Local Sports

Frewsburg girls pull away from Trojans

FREWSBURG -- For nearly 77 minutes, the scoreboard said that Frewsburg and Southwestern were playing an even nonleague girls soccer match.

But as the afternoon moved along, the Bears began controlling play and in return earning multiple corner kicks.

In the end, on a humid day with temperatures in the low 80s, that perseverance paid off.

Sophomore Rozlyn Haglund scored the go-ahead goal with 3:04 remaining and junior Jaden Jimerson tacked on an insurance goal with 57 seconds left as Frewsburg beat the Trojans 3-1 on Tuesday at the Frewsburg Sports Complex.

"Jaden Jimerson and Rozlyn at the end to go get those last two goals, when they weren't getting many chances, they just never quit fighting," Frewsburg head coach Scott Stone said. "Sometimes chances come in the first two minutes and sometimes they come in the last two minutes."

"It was a really good game. For the past few years, they've been like this: down to the end. I think it's what we anticipated," Southwestern head coach Derek Houser said. "Both teams were really trying to feel out what they are going to be with changes we've had to make."

Frewsburg earned at least three corner kicks in the opening 15 minutes of the second half, but didn't come very close to scoring on any of them. With just over 13 minutes left, junior Ellie Cappa sent another corner into the 6-yard box, but nobody with a Frewsburg jersey on was able to put a foot on the ball before it cleared the far post.

"You know that is something they are always strong at. We didn't play them too badly, but you have to be ready for them," Houser said. "Both of those corners were kind of chaos. ... Once it lands, it can go well for the offense."

Finally, with just over three minutes remaining, another corner kick was cleared to safety, but Cappa found the ball at the top of the 18-yard box and sent a high service toward the net. The ball short-hopped the Southwestern keeper before Haglund got a foot on it and tapped it into the open goal for a 2-1 lead.

"We tried to stay extremely organized in the back ... and obviously we tried to win some corners," Stone said. "Three out of the four goals today were off set pieces."

With the Trojans pushing forward in the final minutes, Haglund got a ball to Jimerson, who beat her defender before scoring off the far post for the two-goal final difference.

"If you are playing forward for us, you have to be crashing the net and running full speed every time the ball is in our offensive third," Stone said.

The Bears started the game with better pressure and possession, which resulted in a pair of corner kicks in the opening 10 minutes that were not fruitful.

Senior Audrey Eckwahl, the 2025 Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Association Division 3 Offensive Player of the Year and a fourth-team all-state selection, got loose for her first shot of the season in the 26th minute, but the ball sailed high over the Southwestern goal.

Eckwahl was matched up with the Trojans senior Marlana Cresanti -- a 2025 CCAA Division 1 first-team all-star -- for much of the afternoon and neither was able to find much available space in their offensive half of the field.

"They are always kind of tracking each other. The only reason they are going to be free is if the other one gets trapped up," Houser said. " ... It's fun to watch them. They are always going to put on a good show."

With 14:49 remaining in the first half, Cappa sent a corner kick into the box that somehow found its way to Eckwahl, who deflected it home for the first goal of the game.

"Nobody was really getting any clean shots off," Stone said. "It was more of a grind type of game."

Not to be outdone, Cresanti sent a long free kick toward the Frewsburg goal in the final minute of the half and when the ball was mishandled in front of the goal, senior Kenzie Rogers tapped it home to tie the game.

"We had a bad foul up near midfield and gave them a free kick," Stone said. "There was a bad bounce and they were crashing the net for a rebound."

Seniors Mikaela Luce and Makenna Johnson had the Trojans' best looks at goal in the second half, but Frewsburg freshman keeper Leah Pasieka turned them away both times, holding Southwestern at bay long enough for the Bears to win the game late.

"I think you could really see at times, the players who had to log the full 80, they were really kind of picking their spots," Houser said. "That lends itself to a game where a free kick and a bounce (decided it)."

Frewsburg will host another perennially tough nonleague opponent Thursday when Allegany-Limestone/Hinsdale visits. Things don't get any easier for Southwestern, which will host defending Section VI Class B champion Falconer/Cassadaga Valley/Maple Grove in the teams' CCAA Division 1 opener that same night at 7.

"It's nice to play a team like this that you know is going to push you, because now we have a good idea," Houser said. " ... It's hard to get the full 11 together and work cohesively with our numbers."