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Lindsey’s late goal sends Chautauqua Lake past North Collins

Down to the wire

Chautauqua Lake’s Jenica Jones sends the ball past North Collins’ Novalee Schlenker during Monday’s CCAA Central Division girls soccer game in Mayville. OBSERVER Photo by Christian Storms

MAYVILLE — After 75 minutes of play between the Chautauqua Lake Thunderbirds and the North Collins Eagles girls soccer teams it looked like the Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Association Central Division matchup at Chautauqua Lake Central School would need overtime.

However, with 3:44 left on the clock the Thunderbirds finally got the best opportunity of the game for either side as a through ball from Lucille Gates sent Emma Lindsey behind the Eagles defense into the box. Lindsey made no mistake taking her time with the ball to get a shot into the bottom left corner, securing the lead and eventual victory 1-0.

“Usually we have a hard time in the second half and that was one thing we talked about at halftime,” Chautauqua Lake head coach Cole Gleason said. “I was hoping we would come out a lot stronger than we did in the first half. And we played a lot stronger and I told the girls that’s what led to the goal was playing more intense.”

It was a case of the Mondays for both teams in the first half of the game with not a lot of action as both defenses allowed little space for the offenses. For all of the action that was sent toward the goal, none of the shots were too threatening for either keeper.

“We’re 0-3 on Mondays and we haven’t lost on any other day of the week,” North Collins head coach Vince Fininzio said chuckling. “Monday is just that weird day, we kind of played some sloppy soccer. We still show the potential is there, we just weren’t able to finish.”

North Collins' Lina Young dribbles downfield as Chautauqua Lake's Paige Zarpentine chases after her. OBSERVER Photo by Christian Storms

The best chance of the first half came with about 12 minutes left on a North Collins cross into the box that saw Thunderbirds goalkeeper Erma Wolcott just outrace Eagles forward Anna Parnitzke to the ball. Wolcott stood strong the whole game turning aside everything sent her way and collecting eight saves in the shutout victory.

“It all starts in the middle of the field,” Fininzio said about his offense. “Possess the ball and then get the ball up and out to our scorers. We moved the ball real slowly on the grass today, we didn’t really possess the ball real strong for the whole game.”

In the first half, North Collins looked to be more in control of the game, while after halftime things leaned more in Chautauqua Lake’s favor. In the 44th minute, Emma Lindsey had the first near-miss for the Thunderbirds when she fired a free kick just over the crossbar. After the Lindsey miss there were a few more chances toward the Eagles’ net but none of them made a difference on the scoresheet.

As the half was coming to a close it looked like overtime would be necessary. The only breakdown of a backline in the game came in the final three minutes when Lindsey burst past to score on a ball from Gates.

“During a game you’re going to maybe get three opportunities and you’ve got to make it worth it when it does come,” Gleason was telling his forward about their scoring chances. “We preach that all the time about being intentional when we have the ball, playing with a purpose.”

Chautauqua Lake's Sienna Collins launches a free kick during Monday's game against North Collins. OBSERVER Photo by Christian Storms

On the other end the back line commanded by Sienna Collins was flawless, managing to keep the high-scoring Eagles forward Lina Young in check.

“Give all credit to our senior Sienna Collins,” Gleason said. “She’s like our center-back, sweeper, whatever you want to call it. She’s just been a captain on and off the field. She’s got two really young girls on her side she’s been working with pushing the defense up and letting them know she’s got their back. We knew coming into the game that Lina Young has got a strong leg and is a stellar player we really needed to watch.”

The Thunderbirds improved their record in the Central Division to 3-2-1 and 4-2-2 overall with the victory. While North Collins is now 3-3-0 in the division and 6-3-1 overall.

North Collins' forward Lina Young looks to dribble past Chautauqua Lake's Jenica Jones. OBSERVER Photo by Christian Storms

North Collins' Kendra Dechow (21) and Chautauqua Lake's Taylor Donato battle for the ball in Monday's game. OBSERVER Photo by Christian Storms

Chautauqua Lake's Sienna Collins protects the ball from two North Collins forwards. OBSERVER Photo by Christian Storms

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