Thursday Roundup: Lady Sea Lions open season, Sectional title defense with 85-65 home win over Letchworth; B-R, Ark/Can to meet in Brock Young title game

WELLSVILLE — For a program that had never won a Sectional championship in history, there’s a question a team usually asks themselves ahead of next season — how do you follow it up?

For the Lady Sea Lions of Wellsville, it’s one they will have to answer for the first time come next month. But for now, their 2021 season in the water began in the Lion’s Den with Letchworth beginning the home slate on Thursday. And right from the start, it was one that they wanted.

The first half of the meet provided a tone that Wellsville was able to set right away, as the Lady Sea Lions scored four straight victories in the first five events to spring ahead, getting one last victory in the back half to grab their first win of the season in style by an 85-65 count.

“The first meet of the year, and we were able to pick right back up where we left off from last season,” Lady Sea Lions coach Steve Hand said. “The girls stepped up and they had some impressive swims. 19 Sectional cuts for the first meet out is a pretty good start to have. Ellie (LaBenne) had some solid swims, Grace (Kinnicutt) and Morgan (Mattison) both looked strong early, and the (Kaylee and Ashley) Oswalds looked great on the board. We will continue to get stronger. I know what we need to work on, and I hope to get the team where we need to be.”

The Lady Sea Lions (1-0) started off strong with four straight wins under their belts, with the first coming from the team of Tiernee Brandes, Isabelle Hart, Haydon Waldon and Grace Kinnicutt, as the four converged to score a 2:11.58 winning time in the lead-off event — the 200 medley relay. Along with Ellie LaBenne, Hart and Waldon would come away victorious individually in the next three events, all scoring first place triumphs in the 200 freestyle (2:20.34), 200 individual relay (2:44.18), and 50 freestyle (27.21) respectively.

In the back half of the meet, Brandes would follow with the team’s final overall victory that extended their lead insurmountably on Letchworth, scoring the winning time in the 500 freestyle event.

The Lady Sea Lions are right back in their home waters Saturday morning, as they look to continue the momentum swing with Salamanca in for an 11:30 a.m. visit in the Lion’s Den.

Team Score: Wellsville 85, Letchworth 65

Results:

200 Medley – 1. Wellsville (Brandes, Hart, Waldon, Kinnicutt) 2:11.58, 2. Wellsville, 3. Letchworth.

200 Free – 1. Ellie LaBenne (WLSV) 2:20.34, 2. Kennedy Ewing (WLSV), 3. Emily Greene (LET).

200 IMR – 1. Isabelle Hart (WLSV) 2:44.18, 2. Morgan Mattison (WLSV), 3. Kaelyn Crawford (WLSV).

50 Free – 1. Hayden Waldon (WLSV) 27.21, 2. Tiernee Brandes (WLSV), 3. Lindsey Slocum (WLSV).

Diving – 1. Sidney Simmons (LET) 234.97, 2. Kaylee Oswald (WLSV), 3. Ashley Oswald (WLSV).

100 Fly – 1. Emily Greene (LET) 1:03.40, 2. Emily Budinger (WLSV), 3. Lindsey Slocum (WLSV).

500 Free – 1. Tiernee Brandes (WLSV) 6:14.65, 2. Ellie LaBenne (WLSV), 3. Reegan Perkins (WLSV).

200 Relay – 1. Letchworth (Schroeder, Flint, Hastreiter, McMurty).

100 Back – 1. Isabelle Talley (LET) 1:43.00, 2. Kyra Flint (LET), 3. Hunter Schroeder (LET).

100 Breaststroke – 1. Lila Bailey (LET) 1:37.44, 2. Sidney Simmons (LET).

400 Free – 1. Letchworth (Talley, Bailey, Simmons, Greene) 5:23.60.

BOYS SOCCER

Brock Young Tourney: B-R, Ark/Can to meet in Saturday’s Title game

SCIO — The Brock Young Invitational Tournament made its return to Scio for the first time in two seasons, when Bolivar-Richburg, Cuba-Rushford, first time participant Arkport/Canaseraga and host Scio all came together to begin the two-day competition.

