Canton booters blank Ellington, 2-0, to remain in contention for NCCC title

Ellington defenders try to slow down Canton’s Spencer Mix, who had a goal and an assist in Saturday’s 2-0 win over the visiting Purple Knights. More photos

CANTON, October 23, 2021 – It’s not easy to capture a conference championship in the North Central Connecticut Conference. In this century, Suffield, Ellington, Granby and Avon have combined to win 19 of the last 20 championships.

Somers grabbed the 2009 championship and Canton grabbed a share of the 2002 title with Avon. In 2003, the last time that Canton won a Class S state championship, the Warriors were a point behind league champion Ellington.

Canton (10-3, 10-1 NCCC) put themselves in a position to possibly grab another piece of a league championship Saturday with a strong 2-0 win over Ellington on the turf field.

If the Warriors can beat Bolton on Tuesday and East Windsor on Nov. 1, Canton could finish tied for first place with Suffield. The Wildcats (13-1, 11-1 NCCC) can finish 12-1 in the league if they beat East Granby on Monday.

The question is what are the rules for determining a league champion. In the NCCC, it varies from sport to sport and it sometimes changes from year-to-year depending on decisions made by the league committee that organizes the respective sport.

If there is a tiebreaker, it is usually head-to-head competition and Suffield beat the Warriors way back on Sept. 14 by a score of 1-0.

Canton’s London Abbott leaps over Ellington goalie Will Takain in Saturday’s NCCC game in Canton. Abbott didn’t score on this opportunity but the Warriors won the game, 2-0. More photos

Long-time head coach Bill Phelps of Canton didn’t know what the rules are this year and said he would find out. But he is pleased with the way his team has been playing as the regular season draws to a close. The Warriors have won seven straight and 10 of the last 11 matches.

“I think we needed to show something today and we did that the way we played,” Phelps said of his team’s performance over Ellington. “In the second half they came at us with pressure and we didn’t give up a goal which is really good and a real compliment to our defense.

“We didn’t lose our composure,” he said. “We kept moving the ball. We spread the ball out. It opens up the field and it’s really nice to see. This is one of the few teams I have had that I haven’t had to teach (players) how to dribble the ball.”

This is Phelps 33rd  year behind the bench for the Warriors.

Canton controlled much of the play in the first half but controlling the ball and keeping it away from the Purple Knights (10-3, 9-2 NCCC).

Ellington defenders keep the ball out of their own net during the second half of Saturday’s loss to Canton. More photos

The Warriors took a 1-0 lead when leading scorer Spencer Mix found London Abbott streaking toward the goal. Abbott collected the ball for a second and fired into the corner past Ellington keeper Will Takain with 18:01 left in the first half for his tenth goal of the year.

With 9:17 remaining in the half, Thomas Gibbons found Mix alone in front of the net. Before an Ellington defender could collapse on him, Mix took the ball on one hop and flicked it toward the net for his team-leading 22^nd goal of the season.

Mix, who earned All-State honors a year ago, has been on a roll with 15 goals in the last seven games, including a career-high four goals in a 5-0 win over East Granby just 24 hours earlier.

“We’re getting a mix of everything,” Phelps said. “Their talent is just unbelievable and it spreads out. It is never just one person. You can’t sit (defensively) on Spencer because that opens up Miles (Deiulis) and London (Abbott). If you sit on Miles and London, it opens up Spencer and Tommy (Gibbons). It is just incredible the depth we have.”

Sixteen different players have scored goals this fall for the Warriors.

“I always think that if I can take the attention from the defense, it opens up my teammates as well,” Mix said. “We’ve been a very well-organized team this year. It’s one of the best team I have ever been a part of.”

Canton goalie Jack Biskupiak made seven saves in net to earn his second straight shutout and the fifth of the season.

Nothing is set in stone yet for the Warriors. They will have to beat Bolton (8-5-2, 5-5-2 NCCC) to remain in contention for the league championship.

In 2002, Canton won a piece of the league title because Avon was upset by Windsor Locks in the second-to-last game of the regular season. In 2003, Windsor Locks (4-9-3) battled to a 1-1 tie with Canton in the final game of the season, enabling Ellington to win the league title by a point.

Canton 2, Ellington 0
At Canton
Ellington (10-3)            0  0  — 0
Canton (10-3)               2  0  — 2
Goals: Spencer Mix (Ca), London Abbott (Ca); Assists: Mix, Thomas Gibbons (Ca); Saves: Jack Biskupiak (Ca) 9, Will Takain (Ell) 11: Corner kicks, Ellington 8-7

NCCC standings as of Saturday, Oct. 24