Observer-Reporter Athlete of the Week
Name: Madison Clayton
School: Waynesburg/Jefferson-Morgan
Year: Sophomore
Sport: Soccer
Clayton’s week: Waynesburg’s striker led the Raiders to three wins to start the season, scoring nine goals. She had both in a 2-0 win over West Allegheny in the South Fayette Tournament, all three in a 3-0 win over Elizabeth Forward and added four more in a 10-1 win over Uniontown last Saturday.
The sophomore scored 60 percent of Waynesburg’s goals, leading the Raiders to two victories in Section 4-AA.
“It was really nice. Of course, it was a team effort,” Clayton said. “I didn’t really worry about the goals. It was more important getting those first wins of the season and starting off with enough confidence.”
Moving forward: Clayton, a student at Jefferson-Morgan who plays at Waynesburg through a co-op agreement, is not the only one enjoying a strong start to the season. Waynesburg (4-0, 5-0) is in first place in the section after a fifth-place finish last fall.
Aided by a strong group of freshmen, the Raiders are playing fast and look like a WPIAL playoff contender.
“She’s a hard-working kid, she’s very talented and she matches that with her hard work,” Waynesburg head coach Joe Kijowski said. “The team around her has matured, so it’s a very good situation right now.”
Clayton scored 15 goals as a freshman, helping Waynesburg to a 5-9-2 finish. Though she has worked on specific aspects of her game, she credits the influx of young talent and the chemistry gained from last season for the Raiders’ fast start.
“So far, we’ve been doing really well with getting the ball out wide and getting some crosses,” Clayton said. “We’ve had stronger players on the outside and we worked on shooting a lot more than we did last year. That’s helped a lot with our offense.”
J-M to Waynesburg: Since Jefferson-Morgan does not have a soccer program, Clayton had to make the trip to Waynesburg to play. It is a seamless transition.
Clayton grew up playing with most of Waynesburg’s players. With the Raiders looking like one of the strongest teams in WPIAL Class AA, there has not been a shortage of support at Jefferson-Morgan.
“People always ask me in school about how the team is doing and tell me congratulations,” Clayton said. “Even though I play at a different school, they’re still very supportive. Everyone at Waynesburg is very supportive of the girls team and they see that we have a very good chance.”
Kijowski is optimistic about where the Raiders stand. They upset section-rival Ringgold after losing twice to the Rams last season by a combined score of 6-0. The play of his striker has something to do with that.
“She has very good ball skills and has a nose for the net,” Kijowski said. “She’s hard to deal with because she never stops moving. She’s in motion constantly and she can play an entire game at that pace.”
Clayton and her teammates know they won’t sneak up on teams in the coming weeks. They have defeated two teams that made the playoffs last fall, but they are aiming higher. Waynesburg wants to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2008.
“Throughout the whole summer, we had outstanding hard work,” Clayton said. “Everyone put in so much and you can tell everyone cares. We want to show everyone that we’re a team to watch out for this year.”
Compiled by Lance Lysowski