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Schools

King Philip Girls Soccer Can't Compete With Canton

Bulldogs take down the Warriors, 4-0, in girls Hockomock League soccer.

had to play a nearly flawless contest in order to even come close to . Unfortunately, the Warriors did not do that, and the Bulldogs grabbed a 4-0 Hockomock League win in girls soccer.  The victory improved Canton to a perfect 6-0, while the hometown team fell to 1-4-2.

“I told the girls, no matter how well we played, we would have had to play our absolute best and still not win against this team, they’re just that good,” King Philip Coach Greg Massotti said. “Canton is a team that just keeps coming at you, they’re just so good with the ball and that talented.”

Although the ball was in the King Philip end for most of the first half, the Warriors were able to hang with the talented Bulldogs for about the first 13 minutes of the game. Canton’s Brianna Duserick beat KP keeper Jill Valente inside the right post at 26:48 to give the visitors an early lead.

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The Bulldogs increased their lead to 2-0 when Kayla Laughlin made a beautiful cross field pass from the right corner to Lauren Berman, who sidestepped the KP defender and beat Valente. Despite holding a two-goal lead, Canton continued to put the pressure on the Warriors throughout the half, but with less than three minutes to go, KP put together a little flurry. Their best opportunity coming with a mere 1:27 on the clock, but just could not find the back of the net.

“One of our problems is missing chances. We cannot dominate teams this much and not put them away,” Canton Coach Paul Turner said. “King Philip had a missed opportunity of their own near the end of the half. I was just relieved that we were able to get two quick goals in the early part of the second half.”

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As the second half began, the Warriors continued their mini flurry for the first three minutes, before Canton burst their balloon. Victoria Tondre headed a shot that slipped through the hands of Valente and the Bulldogs lead was three. Less than two minutes later, Tondre took a Laughlin pass and deposited into the net and Canton had themselves a comfortable lead.

While holding onto a commanding lead, Turner was able to rest some of his starters for Friday’s upcoming showdown with Oliver Ames. The Bulldogs still continued to execute their passes to perfection as though they were toying with the Warriors, as a cat does with a mouse just before going for the kill.

“We try to dictate the game if we can — whoever we’re playing. We want to control the game and decide how the game is going to be played,” Turner said. “With the lead I was able to rest some people, as we have a massive game on Friday against Oliver Ames, not that we were looking beyond this game.”

Although the Warriors were having a hard time with the Bulldogs, KP forward Rachel Patten would not give up despite the score. According to the coach, she’s got a great motor and probably one of the most talented forwards on the team.

King Philip will travel to Foxborough on Friday afternoon in another Hock contest, but if the Warriors don’t play up to their potential, it’s going to be another long day.

“Our forwards need to possess the ball, while allowing the midfielders to come up and support them,” the KP coach said. “Often times we push the ball to the forwards and it’s two against four as the midfielders are late to get into the attack.”

The Bulldogs next play at Oliver Ames at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, September 23.

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