Pattinson’s 4 goals spurs Champion to victory over Crestview
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EAST FAIRFIELD -- There was no stopping Champion's Abagail Pattinson on Wednesday.
The senior scored four goals as Champion remained undefeated with a 5-0 win over Crestview at Crestview High School.
"We're very senior heavy, but we're also very freshmen heavy," Champion head coach Emily Metheny said. "That's where that leadership, that growth and never being complacent with a 2-0 lead. They want to learn, they want to keep fighting till the end and give effort the entire 80 minutes."
It took a bit for either team to find some footing to open the game. The ball was primarily stuck in the middle third of the pitch.
But that changed when Champion opened the scoring with 23:31 to play in the first half.
Riley Dunn lined up for a free kick from just outside the box. Rebels goalkeeper Clarice Harroff made the save -- her first of six stops on the day -- but the ball bounced to the right of the net. Pattinson was there for the rebound and scored from just a couple yards out.
Pattinson added her second goal of the day with 6:24 to play before halftime. She made her way through the middle of the Crestview (6-4, 3-3 MVAC Grey Tier) defense and got off a clean shot that landed in the bottom-left corner, extending the Flashes' lead to 2-0.
Less than 12 minutes into the second half, Pattinson completed her hat trick. The Flashes got off a shot that hit the right post and bounced back into the center of the box. Pattinson was there for an easy shot with Harroff out of position.
A couple minutes later, Pattinson added her fourth. Jackie Fields went from the right corner and down the goal line. Fields sent a pass to Pattinson, who scored from just in front of the net.
Dunn added the only Champion goal not credited to Pattinson with 20:04 remaining.
The loss snapped Crestview's three-game win streak, and the Rebels will look to get back on track at Salem on Monday.
"We kinda knew what we were getting into with previous years," Crestview head coach Maura Belding said. "We just gotta come out as strong as we do in the second half, in the first half. We've been dealing with that, sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn't. We need to figure out how to work through that and recover from that."
Meanwhile, the Golden Flashes want to keep improving so they can make a run at a district championship later in the fall.
"We have 26 in our program right now, and every single one of them is working hard and contributing to every single win," Metheny said. "Whenever anybody steps on the field, we're building, we're making adjustments on the fly. And they're athletes, but students of the game, making those adjustments and playing really strong all together."
SENIOR MAKING SAVES
Champion goalie Marley McClurg is in her first year playing soccer. Metheny didn't have reservations putting her in net, and it paid off in the first half of the season.
In Wednesday's game, McClurg made eight saves, with six coming in the last six minutes as Crestview tried to cut into the deficit.
The win was McClurg's second shutout of the season. The first came in the season opener at Lakeview.
In the last four games, the senior has only allowed six goals.
"She's doing amazing back there," Metheny said. "Literally her first year ever playing soccer and she's had multiple shutouts."