Up first, a longtime Division I rivalry across all sports renewed for the first time this season on the field, as the Wolverines and Rebels did battle. In the end, it was one that was controlled by the Wolverines and Reiss Gaines, who scored both of the team’s goals, one in each half to earn a lead they never lost — a 2-1 decision over Cuba-Rushford to claim their place in the Championship game.

Gaines opened the scoring for the Wolverines down the home stretch in the first half, picking up a feed provided to him by Wyatt Karnuth with 1:29 left to give the team a 1-0 lead heading into the break. In the first 10 minutes of the new session, the lead was extended by Gaines once more and for good, dribbling the ball into the Rebels zone to go up by a pair.

The shutout for Bolivar-Richburg (3-1) was lost however near the six minute mark of the contest, as Logan Lewis cut down the deficit to one with his first goal of the season. But it proved to be too much in the end, as the Wolverines managed to hang on by securing the win.

The Wolverines outshot the Rebels (0-2) by a 10-7 count, with David Abdo recording the win with six saves. On the other end, Jarrett Campbell made seven stops for Cuba-Rushford.

In the nightcap, Arkport/Canaseraga went on to continue their hot start to their season with a 3-0 lead at the break, building on it in the second half to roll away from the grasp of the host Tigers to fill in the final vacancy in Saturday’s Title game with a 5-1 win.

“We played a much better game, and Arkport/Canaseraga is a great team. You look at the score, 5-1, it obviously isn’t what we wanted,” said Tigers coach Dillon McFall. “But we made some big time improvements from game one against Fillmore to now. I think if we can keep making more of those, we’re going to get the results we want, and come out on the good sides of these games. We just played Fillmore and Arkport/Canaseraga, and those two teams are going to be the best teams we’re going to see all season.”

Out of the six goals scored in the entirety of the contest, the Wolves connected with a lead as large as four, all being scored consecutively before Scio (0-2) found a way to erase the shutout in the late stages of the second half, as Jordan White recorded the team’s first goal of the season with 15:50 left to play to cut the deficit down to 4-1.

The game would close out with the Wolves finding the back of the Scio net one last time to wrap up what was a 13-6 outshooting of the Tigers on offense. On defense, Landon Arnold was busy in goal for the hosts, making eight saves.

On Saturday, the Brock Young Invitational will conclude with Cuba-Rushford and Scio battling it out in the Consolation round beginning in a 5 p.m. first kick, while Bolivar-Richburg and Arkport/Canaseraga will duel for the right to be called champions later on in the 7 p.m. nightcap.

GIRLS SOCCER

Cuba-Rushford 3, Canisteo-Greenwood 1

CUBA — Garnering a two-goal advantage to carry into the halftime break, the Lady Rebels of Cuba-Rushford were looking to turn up the heat when they came back out for second half action Thursday night. But visiting Canisteo-Greenwood found a way to cut the deficit in half early on, and with plenty of time to work with.

If the Lady Rebels were going to keep their lead in tact, they would need a response. And fast. Fortunately for the hosts, Taylor Searle rose to the occasion one last time.

After the Lady Redskins cut the deficit in half, the Lady Rebels junior had that response to give in the form of a hat-trick clinching goal, scoring her last just minutes after Canisteo-Greenwood had cut their lead down, branching it back out once again to come away with a massive 3-1 home win.

“Taylor provided a really tough game for us tonight. All three of her goals had some great finishes,” Lady Rebels coach Aaron Wight said. “I was happy with how we responded after giving up the early goal in the second half. Hopefully this is something we can build off of, and move forward with. These last two games we’ve had have been solid.”

