2002 Final Team GP Lg Pts. Avon 16 11-3-2 24 Canton 16 11-3-2 24 Ellington 16 11-5-0 22 Tolland 16 9-6-1 19 Granby 16 7-4-5 19 Enfield 18 8-7-1 17 Suffield 16 6-6-4 16 W. Locks 16 6-6-4 16 Two points for a win and one point for tie. Wednesday, Oct. 30 Canton 2, Windsor Locks 0 Avon 4, Suffield 1 E. Granby 1, Granby 0 Ellington 5, Stafford 1 Enfield 2, East Windsor 0 Tolland 2, Somers 0 Highlights: Karl Schilling had 2 goals as Canton clinched a share of its first-ever NCCC title. Four second-half goals lifted Avon to a share of the NCCC title. Earlier this season, Ellington (11-5) lost 2 victories because they used an ineligible foreign exchange student who played about 40 minutes total in the 2 games. Monday, Oct. 28 Canton 1, Granby 1, OT W. Locks 4, Avon 2 Enfield 1, Somers 0, OT Ellington 2, Tolland 0 E. Windsor 9, Stafford 1 Suffield 2, E. Granby 2, OT Highlights: Jordan Church had a goal and Kyle Donaldson allowed only one goal as Canton (10-3-2) moved into a first place tie with Avon (10-3-2), which was upset by Windsor Locks (6-5-4) at home. Ellington (10-5) moved into third with a win. Friday, Oct. 25 Avon 2, Canton 1 Ellington 6, E. Windsor 1 Granby 1, Suffield 0 W. Locks 1, E. Granby 0 Tolland 3, Enfield 0 Highlights: Sophomore Jay Joyce had 2 goals as Avon moved into 1st place with a win at Canton. Tuesday, Oct. 22 Canton 1, Suffield 1, OT Avon 6, East Granby 3 E. Windsor 1, Somers 1 OT Ellington 3, Enfield 2 Tolland 5, Stafford 0 W. Locks 0, Granby 0, OT Highlights: Avon (9-2-2) closed to within one point of the lead in the NCCC thanks to three goals from Andrew Thompson and a pair from Sebby Lara in a 6-3 win over East Granby. Canton (10-2-1) maintained a one-point lead after tying Suffield, 1-1. Saturday, Oct. 19 Canton 7, East Granby 1 Friday, Oct. 18 Avon 1, Granby 1, OT Ellington 7, Somers 0 Enfield 5, Stafford 2 Tolland 2, E. Windsor 0 Tuesday, Oct. 15 Canton 3, E. Windsor 1 Ellington 2, Avon 1, OT Granby 1, Somers 0 Suffield 9, Stafford 1 W. Locks 2, Enfield 1 Highlights: Canton (9-2) took over first place with a win. Avon (8-2-1) lost in OT to Ellington when Jimmy Honda knocked in John Carron's cross in the final seconds of OT. Friday. Oct. 11 Avon 3, Tolland 1 Canton 6, Somers 0 Granby 2, Enfield 2, OT Suffield 5, East Windsor 0 W.Locks 2, Ellington 1, OT Highlights: Andrew Thompson had 3 goals in a win over Tolland as Avon (8-1-1) maintained a 1-point lead over Canton (8-2). The Warriors received 3 goals from Karl Schilling in a win over Somers. |
Connecticut Sports Online |
An assortment of stories and links to the top sports news in Connecticut and the nation. |
This page was last updated on: November 1, 2002
By GERRY deSIMAS, Jr. Connecticut Sports Online CANTON, Oct. 1 -- Seldom do five games tell a story on how a season will end - especially in high school soccer. Still, the 2002 campaign has already been a noteworthy adventure for the Canton High boys soccer team. The Warriors could lose its remaining 11 games and still go home with some unique achievements. For Canton, it has been five games and five victories. The only other start in team history that was better was a 6-0 start in 1977. The Warriors beat Suffield for the first time in seven years, 6-2. They beat Avon, 3-2 for its first win over the Falcons since 1991, snapping a 13-game losing streak against AHS. Canton also beat Granby on an overtime goal by sweeper Seth Mastrocola, 2-1. It's first time that Canton has beaten Granby, Avon and Suffield in the same season. This could be the year that Canton challenges for its first league championship since 1978 when it won the Northwest Conference Division II title. "Last year this team went to the Class S quarterfinals. They were in contention for the league title," long-time Canton coach Bill Phelps said. "But it was new to them. They didn't know what to expect. Now, they know what they have to do." Thirteen players graduated from last year's team that went 9-7 in the regular season and 10-8 after being eliminated by Wheeler, 2-1 in the quarterfinals. But only two of those 13 players were regular players. Only two seniors start for the 2002 team, which has plenty of soccer experience under its belt. Eight players have experience playing premier level soccer - a step above town travel teams. Players from different towns generally tryout for premier teams. "This is a team with a lot of soccer knowledge," Phelps said. "They play 24 hours, 7 days a week all year round and it makes a huge difference. And the other kids that don't are forced to play at a higher level of play, which they are capable of doing." Juniors