Clawson Girls Soccer Advance in Districts 9-0 Over Madison Heights

CLAWSON – In the opening round of districts on Tuesday it felt like senior night for the Clawson girls varsity soccer team.

All nine seniors, including goalie Sarah Wooley, scored goals in the first half for the Trojans in a 9-0 mercy rule win over Madison Heights.

Clawson didn’t look back after scoring three times in the first five minutes. Seniors Allison Hazel, Lauren Bergeron and Trish Chisholm helped set the tone with the three goals and then helped their teammates add to the lead.

The Trojans (14-3-2) overwhelmed the Eagles on offense and needed only 21 minutes to score eight goals in the first half.

“The field was very open tonight, Madison only had nine (players) tonight, so we put out nine,” Clawson coach Jared Kullman said. “It allowed the girls to dribble a lot and when the opportunities came they took them.”

The eight goals were enough for the mercy rule, but in soccer the teams must play a full half before the game ends.

Clawson pulled their offense back after senior Alaina Paquette made the score 8-0. The girls were content to run the clock out by working the ball around the field and playing conservatively. The girls had plenty of open looks at the net, but instead of taking a shot they would make an extra pass or dribble the ball back to the corner. 

Kullman was proud of how his team handled the big lead against a Madison Heights squad that didn’t match up to the Trojans talent-wise.  

“We’ve been down this road before with some teams that we’ve had an advantage against,” Kullman said. “The girls didn’t need any instruction, they understand and there’s no need to run it up. We know it’s going to be your win at halftime, so we only needed eight.”

Next up for Clawson is a district semifinal game against Detroit Cesar Chavez on Thursday at Country Day (7 p.m.). Cesar Chavez beat Harper Woods 5-1 on the road Tuesday to set up the semifinal match-up.

“I’m very optimistic about our chances, we’re a good team and we’ve been playing good soccer all year,” Kullman said.

A win would put the Trojans in the district finals against the winner of Notre Dame Prep and Country Day. Last year, the Yellowjackets eliminated Clawson in the semifinals. It was the third straight year Country Day ended the Trojans’ season.

“We have a huge group of seniors,” Kullman said. “They certainly know what it’s like facing a program like Country Day.”

The seniors say they would love one last shot at advancing to regionals and upending Country Day.