In the first 10 minutes of play, Searle began the goal-scoring for the Lady Rebels (2-2) with her first of two unassisted tallies. It was a lead the team was able to hold until it was built upon just before the half’s conclusion, as she added her second of the game off a feed provided by Brynn Lavery with just under four minutes remaining.

It provided some momentum for Cuba-Rushford to work with in the second half, but it was quickly extinguished within the first 10 minutes of the second half by Canisteo-Greenwood, as Kylie Williamson got on the board with the team’s lone goal to cut the deficit in half. But it wasn’t long after until Searle gave the Lady Rebels the two-goal edge right back to secure the win until the end.

The Lady Rebels narrowly outshot the Lady Redskins by a 9-5 count, with Tara Duvall recording the win in goal behind four stops.

Up next, the Lady Rebels are off to Scio to partake in a 5 p.m. contest against Friendship/Scio.

Keshequa Tourney Consolation: GV/Belfast 1, Alfred-Almond 0

NUNDA — Genesee Valley/Belfast and Alfred-Almond locked horns across nearly all of the 80 minutes on the board. Something had to give to determine the Consolation round winner at Kiwanis Park on Thursday when it came down to crunch time.

For Alicia Borden, she was the x-factor.

The Genesee Valley/Belfast senior broke the ice immensely, as Hannah Southwick-Powers dished along the game-winning assist to her teammate to pull them ahead, while in return, the defense remained vigilant in keeping Alfred-Almond at bay, as they returned home victorious in a 1-0 shutout of the Lady Eagles.

“I thought we rebounded very well today,” said GV/Belfast co-coach Duane Powers. “We came out early with good energy and moved the ball around with confidence at times. We controlled the possession against a strong Alfred-Almond team, and defensively, we were very strong once again. We still have a long way to go, but offensively, Alicia stepped up in a big way to finally get us the lead late in the game.”

Borden’s goal from Southwick-Powers came at the 12:24 mark in the late stages of the second half to propel Genesee Valley/Belfast (3-1) ahead of Alfred-Almond for good. The goal was one of nine total shots the team applied on goal, outshooting the Lady Eagles by a 9-2 total count to fuel the victory. With her goal, Borden was nominated for the All-Tournament squad.

In goal, Ashley Burrows picked up the shutout by making both stops she saw.

Up next, Genesee Valley/Belfast returns home and then heads to Whitesville after the weekend, as they take on host Andover/Whitesville in a 5 p.m. first kick.

Fillmore 6, Andover/Whitesville 1

FILLMORE — An explosion was set off in the second half of play in Fillmore, Thursday evening. After both Andover/Whitesville and the host Lady Eagles came together in a 1-1 tie heading into the break, a fire was ignited.

That was sparked by the hosts in black and green right in the first 10 minutes of play by Hope Russell, who scored a pair of goals in a minute’s span to start up a string of goals, five of them consecutively to be exact, as the Lady Eagles soared past Andover/Whitesville in a 6-1 triumph.

“We looked a lot like our game against Cuba-Rushford in the first half tonight. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t who we are,” said Lady Eagles coach Jon Beardsley. “The second half, we really came alive. Our energy, along with our execution was next level. In a short span early in the second half, we scored five goals. We have to find a way to play the way we did in the second half, even when the ball doesn’t find the net. Our confidence, movement, touches, possession and mindset was just better. Andover/Whitesville is a good team that knows how to play soccer. They have some athletic and technically sound players that can cause problems. Kudos to them.”

In a span of 10 minutes, both teams would collectively come together to tie the game, with Sophia Templeton starting the goal scoring just over 10 minutes in with the icebreaker off a Hope Russell assist. Later on, Zoey Lee continued her hot streak of goal-scoring with one coming off a Kennedy Bledsoe feed 10 minutes later to provide the deadlock.

But a running of the table occurred in the second half for Fillmore (4-0), as they went on to score five straight goals beginning with Russell’s back-to-back rapid succession at the 48th and 49th minute marks off assists from Grace Russel to push the team’s lead to a pair. Four minutes later, the Lady Eagles continued to hit all grooves with Zoe Beardsley finding the netting off a corner kick.

