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Canton girls battle back to tie East Granby and clinch spot in state tournament

Canton’s Brooke Potter battles for the ball with East Granby’s Julia Walsh in Saturday night’s non-league contest in Canton. The two teams tied, 1-1.

CANTON, October 23, 2021 – Brooke Potter scored a goal with nine minutes left in regulation to help the Canton High girls soccer team tie East Granby, 1-1, on Saturday night and qualify for the CIAC Class M tournament for the first time.

The Warriors, under first-year head coach Jamie Thwaites, improved to 6-7-1 with the tie and snapped a three-match losing streak. This is the first year that Canton has been in Class M and they are the smallest school in the that respective tournament. They had previously been classified as a Class S squad.

Either way, the Warriors will be playing in the post-season thanks to a goal from Potter to tie the non-league contest. After giving up a goal with four minutes gone in the game to East Granby’s Morgan Egan, Canton keeper Julia Lau didn’t allow another goal. She made three saves. East Granby goalie Ava Guyer made 11 saves.

The two teams played earlier in the week with East Granby earning a 2-1 decision with Paris Delbone scoring for the Warriors. The visiting Crusaders are now 6-3-5 and 5-2-5 in the NCCC.

East Granby’s Ashley Moore tries to control the ball as Canton’s Paris Delbone (16) puts on some pressure.

The game was Senior Day for the team and Canton’s six seniors were recognized – Lau, Alyssa Horn, Charlotte Ferrone, Ashelyn Cebollero, Paris Delbone and Brianna Connolly.

Canton will play in their third straight CIAC tournament. The Warriors played in the 2018 and 2019 state tournament. The 2020 tournament was cancelled due to the pandemic.

Canton (6-7-1, 5-6 NCCC) returns to action on Tuesday when they face Bolton on the road in their final NCCC match of the season. The Warriors close out the season at Valley Regional on Wednesday afternoon.

Gerry deSimas, Jr., is the editor and founder of The Collinsville Press. He is an award-winning writer and has been covering sports in Connecticut and New England for more than 40 years. He was inducted into the New England High School Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2018.

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