Canton's Melanie Pickert scored on this header, but the goal was disallowed due to offsides. (photo by Ed Wright)

Canton posts impressive 3-0
Senior Day victory over Salem

BY ED WRIGHT
May 8, 2010, 4:05 p.m.

  On an always-windy, sometimes-rainy "Senior Day" afternoon, Canton's "win" chill proved to be plus-3 Saturday against Park rival Salem.

  With Mother Nature unleashing just about every element in her book -- thankfully, everything except snow -- the Chiefs weathered a series of near-miss Salem scoring chances to post an impressive 3-0 victory.

  Canton improved to 8-1-3 while the Rocks slipped to 7-3-2.

  "It feels good to win on 'Senior Day'," said Canton senior Jessikah McClendon, who was credited with the game's first goal. "We played as hard as we could and it paid off.

  "Coach always tells us to go to the channels and cross it, so I think we did a pretty good job on that today. All of our goals came off crosses."

  McClendon's goal came in the game's 19th minute when she centered the ball from the left wing and watched the ball get inadvertently booted into the net by a Salem defender.

  The Chiefs appeared to double their lead six minutes later, but a short-range Melanie Pickert header that found the back of the net was disallowed after the referee ruled Canton was offsides.

  Undeterred, Canton made its next opportunity count when Elizabeth Ferrill ripped a perfect corner kick in front of the net and Maddie McLean finished the play by flicking the ball past Salem keeper Tabitha Mann with 11:03 left in the first half to make it 2-0.

  "We've had discussions about working hard and putting our whole game together and making our scoring chances count, and we finished them today," said Canton coach George Tomasso. "The difference today was that we got up for this game because we were playing our rival Salem.

  "We wanted to prove that we could finish against a top-level team and we did it in the first half with two goals. Our goal for the second half was to keep the pressure on and to get more and it worked out that we got another one and, fortunately, we were able to get the shutout."

  The game's third goal came with 15:10 left when Megan Trapp clothes-lined a high, hard torpedo from 35 yards out that many of the most-accomplished keepers in the world wouldn't have been able to deflect.

  "That goal was brilliant and turned the momentum for good I thought," said Salem coach Joe Nora. "What a shot. It was a rocket from 35 yards out in the upper 90, and it wasn't looping. It flew right in there.

  "Overall, I thought it was a good, hard-fought game. The first two goals they scored were unfortunate because they're the kind of goals we don't usually give up -- the first one we put in our own net and the second one went through our goalie's hands. What's encouraging is that we had our chances. It's not like we shut it down."

  Two of Salem's best chances were manufactured by freshman Gina Goble and sophomore Emily Lundh. Goble struck a solid riser from 20 yards out with 7:19 left in the first half that McPartlin snared with a leaping effort.

  Lundh made a strong run to the net with 28 minutes to play, but her poor-angle shot from 10 yards away hit the side of the post.

  Both coaches had high praise for their contingent of seniors, who were honored before the game.

  "This group of seniors has brought every dynamic of the game to the program," said Tomasso. "We have a set-piece specialist, we have a hard-nosed defender, we have skilled, outside attacking players, we have two outstanding forwards -- one that finishes with finesse, the other with power.

  "They're the most balanced senior class I've ever coached. It's nice to see their hard work paying off with another quality season."

  Nora also showered his senior class with praise.

  "They're all awesome kids," he said. "We always have a talk after the game and we let the kids say anything they want, and the seniors have really been speaking up, saying things like, 'We need to learn, we have to start playing better, we need to work harder.' They have great leadership qualities.

  "I could go on and on about their soccer skills, but what I love about this group is that they're great kids who really look out for their teammates. This is a young team, and the seniors have done a great job of taking the younger players under their wings and taught them to play with class. They'll be missed."

  Ed Wright can be reached at (734) 453-1980 or info@plymouthcantonsports.com.

 

Canton's Jessikah McClendon holds off Salem's Katelynn Krause. (photo by Ed Wright)

Salem's Jenna Coon (9) and Canton's Janine Kozlowski pursue a ball. (photo by Ed Wright)