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Lawton’s Goal Lifts Trojans To Victory

Southwestern’s Ellie Lawton, left, and Fredonia’s Rylee Beers battle for possession of the ball during Thursday’s West Division soccer game at Charles A. Lawson Field. P-J photo by Matt Spielman

For many teams across the Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Association, scoring goals has been a problem this fall.

Count the Southwestern Trojans as one of them.

Despite a respectable 6-3-2 overall record, head coach Derek Houser’s girls have scored just 14 goals in their 11 games.

As the Trojans make their second trip through the West Division, they are hoping to find a couple more girls capable of finding the back of the net.

Ellie Lawton may be one.

Southwestern’s Emily Kimball (3) is about to make direct a pass to a teammate in front of Fredonia’s Emma Willebrandt during Thursday’s West Division soccer game at Charles A. Lawson Field. P-J photo by Matt Spielman

The sophomore midfielder scored her third goal of the season midway through the second half Thursday to help Southwestern secure a 2-0 victory over Fredonia at Charles A. Lawson Field.

“She has willed her way into a starting position. She has worked incredibly hard,” Houser said of Lawton. “That’s her second straight game with a goal and she scored the game-winning goal (Sept. 10) against Olean. She’s really been a hero for us in some of these matches. It’s a really awesome story for us this season what’s going on with Ellie Lawton for sure.”

Emily Kimball scored her third goal of the season midway through the first half and had an assist on Lawton’s tally as the Trojans moved ahead of idle Olean for second place in the league with a 4-2-2 mark.

“The two goals we scored today were smart plays that led to goals,” Houser said. “We need to do that more consistently.”

Senior goalkeeper Hanna Johnson made four saves for her fourth shutout of the season, despite missing a pair of games due to injury.

Fredonia (2-5-2, 1-3-2) worked a nice give-and-go for its best opportunity of the first half in the opening five minutes, but Southwestern used the wind at its back to its advantage to control most of the opening 40 minutes.

“Two beautiful give-and-gos between Paige Supkoski and Lauren Marshall down in the corner,” Fredonia head coach Brett Gould said. “They made a good defensive play on it, but if we poke that in … it’s one of those momentum changers.”

In the 16th minute, an Allison Lundmark throw-in found its way into the 18-yard box. Fredonia was unable to clear it away from the front of its net and Kimball capitalized by tapping it by Hillbillies goalkeeper Kelly Gullo for a 1-0 lead.

“Sometimes the greatest setups don’t always lead to the greatest results, especially against a team like this,” Houser said. “You have to stay with it and be smart around the goal. … That was a big goal from Emily because she’s been working really hard.”

“Whatever level you play at, whether it’s modified through the pros, you are going to see that same goal,” Gullo said. ” … Give credit to Southwestern, there was a ball that was bouncing around and they found a way to poke it into the back of the net.”

Fredonia nearly scored the equalizer in the 36th minute when a corner kick went uncleared inside the 6-yard box, but the Hillbillies’ shot into the back of the net was negated by a handball.

“If anybody isn’t at these games, they have the impression that we sit back, hunker down and don’t go forward. That’s just not the case,” Gould said. ” … The organization and maturity a lot of these kids have … that’s 11 out of 12 halves we played in league play this year that we’ve surrendered one goal or less, a lot of times pitching zeroes. That’s impressive.”

In the 58th minute, a through pass allowed Kimball to break in with a defender on Gullo. Kimball cut back to her left to escape the defender, but her left-footed shot was stopped by Gullo, one of her 14 stops in the game.

Four minutes later, Fredonia wasn’t as lucky. This time Kimball was the playmaker, sending a perfect through ball inside the 20-yard line to a sprinting Lawton. Gullo made a late decision to charge, and Lawton made a perfect touch to get the ball by the goalkeeper, rolling it into the center of the net for a 2-0 lead.

“She really stepped up. I think that goal was just great for her,” Houser said of Kimball. “You could see the confidence and just the smart play.”

“If you are going to lose a game 1-0, it doesn’t hurt you to lose 2-0,” Gould said. “You are pushing a little bit. … Did they get one because we sent extra pieces forward? Sure, but at that point in the game you are going to try and tie it.”

That was plenty of offense for the Southwestern defense and Johnson, who were in sync for most of the afternoon. Many times, defenders were able to play the ball backward out of danger to a waiting Johnson, their vocal leader.

“She is such an intelligent player. She’s not going to call for a ball that puts her in a bad spot,” Houser said of Johnson. “As much as she is the goalie and you wouldn’t think we want her handling the ball, we want the ball on her foot because she is just a smart, solid player. If she’s calling for it, that’s the right play.”

The Trojans will now take their modest two-game winning streak into a nonleague matchup Monday with Jamestown at the Martin Road Athletic Complex while Fredonia hosts rival Dunkirk at 7 p.m. Saturday at SUNY Fredonia.

“Our league that we play in … the quality of soccer is really good,” Gould said. ” … Every team is extremely well-coached so you know you are going to see good soccer, and you know you are always going to get the best effort out of both sides.”

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