Thursday Roundup: Lady Eagles pound Holland with eight 1st half goals, roll to 10-0 victory to open season; Lady Lions use 1st half spark plug to down Addison with 2-1 win

FILLMORE — There was simply no denying the Lady Eagles of Fillmore their first win of the season on Thursday.

With their home tournament helping open up their 2023-24 slate, the Lady Eagles went on to find the back of the Holland net in any way, shape or form they could, posting a monstrous first half of play to set the tone immediately, never looking back on what was a 10-0 shutout over the Lady Dutchmen.

“We have to feel pretty pleased with our first outing,” said Lady Eagles coach Jon Beardsley. “Holland is a competitive team out of Class C in Section VI and they’re a frequent visitor to our tournament since we started this a couple of years ago. We had a lot of contribution all over the field with nine players figuring in the scoring and many others doing some outstanding things. We will have a tough one on Saturday against Portville. It will be a great game.”

Out of the 10 goals that the Lady Eagles (1-0) caught the Holland net on fire with, eight of them came in the first 40 minutes of play. At an even more rapid pace, three scores in the first five minutes of play, with Delaney Hillman scoring her first of the season sandwiched in between a pair of Hope Russell tallies. Russell would wind up scoring four goals to pair with her one assist to finish a nine-point contest on the attack.

The quick barrage of offense within the game’s initial minutes provided a big tone-setter for Fillmore to control much of the battle with from start to finish, as they kept Holland off the board and on their feet with magnificent ball movement, patience, as well as their defense in front of Preslee Miller, who recorded the shutout making three saves.

Fillmore recorded 22 total shots against the Lady Dutchmen, with Grace Russell scoring two goals to follow behind her sister Hope on the statsheet, while Hillman, Amelia Rose, Rachel Hatch (two assists), Allie Mills, and the Miller sisters — Tenlee and Mylee, both recorded their first career Varsity goals to finish off the scoring. Oakley Frazier furthered the team’s cause with three helpers, all in the first half.

Prior to the tournament’s nightcap, Portville defeated Arkport/Canaseraga, 3-0 after a strong start on both ends of the field allowed the Lady Panthers to set the tone against the Lady Wolves.

The Lady Panthers carried a 2-0 lead into halftime, where they evaded the Lady Wolves and their most prime opportunity to cut the deficit right down the middle near midway in the second half in the midst of back-to-back corner kicks. But the Portville defense was able to shut down the chance quickly and clear the zone, allowing their third piece of insurance to formulate off the momentum shift with 14 minutes remaining to seal the game for good.

All four teams will return to action to close out the tournament Saturday night, with Arkport/Canaseraga taking the stage first against Holland in a 5 p.m. first kick, while Fillmore closes out at 7 p.m. with Portville.

Addison Tournament: Lady Lions hold steady behind big 1st half goals to capture title game spot

ADDISON — The first 40 minutes of play was the sufficient time frame where all the scoring took place to help open up tournament action in Addison between the Lady Lions of Wellsville and the host Lady Knights, Thursday night.

Falling into an early hole out of the gate, the Lady Lions were tasked with providing a big response in return.

They would go on and double their answer.

In a span of six minutes, Wellsville made sure they went into the break with the lead in hand, as they weaved their way through the Addison defense twice to tie and ultimately take the lead away from the Lady Knights, using the final 40 minute portion of time to solidify their defense led by an exceptional showing between the pipes from Lauren Viglietta to help the Lady Lions lock up their first win of the season by a 2-1 count and a spot in Saturday afternoon’s Championship game.

“What a way to start the season. This team has the drive and intensity to win games,” said Lady Lions coach Erica Aftuck. “Lauren Viglietta stepped up and played goal for us tonight. She played great, and she was aggressive and fearless. We worked as a team and never gave up. I am looking forward to this season with this group of athletes.”

After an early goal from Payton Smith nearly 10 minutes removed from the opening kick at center for Addison, the Lady Lions (1-0) were put on their feet for the remainder of the opening half. Despite the pressure, they would deliver a game-tying goal courtesy of a header from Talia O’Connor at the 25 minute mark to create even playing ground.

Not long after the deadlocking tally, Wellsville would snip it in favor of a go-ahead goal by Ayla Faulkner just six minutes later to give them the lead going into the break. The Lady Lions would remain in the driver’s seat all the way until the end, as the defense, led by stellar goaltending by Lauren Viglietta, fended off the Lady Knights once and for all to claim their first win of the season.

Both Wellsville goals came on 11 shots, as they were narrowly outshot by Addison, 15-11. In goal, Viglietta put a stop to 14 total shots to record the victory.

Up next, the Lady Lions will battle for the tournament’s championship title against the Alfred-Almond Lady Eagles on Saturday in a 3 p.m. first kick.

Bolivar-Richburg 2, Andover/Whitesville 1 (F-2OT)

ANDOVER — In the very first game of the season between Bolivar-Richburg and Andover/Whitesville, overtime was in the cards. After a scoreless first half went and gone, the heat was turned up in the last 40 minutes of play where both teams found the back of the net once to force not one, but two extra sessions.

With nearly five minutes left in double overtime and a potential tie waiting in the wings, the same scorer who helped ensure overtime late in the second half was the very same person who became the first game’s hero.