With a 4-1 lead, the advantage was pushed out one more time by Grace Russell, who had two goals of her own also in a minute’s span, as Templeton and Mallory DeRock provided the assists along the way to finish the scoring for the Lady Eagles. The hosts outshot Andover/Whitesville (2-2) by a 16-6 total count.

In goal, Preslee Miller earned the win behind five saves, while Brynn Scholl made 10 stops on the other end for Andover/Whitesville.

Both teams will have Genesee Valley/Belfast up next on their schedules, with Andover/Whitesville getting first crack after the weekend on Monday back in Whitesville, in a 5 p.m. contest. Fillmore will have their chance later on by hosting a 7 p.m. contest of their own on Wednesday.

Friendship/Scio 2, Franklinville 1

FRANKLINVILLE — After a scoreless battle ensued in the first half of play, host Franklinville got off and running with the game’s first goal right away to open the final 40 minute session.

It was a lead they had held for the majority of the period. That was until Friendship/Scio turned up the heat late.

That came to a head in the last 10 minutes of regulation, as the visitors in white ignited the spark with the assistance of Logan Roberts and Lexi Crossley, both scoring in a four-minute span with Crossley netted the go-ahead game-winner for the team with four minutes left to play to earn the eventual 2-1 win over the road on Thursday in Franklinville.

After the first six minutes of the second half saw the Lady Panthers jump out on top, Friendship/Scio (1-3) used the remaining time to tighten the defense, allowing the offense to open up along the way with Logan Roberts providing the team’s first strike at the 71st minute mark to tie the game at one.

Friendship/Scio built off their newly garnered momentum and provided another deadly strike five minutes later, as Crossley put away the game for good with the game-winner to secure the victory away from home. The visitors would go on to outshoot the Lady Panthers by an 11-10 narrow count, with Nevaeh Ross picking up the triumph in goal with nine stops.

Friendship/Scio will now return home to open up their home slate on Monday, as they welcome the Cuba-Rushford Lady Rebels into Scio in a 5 p.m. contest.

GIRLS VOLLEYBALL

Bolivar-Richburg 3, Genesee Valley/Belfast 0

BOLIVAR — One week removed after falling to Allegany-Limestone in straight-set fashion, the Lady Wolverines of Bolivar-Richburg returned to their home floor and provided a sweep of their own, taking down visiting Genesee Valley/Belfast with by a 25-19, 25-6, 25-11 count on Thursday.

The Lady Wolverines (1-1) were fronted by Jianna Nix, who led the way with a game-high 11 kills, combining them with seven aces from the service line and three blocks up front. Carmen Crowley was solid from the service line, providing five aces to go with one block of her own, while Haley Mascho came up big on defense with nine digs and three more aces to add in.

On the other side of the net, Kaitlin Sadler led the Genesee Valley/Belfast (0-1) offense with three kills and one block. Addy Herring dished out three assist to pair with her one ace from the service line.

Both teams are back on the floor Saturday, as Bolivar-Richburg now heads to Falconer to take part in tournament action beginning with an 8:30 a.m. first serve, while Genesee Valley/Belfast heads home to host Archbishop Walsh in a 12 p.m. first serve.

Fillmore 3, Archbishop Walsh 0

OLEAN — The Lady Eagles of Fillmore started their season on the court on the right foot, going over the road Thursday night and returning home to The Rock with a straight-set sweep of host Archbishop Walsh, taking the decisive 25-13, 25-9, 25-15 victory.

Leading the charge for the Fillmore (1-0) was Emma Cole, who provided eight service points to go with her four aces, and three kills. Up front, setter Zoe Hubbard dished out 16 assists to pair with three aces of her own.

The Lady Eagles are right back on the road tonight, as they visit Arkport/Canaseraga for a 7 p.m. first serve.