Tuesday Roundup: Fillmore scores five 2nd half goals to pull away with 6-0 blank of B-R; C-R’s Lewis launches game-winner in 3-2 OT win over GV/Belfast
BOLIVAR — With a 1-0 lead for Fillmore on the board, a massive opportunity presented itself in front of Bolivar-Richburg to close out the first half of their big Division I League contest on Tuesday. It came in the form of a penalty kick for the Wolverines.
The kick in the same turn, would also create a massive power shift when the second half got underway. That chance was one that Fillmore netminder Luke Colombo put a stop on to keep their one-goal lead glued together.
As a result, the Eagles and their 1-0 lead grew exponentially, raising it to as high as six behind another phenomenal night from Allegany County’s leading scorer in Mitch Ward, who recorded a second half hat trick while dishing out an assist on the team’s first goal to set a bar that could not have been reached, as they rolled to a 6-0 shutout of Bolivar-Richburg at Dunsmore-Latimer Field.
It did not take long for this year’s back-to-back Division I champions to strike first on the board. With just over two minutes gone in the session, Carter Sisson gave Fillmore (13-2) a 1-0 lead all the way down to the end of the half by connecting with Ward, who fed along the pass in his direction to complete the play.
Toward the tail end of the session, the penalty kick arose for the Wolverines (9-5-2). But Colombo in between the pipes made the stop head on for the Eagles to prevent a tie heading into the break, keeping their lead in tact.
In the second half, a completely different game, as Fillmore fed off of the momentous stop by scoring five more goals led by Ward’s hat trick, two of them being scored in a span of nearly three minutes to branch the team’s lead to three. Graham Cahill and Jack Cool would all chip in with goals of their own to finish off the scoring.
Cool would tally two assists on Ward’s first and Cahill’s goal along the way, while Sisson provided a helper to Cool. Damon Wood had the game’s final assist with 6:21 left to play on the sixth goal, the third for Ward to wrap up his seven-point night.
In all, Fillmore outshot Bolivar-Richburg by a 19-6 count with Colombo stopping four shots. On the other end, David Abdo set aside 15 shots for the Wolverines.
The Eagles will put a wrap on their regular season with one last road trip in store for Thursday, visiting Wellsville in a 7 p.m. first kick. As for Bolivar-Richburg, their regular season now ends, as they await Sectional seeding this weekend with an overall record of 9-5-2.
Cuba-Rushford 3, Genesee Valley/Belfast 2 (F-OT)
CUBA — Just like their battle with Bolivar-Richburg back on Saturday, Genesee Valley/Belfast was in for another one of those back-and-forth fights. This time, it came on the road when they visit Cuba-Rushford, who was looking to provide a big bounce back before Sectionals roll in next week.
From start to finish, the punches were dealt back and forth. In the first half, a bounty of midfield battles in what was a scoreless tie at the break. In the second half, a different story.
Both offenses would build steam, combining to record all five of the game’s goals. Only that last goal would need extra time to go into the back of the net.
With the game tied at two on each side, overtime was presented. The back-and-forth exchange ended near the midway point of the extra session, and it was off the foot of Logan Lewis, who launched a ball from outside the Genesee Valley/Belfast box, sailing through the air and into the back of the net behind Thai Norasethaporn to give the Rebels the 3-2 Senior Night win on Tuesday.
“It was a great battle from start to finish. They beat us pretty bad the first time around at their place, so we wanted to make sure we came prepared against them at home on Senior Night, and we did just that,” Rebels coach Nick Perillo said. “Credit to GV/Belfast, because they never quit and they did a great job finishing on our mistakes. Big props to our Seniors for helping us get this hard-fought win, they deserve it.”
After a scoreless tie was collected after the first 40 minutes, the offenses began to pick up steam, each trading barbs until extra time was required to complete their battle. Cuba-Rushford (6-7-1) started off with the first marker from Tanner Lewis, who scored off a feed from Logan Lewis. Not five minutes afterwards, Genesee Valley/Belfast tied it up with Matt Weaver scoring one of his two goals, making an unassisted jaunt into the offensive zone.
