Crestview gets blanked by Champion
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EAST FAIRFIELD -- Crestview had no answer for Champion's Abagail Pattinson on Wednesday.
The senior scored four goals as Crestview had its three-game winning streak snapped in a 5-0 loss to the Golden Flashes at Crestview High School.
"We kinda knew what we were getting into with previous years," Crestview head coach Maura Belding said. "We just gotta come out as strong as we do in the second half, in the first half. We've been dealing with that, sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn't. We need to figure out how to work through that and recover from that."
It took a bit for either team to find some footing to open the game. The ball was primarily stuck in the middle third of the pitch.
But that changed when Champion (6-0-1, 3-0-0 Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference Grey Tier) opened the scoring with 23:31 to play in the first half.
Riley Dunn lined up for a free kick from just outside the box. Rebels goalkeeper Clarice Harroff made the save -- her first of six stops on the day -- but the ball bounced to the right of the net. Pattinson was there for the rebound and scored from just a couple yards out.
Pattinson added her second goal of the day with 6:24 to play before halftime. She made her way through the middle of the Crestview (6-4, 3-3 MVAC Grey Tier) defense and got off a clean shot that landed in the bottom-left corner, extending the Flashes' lead to 2-0.
In addition to taking the lead into the break, the Golden Flashes also prevented the Rebels from generating any momentum. Crestview only had one shot on the goal in the first half, and couldn't keep possession to generate any scoring chances.
"Their defense with the stopper kinda prevents us from the through ball, so we kinda had to change some things up," Belding said. "Just another thing we gotta figure out during gametime. We obviously didn't know how their defense was gonna be set, so just figuring out how to work that through and get the connection on the ball."
Less than 12 minutes into the second half, Pattinson completed her hat trick. The Flashes got off a shot that hit the right post and bounced back into the center of the box. Pattinson was there for an easy shot with Harroff out of position.
A couple minutes later, Pattinson added her fourth. Jackie Fields went from the right corner and down the goal line. Fields then sent a pass to Pattinson, who scored from just in front of the net.
Dunn added the only Champion goal not credited to Pattinson with 20:04 remaining.
The loss snapped Crestview's three-game win streak, and the Rebels will look to get back on track at Salem on Monday.
Meanwhile, the Golden Flashes want to keep improving so they can make a run at a district championship later in the fall.
"We have 26 in our program right now, and every single one of them is working hard and contributing to every single win," Champion head coach Emily Metheny said. "Whenever anybody steps on the field, we're building, we're making adjustments on the fly. And they're athletes, but students of the game, making those adjustments and playing really strong all together."
SENIOR MAKING SAVES
Champion goalie Marley McClurg is in her first year playing soccer. Flashes head coach Emily Metheny didn't have reservations putting her in net, and it paid off in the first half of the season.
In Wednesday's game, McClurg made eight saves, with six coming in the last six minutes as Crestview tried to cut into the deficit.
The win was McClurg's second shutout of the season. The first came in the season opener at Lakeview.
In the last four games, the senior has only allowed six goals.
"She's doing amazing back there," Metheny said. "Literally her first year ever playing soccer and she's had multiple shutouts."