Tristan Desnerck and Ross Beresford each scored a goal to seal a 2-0 Southwestern Trojan victory over visiting Division 1 foe Fredonia on Thursday,
Desnerck's goal provided some much-needed breathing room the rest of the way for a squad which was forced to play the last 20 minutes of the game shorthanded.
All together, the referees handed out four yellow cards ("more than we've had in three years," Sleggs said) and one red (to Kyle Radack).
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Fredonia’s Julius Woma, left, and a Southwestern player battle for the ball during Thursday’s CCAA?Division 1 boys’ high school soccer game.
Given those circumstances, and the fact that Fredonia (3-3, 1-2) had won each of the squads' last two meetings, Sleggs, whose team is now 6-1-1 overall and 3-0 in league, was relieved to come out on the winning side.
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"The thing about our league is the games are all like this," he said. "Sometimes you're going to be on the other end of the ledger. The thing I've learned is that this game is such a darn humbling one. The only thing you can say after a game like this is that you're thankful that you came out on the plus side and you also know that it could have not happened this way."
The result was still very much in doubt following a first half in which Fredonia managed to completely shut down the Southwestern scoring attack up the middle.
"We played a really good first half," Fredonia coach Jeff Walker said, "and I think we did a really good job of controlling the game. We kind of had them on their heels, but we just seemed to drop off a little bit (in the second). I don't know why or what happened or what changed. The tide just kind of changed a little bit."
Southwestern buckled down in the second half and made better passes which allowed the home team to pepper Hart with shots over the first 20 minutes of the second. The Trojans racked up eight shots before Beresford finally broke the scoreless tie when he drilled the ball mid-bounce from just inside the box into the back of the net.
"We played well, they played well," Walker said. "It was a well-played game by both teams. They just popped in a couple of good, outside goals that caught us off guard. They were good rips."
NOTES: Due to his ejection, Southwestern will be without Radack on Tuesday when they play host Olean, a squad tied atop the Division 1 standings with the Trojans. ... Desnerck's goal was his sixth of the season while Beresford scored his seventh. ... Fredonia managed just three shots on goal over the course of the game, each of which was stopped by goalie Eric Priester.
