After coming up short of a sectional title a year ago the Gators have started the season on fire and have yet to lose a game while being recognized as the No. 4 team in Class B by the New York State Sportswriters Association.

Allegany-Limestone continued its reign of terror on Tuesday evening as it traveled to the Sirianni Athletic Complex and avenged its sectional final defeat with the same scoreline, a 2-0 win over the Trojans in Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Association Division 1 action.

“The last handful of times we’ve locked up it’s been real interesting and real tight,” Southwestern head coach Derek Houser said about competition with Allegany-Limestone the past couple seasons. “They’ve got a lot of skill, we’ve got a lot of skill and these are the fun games. This is why we’re out here, to play good teams.

“Obviously,” Houser continued. “We didn’t get the result we wanted, but we got some things we can build on and we’re not done seeing them.”

Southwestern's Marlana Cresanti works the ball down the touchline during Tuesday's CCAA D1 girls soccer contest against Allegany-Limestone at the Sirianni Athletic Complex. P-J photo by Christian Storms

While the Gators (10-0-0, 5-0-0) maintained the clean sheet it wasn’t from a lack of effort by Southwestern (5-4-0, 3-2-0), or even by a bit of luck on a couple bounces. Very early into the game, both squads were exchanging chances and even a Southwestern shot caromed off the post.

Just a couple of minutes after Southwestern nearly took the lead, Allegany-Limestone jumped in front when Madison Honeck sent a perfect through ball past the Trojans defense that senior leading-scorer Cait Kellogg raced to, and eventually buried, for the 1-0 lead.

It was just a matter of inches deciding who took the first lead of the game, but it was no luck why Allegany-Limestone kept the Trojans off the scoresheet as senior goalkeeper Chloe Baker made nine outstanding saves for the shutout.

“The second-half especially, we had a lot of good chances, but Chloe is a really good keeper,” Houser stated. “She makes you make quality plays, she’s not someone you can kind of just put on goal and hope good things happen. It’s the willingness to come out. She always keeps you guessing so you can’t just have one strategy against her.”

Despite the one breakdown, Southwestern did a great job of containing the speed of Kellogg, and rising to the occasion many times was sophomore defender Kenzie Rogers and her sister, freshman Kait Rogers, and if the defense did allow a shot it was turned away nine times by goalkeeper Braya Beaver.

Southwestern's Lucy Brown, left, pokes the ball away from Allegany-Limestone's Cait Kellogg during CCAA D1 girls soccer action at the Sirianni Athletic Complex on Tuesday. P-J photo by Christian Storms

Nearly 10 minutes after Kellogg scored her first tally she was sent through on another ball, but Kait Rogers managed to stymie her enough for Beaver to win the race for the ball in the box.

“They did a really outstanding job today,” Houser said about his defense. “They battle and Kenzie Rogers is one of the hardest working players. We were kind of looking at playing her some other places, but she stepped up back there. Kait, from the first game, she has just really gotten what we’re trying to do and every game she continues to get better. She really held her own and there was a lot in that game she was kind of on an island with Cait, and Cait is a quality player, she’s been doing that to a lot of teams.”

As the game wore on the momentum began to tip in favor of the Trojans and in the final minutes of the first half near misses on a Kaylyn Carnes free kick and Lucy Brown header preserved the Allegany-Limestone lead.

Searching for an equalizer Southwestern was sending players from a variety of positions into the fray and ending the game with a few of the best opportunities was senior defender Mallory Atwater. Under 10 minutes into the second half Atwater found her first big opportunity inside the box that was turned away and in the final five minutes Marlana Cresanti sprang her with a through ball into the box, but the opportunity was once again for naught.

“She’s coming off an injury in flag football,” Houser said about Atwater. “We’ve seen each game a little of that old Mal and today she went the full 80. She was all over the place and wanted this game bad. She’s got a good sense of when we needed to be forward, when we needed to take chances and man she almost got one for us there. A couple looks there midway through the second if you put it in then this is a whole new game.”

Pressing hard for its first goal, the Southwestern defense was left vulnerable and Kellogg and company capitalized again in the counterattack. The insurance goal was scored in the 57th minute when Kennedy Honeck played a through ball down the left wing for Kellogg to race after and she raced in for a point-blank shot that got by Beaver.

With its deficit doubled, Southwestern pressed even harder for a tally and some of the best opportunities came off the foot of Cresanti.

In the 68th minute, Kenzie Rogers sent Cresanti through and she raced face to face with Baker before slipping a shot by, but it continued curving past the post. Then, just two minutes later, Cresanti’s free kick was nearly deflected in by Carnes. A minute later she was sending Avery Johnson through for an opportunity and shortly after that she curled a pass into the box that Atwater almost finished.

However, the best opportunity came from Cresanti herself in the 79th minute when she hammered a perfect shot to the top right corner, but leaping in the way was Baker to show it was her night as Allegany-Limestone escaped with the clean sheet.