Karl Schilling, Luke Flaherty, Chris Ziegler, Jordan Church, Scott Delehanty, Emory McClinton and the injured Owen Kravitz (achilles tendon) are premier level players along with sophomores Brian Phelps and David Spatcher. "By playing soccer, they learn it and by playing at a higher level, they are getting better," Phelps said. Schilling, a junior midfielder, had nine goals after five games with three multiple-goal efforts, including two goals against Suffield and three against East Granby. Church has an assist or the second assist on 12 of the team's first 20 goals. Ten different players have already scored this season for the Warriors. Mastrocola came out of his sweeper position with a long run to score the game-winning goal against Granby. "Most teams don't want a back coming through but we have some very talented defenders," Phelps said. "They when to make those plays." It was Mastrocola's first varsity goal. Flaherty plays stopper along with backs Dan Strumbas and Spatcher. At midfield, there is Schilling, Kyle Donaldson, Mark Peterson and Jake Ohanesian. Up front, Church, Delahanty, Brian Phelps and Ben Lentz play forward. Rowan Sheldon and Matt Cirish split time in goal. Sheldon had 10 saves in the Sept. 17 win over Avon, which hadn't lost in 21 games (18-0-3) to the Warriors. Twice, Avon tied the game only to see Canton pull ahead. "I've been pleased to see how they play," Phelps said. "They know how to win, which is nice. We answered twice against Avon. It's nice to see that they have that ability." Against Windsor Locks, Canton played a man down for 74 of the game's 90 minutes after an early ejection. Yet, the Warriors still prevailed with a 5-1 victory. While this is a nice start, there is still plenty of soccer left to be played through the waning days of October and early afternoons of November. "The program is strong and it is growing," Phelps said. The junior varsity team is 4-1 and there are 50 kids in the program. CORNER KICKS: Canton hosts its annual night game at Bowdoin Field on Saturday night Oct.19 with a contest against East Granby beginning at 8 p.m. The girls varsity team plays East Granby at 6 p.m. ... The boys are still looking for their first victory in a night game at home. They are 0-3 at Bowdoin Field and 0-5 in its last five night contests. The last win at night came in 1998 at Stafford, 2-0. ... The team's three captains are Flaherty, Donaldson and Mastrocola. ... Since the NCCC's big expansion in 1984 when Canton, Avon and E.O. Smith joined the league, only two league titles have been won by a Class S team. Granby won the NCCC in 2001 and 1985. Avon won five titles, Ellington won one and Suffield shared one title. E.O. Smith-Storrs, a Class LL program, won 10 titles from 1986-98 before they left the league for the CCC East. |
Canton's REMAINING SCHEDULE: Oct. 30: at Windsor Locks, 3 p.m. |
NCCC boys soccer race 2002 |
Sterling start for Canton High boys squad |
Current league standings and results |
NCCC 2002 results |
2002 Final Team GP Lg Pts. Avon 16 11-3-2 24 Canton 16 11-3-2 24 Ellington 16 11-5-0 22 Tolland 16 9-6-1 19 Granby 16 7-4-5 19 Enfield 18 8-7-1 17 Suffield 16 6-6-4 16 W. Locks 16 6-6-4 16 Two points for a win and one point for tie. Wednesday, Oct. 30 Canton 2, Windsor Locks 0 Avon 4, Suffield 1 E. Granby 1, Granby 0 Ellington 5, Stafford 1 Enfield 2, East Windsor 0 Tolland 2, Somers 0 Highlights: Karl Schilling had 2 goals as Canton clinched a share of its first-ever NCCC title. Four second-half goals lifted Avon to a share of the NCCC title. Earlier this season, Ellington (11-5) lost 2 victories because they used an ineligible foreign exchange student who played about 40 minutes total in the 2 games. Monday, Oct. 28 Canton 1, Granby 1, OT W. Locks 4, Avon 2 Enfield 1, Somers 0, OT Ellington 2, Tolland 0 E. Windsor 9, Stafford 1 Suffield 2, E. Granby 2, OT Highlights: Jordan Church had a goal and Kyle Donaldson allowed only one goal as Canton (10-3-2) moved into a first place tie with Avon (10-3-2), which was upset by Windsor Locks (6-5-4) at home. Ellington (10-5) moved into third with a win. Friday, Oct. 25 Avon 2, Canton 1 Ellington 6, E. Windsor 1 Granby 1, Suffield 0 W. Locks 1, E. Granby 0 Tolland 3, Enfield 0 Highlights: Sophomore Jay Joyce had 2 goals as Avon moved into 1st place with a win at Canton. Tuesday, Oct. 22 Canton 1, Suffield 1, OT Avon 6, East Granby 3 E. Windsor 1, Somers 1 OT Ellington 3, Enfield 2 Tolland 5, Stafford 0 W. Locks 0, Granby 0, OT Highlights: Avon (9-2-2) closed to within one point of the lead in the NCCC thanks to three goals from Andrew Thompson and