Wednesday, September 5

The Canaan boys soccer team opened their season on a good note, defeating the Craftsbury Chargers 4-0. The big story in the road opener for Canaan was the play of senior striker Tony Graves, who accounted for every goal scored in this match.

Graves got the scoring started relatively early in the first half, when a shot from Zack Daley was initially saved by the Charger's goalkeeper. The rebound ricocheted directly to Graves, who buried the shot into the open goal to put the Eagles ahead 1-0. The Canaan offensive attack remained steady, sending several shots off the crossbar or just wide of the goal, but only one additional goal could be mustered before halftime. With time winding down in the half, Daley sent a pass through the defense to Graves, who scored for the second time despite a hard collision with the goalie.

Not phased by the two goal deficit, Craftsbury came out of the break with a newfound intensity, controlling the midfield for the better part of the second half. Though the Chargers held possession for extended periods of time, they were unable to seriously test Canaan goalkeeper Jake Smith.

Graves completed the hat-trick in the second half when he redirected a bouncing ball into the back corner of the net. He added his fourth goal of the match a few minutes later, scoring unassisted.