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Sports

Stoughton High Field Hockey Drops Opener to Foxboro

Three unanswered second half goals in a 12-minute stretch gave the visiting Warriors a 3-0 win over the Stoughton High field hockey team Friday afternoon.

Looking for their first postseason berth in four years, the kicked off its season Friday afternoon against Foxboro, but fell 3-0.

The Black Knights are looking to improve upon a 4-11-2 record from a year ago, with a strong and talented returning group of players. But they drew a tough opponent in their opener.           

Foxboro is one of the more talented teams in a very strong Hockomock League. The Warriors under tenth year head coach Melissa Bordieri, have qualified for postseason play for nine consecutive seasons.

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Stoughton played hard and stayed with Foxboro for most of the match, but three unanswered second half goals by the Warriors in a 12-minute span sent Stoughton to a 3-0 defeat.

The shots on net were even, 8-8, but Foxboro did have a territorial advantage throughout the contest, with constant pressure on Stoughton senior goaltender Christina Bacon. Foxboro did hold an 8-5 advantage in corners, one that led to a goal.

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Stoughton did have its chances, but missed a wide open net, as a shot went wide in the eighth minute of the game. The first half ended scoreless as Foxboro senior goaltender Liz Delaney made some spectacular saves throughout the game.

“We started off slow through first half, although we did have a lot of pressure on them, but we couldn’t capitalize and we were fortunate that they didn’t score in the first half,” said Foxboro coach Bordieri. “We finally got it going in the second half and when we let down, our goaltender was there to pick us up.”

Foxboro has a nice mix of veterans and underclassmen and it began to wear down the Stoughton defense with constant offensive pressure.

Meghan Fitton, a sophomore, broke the scoreless tie, converting a nice pass from senior Kelsie Morahan, with just under 25 minutes left in the game. Fitton netted another goal, three minutes later, on a pass from junior Ellen Decker, to make the score 2-0.

With 12 minutes left, sophomore Katie Notarangelo connected on an unassisted goal, hitting the loose ball into the net from a resulting corner hit, to complete the scoring.

Stoughton didn’t go down without a fight, with sustained offensive pressure over the game’s final five minutes. The Black Knights had three consecutive corner hits, but Delaney made three consecutive saves to preserve the shutout for the Warriors.

“I’m pleased with our effort for the first game, but we’re not going to score a lot of goals, so we really need to finish off our chances,” said Stoughton coach Dan Mark.

“Two of their three goals were a result of defensive breakdowns, and backing off the opponent and we have to correct that as well.”

Stoughton got solid efforts throughout the lineup led by senior captains Heather Baeta and Jackie Kuhn and senior Kayla Floro. Kelsie LaFerriere, a junior, also played well before sustaining a knee injury. Kuhn also was sidelined later in the game with a hand injury.

Stoughton will next play, at home, against Hockomock League Kelley-Rex Division (large schools) rival Franklin, on Monday afternoon. Foxboro will travel to Canton, on the same day, for a test against perennial powerhouse and the defending league champion Bulldogs.

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