Senior Connor Young had two goals and an assist as Southwestern topped Jamestown 5-1 in Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Association Division 1 boys soccer at Strider Field.

“That’s been a thing in the last couple of years, we start slow in the first half and they hang with us. … It’s not what we wanted to do,” Southwestern head coach Jason Deering said. “We’ve been taking pride in trying to get our scoring off as fast as possible and get going. In the second half, we’ve been doing really well at it.”

Young had a glorious opportunity in tight against Red & Green junior goalkeeper Evan Maloney in the second minute of the game, but was turned away to keep the game scoreless.

For the next 25 minutes, Jamestown played right with the Trojans (7-1-0, 4-0-0), certainly not appearing to be a team with just one league win on the season.

Jamestown’s Evan Maloney makes a save during Monday’s CCAA Division I boys soccer game against Southwestern at Strider Field. P-J photo by Matt Spielman

But with just over 15 minutes remaining in the first half, a Red & Green (2-5-0, 1-3-0) turnover quickly turned into a 1-0 lead for Southwestern when Young stole an attempted clear, then dribbled in alone on Maloney before scoring.

“If we’re attacking, if we can get it back as fast as we possibly can, and the other team is out of position, that’s what we want,” Deering said.

Less than three minutes later, the Trojans sprung senior Seth Vaughn for an opportunity that was taken away when Maloney slid into Vaughn before the ball arrived. A penalty was awarded and Young calmly drilled the try to make it 2-0 with his 15th goal of the season.

Jamestown nearly got out of the half down just two goals, but with 21 seconds left before halftime, Southwestern sophomore Oliver Stump found a loose ball in the box and beat Maloney to make it 3-0.

Despite having possession to open the second half, the Red & Green quickly turned the ball over to Young, who quickly led Vaughn in alone on net before the senior scored his ninth of the season to make it 4-0.

“It’s eventually getting rewarded. We need to be finishing a little more clinically. We’re off a little bit,” Deering said.

“We’ve had a lot of opportunities very similar to those that we are just missing. It’s still early in the season.”

Sophomore Tavion Goodlow broke up Southwestern’s clean sheet in the 64th minute.

“Even if we allowed a couple of goals there at the end, I was planning on keeping (reserves) in to deal with those situations,” Deering said, “even with Connor and Seth biting at the bit to get back in there and score some more goals.”

As time wound down, with several starters on the bench, Trojans senior Isac Pope scored on a long shot high into the net toward the far post to cap the scoring.

“It’s super important,” Deering said of playing his entire bench. “We have so many games back to back or very close to it. We have to stay fresh. We have to get those kids experience, even if it’s not just for this year, but next year. We lose a lot, so we have to get those kids experience in tough situations.”

NOTES: Maloney was credited with 11 saves for Jamestown, while senior Chase Hartnett made five saves for Southwestern. … The Red & Green travel to Dunkirk on Wednesday afternoon, while the Trojans host Allegany-Limestone on Thursday night.