That being Cassidy Stives.

The Bolivar-Richburg junior called game deep in the Andover/Whitesville zone on a massive special teams opportunity, finding the loose ball right out in front of the cage and burying it home to put the Lady Wolverines into the win column in style to open up the new campaign on Thursday in Andover, as they edged their way towards a 2-1 double overtime victory under the lights.

After a fierce first half battle emanated all through the first half of play, the action began to ramp up when the final set of 40 minutes kicked into gear almost immediately. That was the case for Andover/Whitesville (0-1), as they struck gold first just 100 seconds removed from the kick at center, as Leigha Phelps sent along a picture-perfect cross across the front of the Bolivar-Richburg box to the foot of Brynna Gaylord for the score.

The lead for the hosts would hold steady all the way down to the wire, when the Lady Wolverines (1-0) were able to navigate their way onto the board with the first of two Cassidy Stives strikes, capitalizing on the first at the top of the Andover/Whitesville box after a pass from Emma Sisson was shifted along to assist in setting up the game-tying play with nearly 10 minutes remaining in regulation.

Upon entering the pair of overtime periods, the tie would hold as the midfield battle between both teams raged on.

But with 5:12 left on the clock and a potential season-opening tie remaining a possibility, Stives erased that chance with her final tally with a stellar position parked out front of the Andover/Whitesville cage, scoring the golden goal off a corner kick to give the Lady Wolverines the winning edge.

Despite the defeat, the Andover/Whitesville offense outshot Bolivar-Richburg by a 15-7 count, with Olivia Waters recording five saves to pick up the win. In turn, Rylee Whiting made 14 stops for the visiting team in white and red.

Both teams are now off until after the Labor Day weekend, when they take the field on Tuesday, as Bolivar-Richburg continues their road swing with a 7 p.m. battle against Genesee Valley/Belfast at Judy Bliven Field in Belmont, while Andover/Whitesville heads over the hill to Whitesville for a 5 p.m. meeting from Fillmore.

Genesee Valley/Belfast 4, C.G. Finney 2

BELFAST — C.G. Finney supplied a big direct kick score against Genesee Valley/Belfast to start the night at the Rich Sullivan Athletics Complex on Thursday in Belfast. But the response that the hosts in black and gray were able to provide was just as greater.

Down by one near the midway mark, Genesee Valley/Belfast, led by the electrifying Hannah Southwick-Powers, came right back and delivered three straight jabs to the Lady Falcons, two of them coming minutes apart to help close out a strong finish to a first half they ultimately never looked back on, as they evaded some late Lady Falcons pressure to secure a big 4-2 home victory to garner their first win.

“This was a good one to open up with. It was even better to notch four goals,” said GV/Belfast co-coach Lisa Scott-Schneider. “Hannah and Whitney (Young) had some good connections up top to even up the score and go ahead. Abby (Sullivan) delivered some nicely placed corner kicks and Kayla (Wedge) and Jenna (Hill) both got their first career goals. We certainly aren’t where we left off and with people learning new positions, there’s definitely more room to grow. We just have to keep working more on the little things to make the big picture prettier.”

There were plenty of Varsity career firsts to go around for Genesee Valley/Belfast (1-0) to open their new campaign. It would come in the midst of a two-goal night from Southwick-Powers, who opened up the scoring for the hosts with the game-tying goal nearly two minutes after C.G. Finney broke the ice themselves in the opening half, stemming off the first of two Whitney Young passes.

With time beginning to wind down in the opening half, the Genesee Valley/Belfast offense retooled and rebooted their scoring ways with Southwick-Powers’ second marker at the 14:11 mark to take their first lead of the game. It was eventually held for the remainder of the game, with big pieces of insurance coming in the shape of first career Varsity milestones for both Kayla Wedge and Jenna Hill, with Wedge closing out the first half with her marker three minutes after Southwick-Powers gave them the push ahead, scoring on a header dished along by Abby Sullivan.

The Lady Falcons would trim the deficit down to a single goal after Allie Frederickson finished off her two-goal evening, but it would not be enough to tilt the balance of power fully, as Jenna Hill finished off the night’s scoring with four minutes left to play on her first career marker on a boot from 35 yards out to make it a 4-2 game until the end.

All four goals were tallied off 13 total shots by Genesee Valley/Belfast, as they outshot C.G. Finney by a 13-5 count. In goal, Kimme Ball made her first Varsity start in between the pipes and made three saves to book her first career Varsity victory.

Genesee Valley/Belfast is back on the field Saturday night with a return to the Rich Sullivan Complex in Belfast for a 5 p.m. visit from the Lady Titans of Avoca/Prattsburgh.

GIRLS VOLLEYBALL

Warsaw 3, Fillmore 0

FILLMORE — The Lady Eagles of Fillmore gave powerhouse Warsaw a battle all throughout Thursday’s massive clash inside The Rock, but the visiting Lady Tigers would manage to keep one step ahead of the hosts in green each time, as they came together to ward off a great effort by their opposition to record the straight-set, 25-18, 25-19, 25-16 victory.

Stats for the Lady Eagles (0-1) were not made available to report upon publication.

Fillmore is back on their home court next Friday night, as they begin preparations for a 7:30 p.m. from Wellsville.