Canton’s Sammy Lincoln (17) tries to control the ball in Saturday’s game against Suffield on the turf field. The visiting Wildcats won, 1-0.
CANTON, Sept. 17, 2022 – Timothy Tkacz’s goal with 16:59 left in the first half was the difference as the Suffield High boys soccer team beat Canton, 1-0 on Saturday on the turf field at Canton High.
The Warriors outshot the Wildcats, 7-4 and had a 7-1 advantage with corner kicks. But Tkacz’s goal made the difference.
“It could have gone either way,” Suffield High head coach Mark Cervione said. “We knew it would be a 1-0 game coming in. Every time you play these guys it goes to the wire.
“Canton moves the ball very well, they always do,” he said. “We’ve been trying to work on one or two touch (with the ball) because against a team like Canton, you don’t get the opportunity to touch the ball three or four times. It has to be quick.”
Both teams shared the North Central Connecticut Conference championship a year ago with records of 12-1.
Craig Gnatek made five saves in net to earn the shutout for Suffield (2-1, 2-0 NCCC). The Warriors fall to 2-1 on the year and 1-1 in the league.
Canton coach Bill Phelps received a red card late in the game and may have to sit out two games. Phelps questioned the actions of the officiating crew that issued a yellow card to a Canton player at the far end of the field.
Phelps was upset that the official on the far side of the field didn’t come to the scorer’s table and notify the benches of the yellow card. When players receive a yellow card, they have to leave the game but teams can put a new player into the game.
The game resumed and Canton was playing a man down with just 10 players as they were trying to tie the game. The Canton bench became aware of the removal of their player when he came to the bench after walking around the field.
BOYS SOCCER
Suffield 1, Canton 0
At Canton
Suffield (2-1) 1 0 — 1
Canton (2-1) 0 0 — 0
Goals: Timothy Tkacz (S); Saves: Craig Gnatek (S) 5, Gavyn Munson (C) 6; Shots: Canton 7-4; Corner kicks: Canton, 7-1
