BOOT CAMP: Canton drenches Churchill in rainy 8-0 district romp
Canton senior Riley Langenderfer sends the ball on a journey toward the net Wednesday night. PHOTO BY COOPER SCHWARTZ
The Canton girls soccer team’s theme song throughout Wednesday night’s MHSAA District opener against Livonia Churchill could have been “Singin’ in the Rain” given the weather (wet) and how much fun the Cobras had in their 8-0 victory.
Although Chargers keeper Brigitte Chick made a slew of commendable stops, she couldn’t withstand the barrage of shots the Cobras booted at the net behind her.
Whenever Chick ventured too far away from the goal line, the Cobras made her pay by lasering the ball into the unoccupied mesh.
Fittingly, the Cobras’ biggest weapon was No. 10 Emily Fagerman, who netted four goals in the first game of District 10 bracket play.
(To check out video of three of Fagerman’s four goals, click here.)
Rivalry match-up on deck
Canton advances to the May 28 district semifinal against neighbor Plymouth, which ousted Wayne Memorial, 10-0. The Cobras-Wildcats match-up is set to kick-off at 5:30 p.m. at the P-CEP east turf field.
The Cobras blanked the Wildcats 2-0 in their only regular-season meeting on April 24.
The winner will battle the survivor of the May 28 7 p.m. semifinal game featuring Salem (which earned a first-round bye) and Westland John Glenn (which blanked Livonia Franklin, 4-0) in the May 30 6 p.m. district final.
The Cobras set the tone 109 seconds into the contest when Kelsey Ruffner alertly corraled the rebound of a booming Scarlett Nuechterlein free kick, spun and ripped a low shot that squeaked between the right post and the left foot of Charger defender Reece Buck, who was backing up Chick after the keeper challenged Ruffner 10 yards from the crease.
(To check out video of Ruffner’s goal, click here.)
Fagerman strikes again
Less than three minutes later, Fagerman tallied her first goal after chasing down a through ball and left-footing a shot past the late-closing Chick.
Fagerman made it 3-0 when she played a perfect cross on one hop from Riley Langenderfer and one-timed the ball past Chick.
Junior Isabella Orlandi extended the hosts’ lead to 4-0 with a goal a few minutes before halftime.
Early ending
Canton sealed the deal in short order in the second half scoring four goals — two from Fagerman, and one each from Langenderfer and Ava Murphy — in 15 minutes to end the mercy rule-shortened game.
Cobra goalie Campbell Appert posted the shutout.
The victory marked the first post-season win for first-year Canton coach Annette Baker (although Baker racked up playoff triumphs when she headed the Plymouth Christian Academy program before joining the then-Chiefs in 2020).
Ed Wright can be reached at 734-664-4657 or edwright@socialhousenews.com.