a pair from Sebby Lara in a 6-3 win over East Granby. Canton (10-2-1) maintained a one-point lead after tying Suffield, 1-1. Saturday, Oct. 19 Canton 7, East Granby 1 Friday, Oct. 18 Avon 1, Granby 1, OT Ellington 7, Somers 0 Enfield 5, Stafford 2 Tolland 2, E. Windsor 0 Tuesday, Oct. 15 Canton 3, E. Windsor 1 Ellington 2, Avon 1, OT Granby 1, Somers 0 Suffield 9, Stafford 1 W. Locks 2, Enfield 1 Highlights: Canton (9-2) took over first place with a win. Avon (8-2-1) lost in OT to Ellington when Jimmy Honda knocked in John Carron's cross in the final seconds of OT. Friday. Oct. 11 Avon 3, Tolland 1 Canton 6, Somers 0 Granby 2, Enfield 2, OT Suffield 5, East Windsor 0 W.Locks 2, Ellington 1, OT Highlights: Andrew Thompson had 3 goals in a win over Tolland as Avon (8-1-1) maintained a 1-point lead over Canton (8-2). The Warriors received 3 goals from Karl Schilling in a win over Somers. |
By GERRY deSIMAS, JR. Connecticut Sports Online CANTON, Oct. 29 -- Before the leaves fall, the winds swirl and the afternoons grow cold and short, there are two flags out there for each area high school soccer team to chase -- a league championship and a state championship. The task is to win a title competing among your neighbors and or win a title competing among similar-sized schools from across the state. The Canton High boys soccer team is finding out what teams have learned in the North Central Connecticut Conference for years. The path to a NCCC championship is a narrow one, filled with many challenges. It's a hard challenge, a long challenge that can be determined by one game or a few seconds. Since 1984 when the league expanded, only one Class S team has successfully tiptoed its way to a NCCC championship when Granby won in 1985 and 2001. Even long-time champion Avon has been derailed, losing to a .500 team in its final game of the season last fall to drop a chance at winning a league title. Earlier this month, Avon dropped a one-goal decision to Ellington on a last-second goal in the second OT and with a chance to clinch a share of the championship, dropped a 4-2 decision to Windsor Locks (6-5-4) at home. As the 2002 campaign played out over the final days of the season, Avon (10-3-2) and Canton (10-3-2) were tied for the league lead with one game remaining. Avon earned a big win thanks to a 2-1 win over the Warriors at bumpy Bowdoin Field but were unable to build upon it. Avon sophomore Jay Joyce took advantage to score a pair of goals to lift the Falcons past the Warriors. Only 3:17 after Canton had tied the game on a Ben Lentz rocket from 35 yards away, Joyce took advantage of a loose ball that deflected off a Canton defender and scored. Avon's Andrew Thompson got into the open after beating two defenders but had the ball knocked loose by Canton's Seth Mastrocola, right to Joyce. "A team like Canton is going to mark [Andrew] tight," Avon coach Marty deLiveron said. "So someone else has to look to shoot the ball and step up." The Falcons found a way offensively and did the job defensively. They were able to disrupt the Canton attack enough that the Warriors had few good scoring chances. "They put a lot of pressure on us and the kids stepped up," deLiveron said. "I was very pleased with the effort they had and the focus they had and their desire." "We tried to not let them receive the ball," said Avon defender Brian Cartun. "They can't do anything without the ball." Cartun and teammate Curt Alvord made several outstanding plays to keep Canton at bay in the backfield, including a stop of Kurt Schilling with about 14 minutes left in the contest. There was a noticeable rise in intensity in the second half as the Warriors got better ball movement. "When they want it, they can make it happen," Canton coach Bill Phelps said. "But they can't wait for that. This is a young team. They're not used to that yet." Canton plays a game of deliberate controlled soccer. In many games, it is enough. But not in a game as intense as it was against Avon. "We need to be able to change the tempo a bit," Phelps said. "We have the ability, it's we don't play that way because we're used to playing controlled soccer." After dropping a 2-1 decision to Ellington, Canton won four in a row, capped off by a 8-1 rout of East Granby under the lights at Bowdoin Field on Homecoming weekend for the first-ever night win before the home folks. In the game before Avon, the Warriors battled Suffield to a 1-1 tie. After 15 games, Schilling leads the team with 17 goals while Scott Delahanty has eight and Conor McAlindin with seven. |
Every game, every second matters in NCCC title hunt |