Later on, the Rebels would take the lead right back on a massive corner kick opportunity from Austin Pinney, delivering the kick straight in front of the goal where Jacob Smith was parked in the right place at the right time to put it away to tip the scales once more.
But Genesee Valley/Belfast (9-6) provided yet another quick response to make sure their remained side-by-side and stride-for-stride with the Rebels, as Weaver earned a humongous penalty kick chance 60 seconds after Cuba-Rushford’s go-ahead goal, burying it past Jarrett Campbell in between the posts to tie the game for the final time.
With six minutes remaining in the extra session, Cuba-Rushford made sure they had the final punch that mattered the most, as Logan Lewis sealed the victory with a long distance kick from outside the Genesee Valley/Belfast box, gaining enough air and speed to sail into the back of the net to put a bow on a big piece of Senior Night success.
Despite the loss, Genesee Valley/Belfast managed to outshoot the Rebels by a 14-10 final count, but it was Campbell that tallied the win in goal, stopping 12 saves. Norasethaporn on the other end would collect seven saves.
Cuba-Rushford will host their final game of the regular season tonight in a quick turnaround, as they look to reach .500 heading into Sectionals with a 5 p.m. first kick slated against the Wellsville Lions.
As for Genesee Valley/Belfast, their regular season concludes in the Jungle on Thursday, hosting the Scio Tigers in a 7 p.m. battle of their own for Senior Night.
Houghton Academy 8, Andover/Whitesville 1
HOUGHTON — To say that the first 40 minutes between both Andover/Whitesville and Houghton Academy were as active as ever on Tuesday, would be a massive understatement, as the two foes and their offenses went on to score all nine of the game’s goals combined.
The hosts would possess eight of those, with Henry Sardina scoring a hat trick, and two more Panthers would record a pair of goals to assist in paving the way in their 8-1 win over Andover/Whitesville.
Helping further the cause were Alex Fraile and Josh Davidson, who both had a pair of goals to add in for Houghton Academy (4-6-2), with Fraile recording an assist along the way. Pauline Haensel recorded a goal of her own, while Anna Huizenga, Jack Prentice and Duy Le dished out a helper.
Andover/Whitesville’s (1-13) lone goal came from Cormac Brown, who scored it off an assist provided by Carson Frungillo. In goal, Chris Habecker earned the win behind two stops, while Landon Ordway made 12 saves for the visitors.
Both teams are back in action on Thursday in a pair of 5 p.m. first kicks, with Houghton Academy paying a visit to Friendship, while Andover/Whitesville plays host to Hinsdale in Whitesville.
GIRLS SOCCER
Andover/Whitesville 2, Genesee Valley/Belfast 0
BELFAST — Between both Andover/Whitesville and Genesee Valley/Belfast this season, they’ve shared the same seat on the same rollercoaster ride that has guided them through plenty of ups and downs.
But as the final days of the regular season begin to close in, the name of the game was all about building a mountain of momentum to carry into Sectionals.
At the end of the night, that would be built by Andover/Whitesville, who scored a goal in each half while keeping Genesee Valley/Belfast held still on offense across all 80 minutes recording the 2-0 shutout over the road on Tuesday to finish their regular season with a winning 8-6 record.
“Tonight was an important game for us to close the regular season, and position ourselves for a good seed going into Sectionals,” Andover/Whitesville co-coach Aaron Rawady said. “It wasn’t our finest performance, but GV/Belfast took it to us and they took away from how we wanted to play our game. They made us work for everything and we didn’t execute well, but our effort was outstanding. It was a good win for us tonight, and hopefully some of the momentum that we created the last four games will carry over into the postseason.”
Just nine shots combined were collected between both clubs with Andover/Whitesville garnering the narrow 5-4 upper hand, with Zoey Lee grabbing the 1-0 lead at the first half break with the team’s first goal off a feed provided by Ava Grice from the middle with 25:35 left on the clock.
It was a lead that they continued to hold until they grabbed a massive piece of insurance to keep their advantage locked in, as Kennedy Bledsoe took a run into the Genesee Valley/Belfast (7-7) by herself to put away the game with 11:37 left, sealing the victory.
