Tuesday Soccer: C-R, Scio battles toward their second tie of the season; GV, B-R, Belfast boys all record shutout victories

Scio senior Cam Loucks, off-center, battles alongside Cuba-Rushford senior Landon Wight, left, for the loose ball at midfield during Tuesday night’s contest in Scio. [Chris Brooks/WellsvilleSports.com]

Scio sophomore Jordan White (6) and Cuba-Rushford sophomore Jacob Smith (22) joust for the loose ball at midfield during Tuesday night’s contest in Scio. [Chris Brooks/WellsvilleSports.com]

Cuba-Rushford junior Chandler Wirth (18) and Scio sophomore Max Morris, off-center, collide for the loose ball near the sidelines during Tuesday night’s contest in Scio. [Chris Brooks/WellsvilleSports.com]

Scio junior Jaxson Warboys prepares the throw the ball back into play during Tuesday night’s home contest against Cuba-Rushford. [Chris Brooks/WellsvilleSports.com]

Cuba-Rushford freshman Kaden Bell (9) picks up the loose ball at midfield during Tuesday night’s road contest in Scio. [Chris Brooks/WellsvilleSports.com]

SCIO — The midfield battle raged through the first half of play in Tuesday’s rematch between Cuba-Rushford and Scio. In their first meeting, both teams could not settle on a decisive winner, with both teams tying with two goals on each side in Cuba earlier in the season.

In Scio, it was the same case scenario, as both teams scored a goal in the second set of 40 minutes to take the deadlock through the overtimes, where a winner could not be decided once more in their 1-1 draw.

“The first 30 minutes of the game, Cuba did a good job taking it to us,” said Tigers coach Dillon McFall. “We were sleepy out of the gate, and we cannot afford to keep doing that. At the end of the first half, we started picking up our play, and we carried it into the second half. We just couldn’t get more than one goal. We had some nice chances, but we have to get over the hump and find that instinct to finish these plays.”

For much of the first half, Cuba-Rushford (2-4-2) took control of the midfield battle over Scio, taking the push across the field and into the offensive zone where they were able to scavenge some quality chances on goal.

With under 10 minutes left in the half, the Tigers (2-6-3) kicked the gears themselves to end the half on a strong note behind back-to-back corner kicks, the first leading to a plethora of traps from Cam Loucks to prevent the ball from being cleared.

Ultimately, Cuba-Rushford found a way to exit the zone on the next corner kick to prevent any damage from occurring.

In the second half, the ice would finally break for the Rebels just five minutes in, as Caden Granger gave the Rebels the opening lead off a pass across by Logan Lewis, burying it into the net to go up 1-0.

It would remain as such right up until the halfway mark when Scio found a way to tie things up at one off the first career goal scored by Jon Witt, as Jordan White provided the assist on the marker which ultimately decided the tie for the second time between the two teams, and the third overall for the Tigers this year.

Scio managed to garner the advantage in the shots department after the 100 minute battle, as they won the 8-5 outscoring on offense. In between the pipes, Cory Bolzan came up with four saves for the hosts, while on the opposite side of the field, Jarrett Campbell was able to make seven stops for the visitors.

Both teams are back on the field Thursday night, with the Tigers welcoming in Genesee Valley for their final regular season matchup beginning with a 6 p.m. first kick, while the Rebels continue their road swing back north and into Belfast for a 7 p.m. meeting with the Bulldogs to close out their road slate.

Genesee Valley 2, Houghton Academy 0

BELMONT — Tuesday was a big bounce back night for the Genesee Valley Jaguars. Although they had to wait until the second half to get the goal-scoring off and running, it was worth the wait, as they posted a pair of goals to shut out Houghton Academy with a 2-0 victory at Judy Bliven Field.

“We played horrible the other night against Bolivar, and to see the boys bounce back tonight, it was great,” said Jaguars coach Ryan McKnight. “They played very good, but we are still having a little bit of trouble finding the back of the net on offense. Defensively, it was one of our better games back there. The boys communicated much better this time as opposed to the last time.”

It was a scoreless battle through the first 40 minutes of play, but Genesee Valley (3-5-1) did not hesitate to make a little bit of noise in the early stages of the second half. Just over three minutes into the new session, the Jaguars picked up a penalty kick opportunity which they capitalized on, as Will Scholes elected to take the chance and knocked it into the net to break the ice.

They would hold the one goal edge before extending it four minutes later to an insurmountable margin with Zach Bourne getting his first of the season, receiving a pass from Trent Scott to put into the Houghton Academy (3-5) net to branch their lead out for good to a 2-0 advantage.

In the end, it was a 4-to-1 outshooting on offense that the Jaguars had possession of, as they held the visiting Panthers to just two shots compared to eight shots of their own on offense. In goal, Keegan McKnight picked up the shutout with both saves, while Chris Habecker made six saves for Houghton Academy.

