If Wednesday’s season opener was any indication, Randolph’s boys have a pretty good one-two punch up front.

Sophomore Griffin Nelson netted a hat trick to go along with an assist while freshman Cooper Freeman had a goal and two assists as the Cardinals beat nonleague Westfield/Brocton 6-1 on a windy day at the NorthLake Family Recreation Center.

The Wolverines, who lost five seniors off last year’s team, actually led 1-0 early before Randolph began to take the play to the hosts.

“We started out really slow. There were a lot of jitters. We have a lot of young guys that are kind of stepping into big roles. It definitely looked like they were nervous,” Randolph head coach David Pihlblad said. “After that first goal, they kind of woke up and we settled in. I’m really happy with the result.”

OBSERVER Photo by Matt Spielman Randolph’s Cooper Freeman (9) and Westfield/Brocton’s Danny Bratton battle for possession during Wednesday’s nonleague boys soccer game at the NorthLake Family Recreation Center in Westfield.

Sophomore Carson Swanson got Westfield/Brocton on the scoreboard in the fourth minute when he hit a left-footed shot into the far corner of the net past the Cardinals’ keeper for a 1-0 lead.

“We just weren’t ready to play the game,” Pihlblad said. “After that, we kind of cleaned it up. It shouldn’t be a problem.”

Despite playing into a fairly consistent 20 mph breeze, Randolph began to take over play about 10 minutes into the game.

In the 17th minute, Freeman missed a free kick just wide. A minute later, Freeman, a returning Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Association East Division honorable-mention-star, cashed in his first tally of the season when he took a pass from Nelson, controlled in tight along the Wolverines’ goal line, and powered a ball past the Wolverines’ keeper to tie the game at 1-all.

“He is probably the best freshman I have maybe ever seen. He controls the game,” Pihlblad said. “He got bigger and stronger from last year, and got more confident. He is just an awesome player. The sky is the limit for him.”

Less than two minutes later, Randolph took the lead for good. Westfield/Brocton was called for a handball inside the 18-yard box and the Cardinals were awarded a free kick. Nelson converted the 10-yard shot for his first goal of the season and a 2-1 lead.

The score remained 2-1 for the final 20 minutes of the first half, but knowing Randolph would have the wind for the second half, a comeback seemed daunting for Westfield/Brocton.

With the wind in the Wolverines’ faces for the final 40 minutes, they played several goal kicks short to their defenders. Less than five minutes into the half, it backfired as Cardinals junior Ryder Smith stole a pass inside the 18-yard box and chipped a shot over the keeper for a 3-1 lead.

Westfield/Brocton had a chance to close the gap in the 52nd minute when a left-footed shot was stopped by Randolph goalkeeper Kyle Senn and in the 55th minute when another left-footed shot sailed wide of the net.

“Carson is going to get his fair share of goals. We also have some other guys who can score,” said first-year Westfield/Brocton head coach Neil Huber. “Once we get everybody going it’s going to be a different ball game.”

The Wolverines then had back-to-back corner kicks in the 57th minute but failed to capitalize.

“This is the first real big game that they’ve been a part of. … It’s a growth. I’m used to different things and they’re used to different things. It’s a learning curve for everybody,” said Huber, who moved over from previously coaching the girls program. “We’ll get there. I have every confidence in these boys to be able to get to the vision that I have for them and that they have for themselves.”

Nelson added his second goal of the game in the 67th minute as Freeman slid him a nice pass through the defense off a set piece and then finished his hat trick a little over three minutes later when Freeman sent him a ball just over the defense. Nelson gathered possession and then scored when his shot glance off the Westfield/Brocton keeper and into the net.

“They play pretty much year-round. They’ve played year-round since they were little kids,” Pihlblad said of Freeman and Nelson. “They have that chemistry that you can’t really teach. They know where each other is going to be. It’s fun to watch.”

Smith closed the scoring in the 77th minute off a pass from sophomore Peyton McClune.

“We struggled with some inexperience. … These are things we’ve worked on in practice,” Huber said. “The more repetitions that they do it, the better off we’ll be.”

A defense anchored by senior captains Clayton Crouse and Brendan Good kept Westfield/Brocton away from Senn for most of the day, but a point-blank stop with three minutes remaining gave him five saves on the afternoon.

“They kind of organize everything,” Pihlblad said of Crouse and Good. “They’ve been playing varsity since ninth grade. This is their team now.”