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WGH’s big first half holds off JFK

Raiders’ Brown nets 6 goals

Tribune Chronicle / John Vargo Warren G. Harding’s Abbey Frazzini tries to maneuver around John F. Kennedy’s Alissa Scattino during the Raiders’ 7-4 victory Monday in Warren.

WARREN — Madyson Brown reminisced about her recreational league days.

The grassy field at John F. Kennedy High School jogged memories. The Warren G. Harding sophomore felt her youth soccer days return.

Children moved their little legs as fast as they could possibly go down the field — about half the size varsity teams use. It’s more of a free-flowing atmosphere unencumbered by officials’ stoppages and other intricacies comprising the high school game.

“It’s like rec,” said Brown, who had six goals, including two penalty kicks, during Monday’s 7-4 win over Kennedy. “You score a lot. That reminded me of that, taking control of the game.

“I have to give props to my teammates. I wouldn’t have been able to do that without them.”

Tribune Chronicle / John Vargo Warren G. Harding’s Madyson Brown (10) scored six goals in the Raiders’ 7-4 victory over John F. Kennedy.

Harding had a 5-2 lead at halftime, with Brown accounting for all five tallies.

Kevin Brown, Madyson’s father and WGH’s coach, saw Kennedy having trouble with the Raiders’ quickness. The fleet-footed WGH players couldn’t tap into their full potential on a grass surface, as opposed to the field turf at cross-town Mollenkopf Stadium.

“That kind of worked in our favor,” said Kevin, whose team improves to 1-1.

Kennedy keeper Alexa Chieffo, who had eight saves, is arguably one of the most athletic female goalies in this area. She has full extension with saves, showing her athleticism protecting the JFK 8 foot-by-24 foot goal.

Brown coming on breakaways at close range was another story, as she smashed through the Eagles’ defense.

“When you break through and you’re on the 6, not even your top goalies can make saves like that all of the time,” Kennedy coach Kayla Zocole said.

WGH freshman Jayda Goldberg, a quick player in her own right, raced down the right sideline with less than 4 minutes remaining in the half. Her crossing pass in front of the goal found Madyson’s foot for her fifth goal of the half.

Goldberg began the Harding second-half scoring with 36:27 remaining, giving Harding a 6-2 lead.

Kevin said Madyson is in different spots around the pitch, forcing the defense to adjust. Her pace is too much for other teams to handle, even on a grassy surface. It’s what Kennedy found out in the first 40 minutes and the early part of the second half.

“When she’s going like that, it opens up a lot of lanes for everybody else,” Kevin said.

It did just that for the Raiders, but only for so long.

Kevin said Kennedy (1-1) dropped back from a flat line back to a sweeper formation. The breakaway chances Madyson had in those first 40 minutes were limited.

“We started rotating a lot more with a little more aggressive people in the back and moving some people that helped a little bit,” Zocole said.

Caitlyn Condoleon and Alissa Scattino each had goals for JFK in the first half. Scoring opportunities broadened for the Eagles as they soared past a previously impenetrable WGH defense.

Condoleon was taken down in the goalkeepers’ box with 12:21 left. She got the ball by Raiders’ keeper Makayla Diggs, who had four saves, for the penalty kick — cutting WGH’s lead to 6-3. Condoleon had a breakaway goal with 10:40 remaining as the Eagles were within two.

Kennedy had all the momentum.

“Our girls didn’t adjust,” Kevin said. “We kept playing the long ball instead of working it around like we wanted them to.

“They had all the momentum in the second half.”

WGH had a 6-foot-1 answer to the Eagles’ second-half surge — senior center back Karlie Hielman.

Her quickness, defense and leadership makes her a force on the back line.

It flustered Condoleon, Kennedy’s leading scorer.

“Their center back was extremely strong,” Zocole said. “Caitlyn was not able to break through her. She definitely shot down a lot of our offensive opportunities.”

Harding came down the field in a flurry in the last minute-and-a-half. Both teams were furiously kicking at the ball. Kennedy was trying to clear, while the Raiders tried to add to their total. Chieffo rolled around trying to make the save. In the mayhem, the third penalty of the game was called. Madyson’s penalty kick put the game out of reach, giving her a sixth goal.

Reliving her youth was special, but having a tall teammate like Hielman protect the lead was even better.

“If we didn’t have her on the back line, we wouldn’t have won this game,” Madyson said.

That’s something you won’t find at the recreation level.

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