By Murray Gleffe
Correspondent
GREEN BAY – Taylor Johnson has been a do-it-all performer for the Green Bay Southwest girls’ soccer team (7-5-2 overall, 2-3 FRCC) all season long.
May 7 was no different as Johnson scored two of the three goals in a 3-0 victory over Pulaski (4-7-1 overall, 1-3-1 FRCC) in a game played at Dahlin Family Stadium.
Southwest goalie Tori Ellis made eight saves in goal preserving the shutout.
“Our fast start was important in winning this game,” said Southwest head coach Tyler Thomas. “We jumped on Pulaski early and forced them to play from behind.”
In the fifth minute of the contest, the Trojans attempted a corner kick that got back-tapped out. Unfortunately, for Pulaski, a Red Raiders defender got called for a hand ball and a penalty kick ensued.
Johnson calmly booted the ball into the net to give the Trojans an early 1-0 lead.
Just seven minutes later, Johnson was at it again.
This time, she squeezed between four Pulaski defenders and side straddled a shot into the corner of the net for her second goal.
“She (Taylor) has great vision and can make something out of nothing,” added Thomas. “That second goal was created by downward penetration and then a little bit of individual athleticism on her behalf.”
The Red Raiders got their first attempt on goal 14 minutes into the game after Maggie Hernandez laced a 30-yard shot that missed just wide of the target.
The Trojans took a 2-0 lead into halftime before Gabrielle Siudzinski scored for her first career varsity goal (unassisted) in the 59th minute for Southwest to close the scoring.
The final 31 minutes of the game were all about the Trojans goaltender.
Pulaski sent two rockets in from Samantha Barlament and Vanessa Grunwald in the 69th and 77th minute, respectively, but each time Ellis was up to the test.
“Tori made some great saves in the later stages of the game to help us maintain a healthy margin,” Thomas added about his goalie. “She saw the field really well tonight and helped us get a key win.”
Box score
Pulaski: 0, 0—0
Southwest: 2, 1—3