Canton edges Salem to earn coveted P-CEP soccer crown
Members of Canton’s boys soccer program pose with the P-CEP championship trophy they won Thursday with a 2-1 victory over Salem.
The 10 seniors on Canton’s boys soccer team had one last chance Thursday night to add a Plymouth-Canton Educational Park championship to their already stellar list of high school achievements.
Mission accomplished.
First-half goals from Maksim Argote and Andrew Covino, and top-shelf efforts from keeper Cam Downs and the backline of Joey Hayes, Quinn Collins, Jacob Rasoletti and Aidan Dood, propelled the Cobras to a 2-1 victory over Salem.
Canton and Salem had both posted early-season wins over Plymouth, so the winner of Thursday’s match — which doubled as a fundraiser for the amazing SJ5K Foundation — secured the much-coveted traveling P-CEP trophy.
Seniors make last chance count
“This means everything,” said Hayes, a senior co-captain along with Argote. “I hadn’t won it my first three years, so it feels good to get it on my final opportunity.”
Argote concurred with his teammate.
“We had kind of a rough start to this season, so we needed this,” he said. “Our team’s motto this season is, ‘Earned, Not Given’, so we’ve been working hard to earn what we won tonight.”
Amazing assists
Canton’s two net-finders were set up by brilliant passes — the first when Chase Haratsaris threaded a one-hop cross to Argote, who one-timed the ball in mid-air into the back of the net with his right foot.
(To check out video of Maksim Argote’s ice-breaking goal, click here.)
Covino’s goal was set up by Lucas Maiolatesi, who dribbled through a pair of Rock defenders before sliding an on-point dime to his hard-charging teammate just as he approached the goal line.
(To check out video of Andrew Covino’s goal, click here.)
Downs’ clean sheet was spoiled when Salem’s Shom Mann scored with 34:39 remaining, giving the Rocks hope.
Cobras’ title was ‘earned’
“We had a plan, the boys practiced hard all week, the ‘Park’ championship was on the line and we came out and executed the plan perfectly,” said Canton Head Coach Mike Presley. “The team earned this one tonight.
“Salem has a great team and I thought they played well. They had already played two games this week and this was our first, so they had that going against them, but our guys really stepped up tonight.”
Canton improved to 5-3 overall and 2-2 in the KLAA West Division. Salem slipped to 6-3-2 and 4-1, respectively. Hartland leads the West with a 5-0 mark after Thursday’s 3-1 triumph over Plymouth.
Ed Wright can be reached at 734-664-4657 or edwright@socialhousenews.com.