In goal, Brynn Scholl recorded two saves in the victory for Andover/Whitesville, while Ashley Burrows made three stops for Genesee Valley/Belfast, who will head to Cuba-Rushford for a 5 p.m. quick turnaround tonight to conclude their regular season.
Andover/Whitesville will now await their Sectional seeding position this weekend.
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
Wellsville 3, Arkport/Canaseraga 0
WELLSVILLE — In just one match this season, the Lady Lions of Wellsville have been forced to more than three sets. That came at the beginning of the season, when they outlasted Bolivar-Richburg in a thrilling five-set conclusion on opening night to start up what has been a string of dominating wins.
Entering Tuesday night back home to open up their back-to-back matches, they have eight straight in their back pocket. They made sure it was nine in a row after the night was over, as they rolled past visiting Arkport/Canaseraga in style with a 3-0, 25-17, 25-13, 25-17 win over the Lady Wolves.
It was an even spread of the Wellsville (9-0) offense that helped lead the way, with Brooklyn Stisser (three digs) and Jaelyn Knapp (two aces, block) recording four team-high kills each. Marley Adams helped further the cause with three more kills of her own to go with three aces and a block, while Bryanna Moultrip was solid at the service line, recording four aces to pair with two kills and a dig on defense.
Lady Lions setter Macey Wyant dished out a team-high 13 assists to provide a kickstart to the team’s attack.
Wellsville is right back on their home floor tonight with another 7:30 p.m. first serve, as they host the Lady Rebels of Cuba-Rushford in their annual Senior Night match,
Bolivar-Richburg 3, Cuba-Rushford 0
CUBA — The Lady Rebels of Cuba-Rushford did all they could to hang around alongside a red hot Bolivar-Richburg team, despite their straight-set loss to Wellsville that ended what was a five-game win streak, but the Lady Wolverines went on to pick up their sixth win in their last seven by staying one step ahead in their 25-20, 25-19, 25-19 sweep on Tuesday in the Wighthouse.
Jianna Nix continues to flood the floor with fire after another tremendous effort on offense, garnering a game-high 14 kills to pair with five aces from the service line and one block to pace Bolivar-Richburg (8-3). On defense, Haley Mascho (four aces) and Brena Walp (three aces) both combined to record 27 digs, with Mascho leading the way with 18 team-high digs.
On the other side of the net, Brianna Green led the Lady Rebels (3-6) with a team-high five kills, along with two digs, one block and one assist. Ella Jaffe added in three kills of her own to pair with two digs, one ace and one block, while setter Quincy Tyler handed out six assists to go along with three kills and three digs of her own.
Both teams are right back on the floor over the road tonight, as Bolivar-Richburg looks to continue their winning ways with a trip into Houghton Academy beginning with a 7 p.m. first serve, while Cuba-Rushford pays a visit to unbeaten Wellsville in a 7:30 p.m. contest of their own.
Genesee Valley/Belfast 3, Archbishop Walsh 0
OLEAN — Genesee Valley/Belfast began the season in the beginning of September with a record of 2-5. But then, things began to come together as time went on. Tuesday night, it was no different, as they recorded their fifth win in their fourth win in their last six games with a sweep of Archbishop Walsh on the road, taking the 25-21, 25-15, 25-14 victory.
“The ladies played well tonight. Addy Herring, our setter, along with our two middles were able to work a lot of plays,” said GV/Belfast coach Darren Bradt. “Also not on the stats but having a big contribution, Kendra Bigelow played an amazing game learning to take on the role of being a starter, and she made some great passes and hits to help us out tonight.”
Kaitlin Sadler had another brilliant night on offense for Genesee Valley/Belfast (6-7), scoring a game-high 12 kills to go along with four aces and a pair of assists. Cayla Sadler helped further the offensive cause with five kills of her own to go with two more aces, while the team’s setter Addy Herring dished out 14 assists to pair with seven aces and four kills.
Genesee Valley/Belfast hits the road once more Thursday night, as they get set to battle the Lady Lakers of Hammondsport in a 6 p.m. first serve.
Salamanca at Hinsdale: No Report
