OBSERVER Photo by Tim Frank
Southwestern’s Mallory Atwater marks Falconer/Cassadaga Valley/Maple Grove’s Gracie Chimera during Tuesday’s CCAA D1 girls soccer game in West Ellicott.
WEST ELLICOTT — For a shot at a share of the Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Association Division 1 girls soccer title, the Southwestern Trojans needed to run the table and secure victories against Falconer/Cassadaga Valley/Maple Grove, Fredonia and finally Allegany-Limestone.
In the first of those three games, the Golden Cougars already had Southwestern on the ropes, with the game tied 2-2 in double overtime in the final minute.
Making runs all night long, Southwestern’s Avery Johnson had eyes for the goal before she was taken down just before the box to set up a free kick with 33 seconds left. With senior captain Kaylyn Carnes knocking on the door all game, Southwestern trusted her with the opportunity and she came through in the biggest moment, hammering home the golden goal that delivered the Trojans the 3-2 victory at Charles A. Lawson Field on Tuesday night.
“She was knocking on the door all game,” Southwestern head coach Derek Houser said about Carnes. “To her credit, she didn’t get discouraged and it’s an easy thing to do. She got a chance early in the game and couldn’t quite do it, but when it mattered most she put it on. She’s been making big plays for us for four years and it’s not a surprise. This is maybe the biggest goal we’ve had in a regular-season game since probably the last time she hit a game winner in overtime.”
Falconer/Cassadaga Valley/Maple Grove (9-3, 5-2) needed to win out to claim its share of the league title and in just the fifth minute things looked to be going its way when Southwestern goalkeeper Braya Beaver made an uncharacteristic error playing the ball out of net that Gracie Chimera capitalized on for the 1-0 lead.
However, it would be the Golden Cougars’ own errors that put the game in jeopardy with a couple of bounces going Southwestern’s way.
The Trojans (8-4, 6-2) found an equalizer in the 23rd minute when Marlana Cresanti worked her way to the top of the box before flicking in a shot that took a weird hop over the sprawling Ellyson Baglia in net. Then in the 49th minute, Johnson ran a ball to the corner before ripping a cross to Cresanti in the box, but the ball never found her as it ricocheted off a Falconer/Cassadaga Valley/Maple Grove defender into the net to make it 2-1.
“The soccer gods giveth and the soccer gods taketh away,” Houser stated. “Sometimes those are the things that happen. You can have all these nice-looking pieces and one of their players at the last second blocks the shot and makes the save and you just have to keep working, especially when it starts raining.”
Instead of the usual three girls along the backline, Southwestern’s formation had four defenders to help contain the potent Falconer/Cassadaga Valley/Maple Grove offense.
Southwestern dominated the possession for most of the game, but when the Golden Cougars got their chances the defensive group gave plenty of fits and Beaver made four saves in the victory.
“It’s something we’ve kind of pivoted to,” Houser said about the Trojans’ defensive formation. “With some of the changes this year with the team I think it gives us a little bit more balance both ways. Kenzie (Rogers) and Mallory (Atwater) still have the opportunity to join in when things look good.”
Southwestern could only limit the Falconer/Cassadaga Valley/Maple Grove chances for so long without giving up an opportunity and it was junior Mary Lundmark putting on the jets to break through in the 61st minute. Lundmark dashed down the right wing as she blazed by the defense before ripping home a shot that tied the game with less than 20 minutes to play.
“Mary is reserved when she needs to be,” Falconer/Cassadaga Valley/Maple Grove head coach Brett Johnson said. “But when she gets that ball in open space she can fly, so that was fun to see.”
With hopes of a league title completely dashed away with a tie or loss, Southwestern’s onslaught for the go-ahead goal was underway after Lundmark pulled the Golden Cougars level and that third goal nearly came in the same minute.
Immediately rushing towards the Golden Cougars net, Johnson crossed a ball back into the middle for Carnes and a shot was quickly labeled for the back of the net, but a diving Baglia was there to snuff it out. As the full strength of Southwestern’s offense weighed down upon the Golden Cougars, Baglia stood tall, turning aside nine crucial saves in the contest.
“She played an awesome game back there,” Johnson said about his goalkeeper. “A couple unlucky breaks in front of her. We always talk if they score on us it’s 0-0 and just keep your head up and keep playing. She was able to do that tonight, she played an awesome game.”
Other than a two-on-one that was broken up by Southwestern’s Kenzie Rogers in the 68th minute and a Chimera chance that just missed in the 75th, it was the Trojans applying most of the pressure. Just before the end of regulation the physical matchup with all the feels of a playoff contest saw a yellow card go against the Golden Cougars.
“One of the things we said coming into the game was that this was going to be a playoff-feel,” Johnson added. “Southwestern is a great team, they came out, they executed and we’ve got some things to look at.”
Southwestern had several chances to end the game in the first overtime period and at the forefront was Cresanti breaking down the left wing for several key opportunities. In the 89th minute, Carnes sprung Cresanti on a quick rush that was turned aside and in the 90th Carnes just missed a header off a corner.
“It was one of the things that hurt us in the first game, it was the opposite,” Houser said about the possession time. “They controlled the ball, they’re really good at doing that and so we really talked about trying to disrupt their timing. Once we got it, we had to try and not give them easy looks. If you turn over and they can go fast, they’re just too good top to bottom to be passing them the ball in the middle of the field with all the options they have.”
The pace of the second overtime period had all the signs of a tie, but Carnes and the Trojans kept the league title hopes alive in the 100th minute of the contest.
Falconer/Cassadaga Valley/Maple Grove can share the title with Southwestern and Allegany-Limestone if it wins out and the Trojans do the same.