No. 2 Canton finds a way to get past New Fairfield and advance

New Fairfield goalie Kayla Whitters makes a stop in Tuesday’s Class S second round game in Canton. The Warriors prevailed, 1-0.

CANTON, Nov. 8, 2022 – One of the beautiful facets of the CIAC state tournament can be the unknown – facing opponents you haven’t seen before.

It took No. 2 Canton a half to adjust to No. 18 New Fairfield in Tuesday’s Class S second round contest. Playing aggressively and using their speed, the Rebels controlled large portions of the first half but couldn’t get a shot past Warrior goalie Lyla O’Connor.

Canton’s Elle Bahre broke the stalemate, scoring with 6:36 left in the third quarter to lift the Warriors to a 1-0 win over the visiting Rebels on the turf field outside Canton High. With their 13^th consecutive win, the Warriors advanced to the Class S quarterfinal when they will host NCCC rival No. 10 Stafford on Thursday at 4 p.m.

“We play a tough schedule and this was a tough game,” Canton coach Margaret Bristol said. “We weren’t used to playing a game at that speed. In the regular season, we were usually the team with the speed.”

In the second half, the Warriors (15-2) were more aggressive than they were in the first 20 minutes and moved to the ball better.

“We talked about maintaining possession and keeping the ball,” Bristol said. “They just went out there and they were hungry. They wanted to score. They weren’t going to back down.”

The Warriors celebrate after Elle Bahre scored in Tuesday’s Class S tournament game in Canton

The Warriors didn’t have a large number of opportunities but they made good on the ones they did have.

Canton had back-to-back penalty corner opportunities midway through the third quarter when Bahre took the pass from teammate Mary DeRitis, put the ball between the legs of a New Fairfield defender and continued toward the goal.

Bahre slipped around the defender and fired the ball past New Fairfield goalie Kayla Whitters for the 1-0 lead and her 10^th goal of the season.

“It was a goal that we definitely needed,” she said. “Tensions were up. But we were able to get a corner and I finished it. Once we got it in (the goals), it helped us build up our momentum. Our intensity was up and it made us more hungry for the ball.”

Bristol praised Canton’s defensive effort across the field.

“The one thing about this team is that it just isn’t one person,” she said. “They all work together and put in the effort. I really think each player on the field is defensive minded and plays good defense whether they are at forward, midfield or back.”

Canton needed that as three players were sent off the field for receiving yellow cards for various violations, forcing the Warriors to play a man down for two to five minutes. At one point in the fourth quarter, Canton was playing with two players in the penalty box for about a minute.

Canton goalie Lyla O’Connor made nine saves in net to earn her 14th shutout of the season and her ninth straight.

Canton 1, New Fairfield 0
At Canton
New Fairfield (5-7-3)        0  0  0  0  — 0
Canton (15-2)                     0  0  1  0  — 1
Goal: Elle Bahre (C); Saves: Kayla Whitters (NF) 4;Lyla O’Connor (C) 9; Penalty corners: Canton 3, New Fairfield 3