By PAUL GOTHAM
IRONDEQUOIT, N.Y. — She has been the catalyst of the Brighton girls’ soccer team throughout the season, so it was fitting that Finn Cregan capped the Bruins last game before sectionals by providing all the offense.
Cregan connected on a pair of first-half strikes, and Brighton defeated host Irondequoit, 2-nil in Monroe County Division II action on Thursday.
The senior midfielder converted on an indirect kick inside the 18-yard box and later buried a penalty kick for her team-leading 18th and 19th tallies of the season.
“I usually take a deep breath before and in my head I visualize where I want to kick that ball,” the University of Akron commit said of her mindset as she approaches a set piece. “I always know where it’s going before it’s taken. It’s not a last-minute decision.”
Cregan was on the finishing end Thursday, but she also leads Brighton with 14 assists and has directly contributed to 68.8 percent of Brighton’s 48 goals this year.
Her role as facilitator in the middle third of the pitch was undeniable on Gordon Allen Field, Thursday.
“She loves to score and loves to shoot from 25, 20, 18 (yards),” said Brighton head coach Rita Kladstrup. “She’s looking for goals. On the flip side of that, her assists are just as high as her goals. Last year was the same thing.”
Brighton (8-7-0) lost its first three games of the season and finished the month of September with a record of 4 wins and 5 losses.
The Bruins will enter the postseason having won three of four games.
For Cregan, the difference in the Bruins team from earlier in the season and the manner in which they are playing currently has to do with the way teammates are using each other on the field.
“In the beginning of the season, we did a lot of boot ball. We weren’t connecting. Our bond off the field really shows. Our one-two passes and movement off the ball is really just clicking.”
And Brighton has allowed one goal in its last four wins.
“On defense, we talk about protecting ‘our house,'” Kladstrup said. “That’s what we’re working on. That’s your house. Don’t let anyone into your house. Trying to compact in the center more and doing more.”
Irondequoit had won three straight before entering play. After surrendering the two goals during the opening 40 minutes, the Eagles outshot their counterparts 3-2 in the second half.
Irondequoit head coach Josh Foster and his squad have battled to get a healthy lineup.
“It was piece-mealing lineups for the first nine games of the season,” Foster said. “Then we started getting all of our injured players back and the second half of the season we were 4-and-1 coming into this game. We were playing good soccer.
“If there’s one thing we’re good at this year, it’s battling adversity. The girls handle it really well. They play hard. I fully expect that we’ll come back and we’ll be competitive with whomever we play in sectionals.”
Cregan’s first goal in the 18th minute was an indirect kick that was awarded as the result of the Irondequoit keeper holding the ball for longer than the allotted time.
“I’m not upset with how we played,” Foster said. “Definitely there are things that we should have done better – a little bit defensively, a little bit offensively. This was a good wake-up call. There are definitely things we need to focus on over the next few days.”
Sectional brackets will be announced on Saturday with Class AA first-round action scheduled for Wednesday, October 23rd.
“I tell the girls all the time, it’s not how you start the year. It’s what you are doing right at sectionals. You got to build. You got to make sure you’re playing the best game that you can going into sectionals.”
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