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‘This was a complete game’

Draggett’s hat trick punctuates Fredonia’s 5-0 win

By Matt Spielman 5 min read

WEST ELLICOTT -- Fredonia's Cecelia Tonelli commands a lot of attention from opposing teams.

On Tuesday, Hillbillies teammate Callie Draggett showed other teams that they better not forget about her.

Fredonia's senior striker netted a hat trick as the Hillbillies beat Southwestern 5-0 in a Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Association Division 1 girls soccer game at the Fran Sirianni Athletic Complex.

"Callie is someone who doesn't always have the stats, but she's always effective for us," Fredonia head coach Kyle Marvin said. "She's very good at holding the ball, she keeps possession and today she found herself closer to goal where she was able to finish."

Fredonia, which lost to the Trojans 3-1 on Sept. 8 at Fredonia State University, improved to 7-3-0 overall and 4-3-0 in the league with Tuesday's win while Southwestern fell to 5-5-0 and 4-4-0.

"They played very hard. Scores game to game don't always mean a whole lot because everybody has talent and everybody has the ability to have these kinds of games," said Southwestern head coach Derek Houser, whose Trojans beat second-place Falconer/Cassadaga Valley/Maple Grove 1-0 on Saturday. "We had a big, emotional win Saturday ... we just have to make sure we're focused because every game is like this in our league."

At times throughout the opening 40 minutes, it felt like there were more than 11 Hillbillies on the Charles A. Lawson Field turf. They were rewarded twice for their efforts.

In the 16th minute, a little over a minute after Southwestern missed just high on a 35-yard free kick at the other end of the field, Draggett made it 1-0 when she took a pass from Tonelli in the middle of the field, took one touch to her left, then scored with her right foot high into the corner of the Trojans' goal.

"Everybody knows who Cece is and they know that they have to defend her. When there is a lot of pressure on her it certainly opens things up for other people," Marvin said. "That's sort of been our plan for a while, having a balanced attack and being able to score with Cece as well as other players in our attacking end."

A little less than three minutes later, again with Southwestern paying much attention to Tonelli, the junior forward slipped a pass to Draggett, who scored low into the right side of the Trojans' net to make it 2-0.

"Every team in this league kind of has a player or two, but can you get those goals in big games from your secondary scoring?" Houser said. "When other good players are getting looks and scoring it makes it hard, because you have to defend the whole team."

The halftime deficit might have been more for Southwestern, if not for the play of sophomore goalkeeper Braelynn Dykstra, who at least twice stopped point-blank chances from Tonelli in addition to a save on Fredonia sophomore Nora Polhamus, who created a mini breakaway of her own in the 22nd minute. Dykstra was credited with 11 saves in the game.

"She's played very well for us. I can't say enough about the effort that she gave," Houser said. "She was determined for every goal that they scored to be the last. That's what you love in a goalie."

Trailing 2-0, the Trojans earned a corner kick in the opening minutes of the second half, but that offering was easily caught by Hillbillies senior keeper Naomi Muck, who was credited with six saves behind a defense anchored by senior Mady Polhamus and sophomore Josie Swanson.

"Our defense did a very good job of not allowing close shots. The last time we played them we gave up a lot of shots inside the 18 and they finished," Marvin said. " ... With Mady in the back kind of holding us down and some other quick players around her ... I think we are able to make Naomi's job easier."

Tonelli made it 3-0 in the 49th minute when she received a pass from Nora Polhamus and scored her 17th goal of the season to Dykstra's left. Draggett completed her hat trick in the 54th minute as a ball from Nora Polhamus eventually found its way to Draggett for her third goal of the game and just fourth of the season. Mady Polhamus capped the scoring with a 35-yard free kick in the 65th minute.

"We changed up a few things in how we play and tried to get people where we could maintain possession and put pressure on their backs," Marvin said. " ... We followed the plan and it turned out to be a really successful day."

With already three losses in the league, it might be hard for Fredonia to catch Allegany-Limestone/Hinsdale for a league title, although the teams will meet again Saturday, Oct. 10 in Allegany.

"The teams that are ahead of us, I think we can compete with and we've shown that," Marvin said. "It's really about getting as many of those wins the rest of the regular season to kind of set us up in a good spot for the postseason."

The Hillbillies will return to action Thursday at Portville while will host Jamestown that same evening.

"This was a complete game. We did everything that I asked on both sides of the ball," Marvin said. "We were focused, we paid attention to details and we came away with a huge win against a really good team."

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