on Canton’s Grace Giancola in Tuesday’s Class S field hockey game in Burlington.

BURLINGTON – It was a tidal wave in Tuesday’s Class S second round contest on the soccer field at Lewis Mills High.

Underdog Canton, coming off its first field hockey state tournament victory since 2007, got off a pair of penalty corners in the opening minutes. It was pretty much all Lewis Mills the rest of the way.

The Warriors fought valiantly but top-ranked Mills was too much as they outlasted No. 17 Canton, 1-0. Karlie Neuhauser scored off an Ally Jackson assist with eight minutes left in the first half as Mills improved to 16-0 on the season and advanced to Thursday’s quarterfinals.

Mills had 16 shots on goal. Canton had two. The Spartans had 17 penalty corner opportunities. The Warriors had four.

“I thought we fought hard and played a great game,” Canton coach Margaret Bristol said. “We’re strong defensively and that was apparent today. Sarah First and Maggie Bidwell did an amazing job flying (in to make stops and break up) penalty corners. They’re both intense players who give 110 percent every game.”

Goalie Natalie Nardello made 15 saves in net for the Warriors, who finish the season at 7-9-0-1

Canton’s Alexa Szczepanski tries to keep ahead of Lewis Mills’ Karlie Neuhauser in Tuesday’s Class S field hockey tournament game in Burlington.

At times, Canton was able to move the ball into the Spartans’ end but Mills was quicker and able to break up most scoring opportunities. Early in the game, Canton’s Emma Charron made a nice move in the circle that resulted in a penalty corner. Canton’s Grace Giancola got off a shot but it was cleared away by Spartan goalie Jillian Mazon.

Giancola finished the year with a team-leading 10 goals.

Lewis Mills 1, Canton 0
At Burlington
Canton (7-9-0-1)              0  0  — 0
Lewis Mills (16-0)             1  0  — 1
Goal: Karlie Neuhauser (LM); Assist: Ally Jackson (LM); Saves: Natalie Nardello (C) 15, Jillian Mazon (LM) 2; Penalty corners: Lewis Mills, 17-4; Shots: Lewis Mills, 16-2