Both teams are back on the field over the road Thursday night, as Genesee Valley will look to keep the ball rolling in the win column with a 6 p.m. visit to Scio, while Houghton Academy heads out to visit Friendship for a 5 p.m. matchup.

Belfast 2, Andover/Whitesville 0

ANDOVER — The Belfast offense was in high octane mode, pounding the Andover/Whitesville net with 17 total shots. But the numerous chances on goal would soon pay off in the second half, as they found a way to break through with a pair of goals while holding the Panthers in check in their 2-0 victory for their sixth straight win on Tuesday.

Belfast (8-2) found their winning touch in the back half of the contest after battling with Andover/Whitesville to a scoreless tie throughout the first half of play. It remained until Matt Weaver opened the gates with his 11th goal of the season for the Bulldogs, collecting a Chris Weaver pass on his way inside to bury the ball into the Panthers cage.

With five minutes remaining in the contest, Justin Hill kept the visitors in the lead permanently, as he knocked away a solo run to the Andover/Whitesville (3-5-1) net, putting the ball away in the process to lock the win up.

Belfast outshot Andover/Whitesville by a 17-8 total count in the shots department, with Stephen Struckmann recording the seven-save shutout. Chris Walker made 15 stops on the other end for the host Panthers.

Both teams are back in action Thursday night, as Belfast will close things up back home at the Rich Sullivan Complex with Cuba-Rushford in for a 7 p.m. visit, while Andover/Whitesville will look to rebound over the road in a 5 p.m. contest at Hinsdale.

Bolivar-Richburg 4, Friendship 0

BOLIVAR — Four different scorers found the back of the net for the Wolverines of Bolivar-Richburg, while Mark Pangburn dished out three assists on the goals as they went on to deliver a 4-0 shutout of visiting Friendship, Tuesday night at Dunsmore-Latimer Field.

All four goals by Bolivar-Richburg (5-4-2) were scored right in the first 40 minutes of play, with Rudy Polk getting the honor of scoring first off of Pangburn’s first of three consecutive assists. Pangburn then delivered on a pass to Jason Greeson to give him his goal to branch out the Wolverines lead to a pair over the Golden Eagles.

Maliky Hall made it a 3-0 lead for the hosts in black off of Pangburn’s final assist before Ian Unfus finished off the scoring in the first half, as he buried a Ryder Easton pass into the net to seal the eventual 4-0 victory for good.

Only three shots were allowed by the Wolverines defense in their zone, which Wayne Karnuth made all three saves to earn the shutout. On the other side, Pehyton Moore made 11 stops for Friendship (1-8).

Bolivar-Richburg will hit the road Friday night to close out their regular season of play, as they visit Cuba-Rushford to take on the Rebels for a 6 p.m. contest, while Friendship returns home for a 5 p.m. contest to close out their home slate against Houghton Academy.

GIRLS SOCCER

Andover/Whitesville 7, Hinsdale 1

HINSDALE — The Lady Panthers rebounded for their close defeat to the hands of Canisteo-Greenwood on Saturday in a big way after the weekend, as they went over the road and hung seven goals on the host Lady Bobcats of Hinsdale, as Andover/Whitesville left town with a 7-1 victory in hand on Tuesday.

Kennedy Bledsoe had an explosive night for the Lady Panthers (7-2), as she recorded an eight-point night on the frontlines, gathering a hat trick to go with two assists to power the offense, which got the ball rolling to a 4-0 lead at the end of the first half.

Gabby Terhune was also active for Andover/Whitesville, as she gathered two goals and an assist herself to complete a five-point night on her behalf, with both goals coming in the last 10 minutes in a five-minute span off assists by Zoey Lee and Bledsoe.

Helping the cause in addition was Kelsie Niedermaier, who posted a goal and two helpers. Grace Fry scored the team’s final goal with 22:08 remaining in the second half off a Terhune assist, while Katie Calladine had the team’s first assist on Bledsoe’s first goal just past midway in the opening half.

Hinsdale (2-7-1) was led by Ava Belec, who scored the team’s lone goal just over a minute after Fry’s goal in the second half, making a solo run to the cage to put away the chance which was the Lady Bobcats lone shot of the game.

Andover/Whitesville recorded 25 total shots on goal, with Haylee Jozwiak making 18 saves for the Lady Bobcats. Livia Simon was credited with the victory for the Lady Panthers without making a save.

The Lady Panthers will have a quick turnaround tonight back home, as they close out their home slate with an Allegany County Division II Championship game with the Lady Bulldogs of Belfast at 6 p.m. tonight.

Also on the docket this evening is a quick turnaround for Hinsdale, as they host Genesee Valley for a 5:30 p.m. contest.