Saturday Sectionals: No. 1 Lady Eagles storm back and wreak havoc in 2nd half to shutout No. 9 A-P; Haggerty records performance of ages in net to power No. 6 Wellsville’s upset of No. 3 LeRoy/C-M
FILLMORE — Game after game, the biggest piece of advice that head coach Jon Beardsley has offered to his Lady Eagles of Fillmore team has been to savor every moment on the field. No matter what the end result the season was going to bring, the longtime Fillmore coach knows that his girls have exceeded every single expectation he has set forth for the campaign.
The year after they go all the way to the final day of the soccer season, to the Class D State Championship game, what do they do? They piece together yet another extravagant regular season that witnessed them record their 10th straight Allegany County League title, as well as another No. 1 seed for the Sectional playoffs.
Talk about picking up where you left off. Beardsley credits their determination for making all of it happen.
“Nothing has really been easy for this group all year. We have had the better of the play in most games, but often haven’t made life easy for us by scoring the easier chances,” he said. “But the girls and their effort, and their heart has pushed them through. To be back in a spot where we can go back to the Semifinals at 17-1 from where we started the season and what we were quietly thinking about ourselves, they have exceeded expectations. It is their heart that has gotten them where they are today.”
The Lady Eagles, after a strong Sectional debut against Marion back on Wednesday, were now within a stone’s throw of clinching another trip to the Semifinal round for what could potentially be a ninth consecutive season at the end of Saturday night. As they stepped onto their home field for the very last time this Fall, No. 9 Avoca-Prattsburgh served as the temporary barrier in front of Fillmore from continuing their incredible postseason streak.
But like most of their battles in 2024, the Lady Eagles had to fight. And fight, they did.
Right out of the gates, they put the Lady Titans on their feet right from the go with many opportunities at the cage. Despite all the pressure pinned up against the No. 9 seeds, the top seeds could not find the right touch to break the ice. But all of that early offensive combustion would soon reach a boiling point.
Better late than never.
After tussling with Avoca-Prattsburgh across nearly 60 scoreless minutes on the field, the Lady Eagles found a way to display their magic touch, as they scored a big ice-breaking goal off a corner kick — one of 17 total they would have in the game against the Lady Titans, before scoring a massive piece of insurance with close to 10 minutes remaining in the game to promptly solidify their advantage and their eventual trip back to the Class D Semifinal round with a 2-0 shutout.
“We came out of the gate firing on all cylinders and in the first five minutes, we had some great opportunities and just couldn’t put one home,” Beardsley said. “Then it went back and forth for a lot of the first half. We got on our heels a few too many times in the first half and gave them a few too many looks. The second half, we tightened things up defensively and then our effort and grit kept the pressure on. Tonight was about the effort and sticking with the plan. The crowd turned out and it was nice to finish off our last home game on the turf with a win in front of them.”
The Lady Eagles (17-1) displayed a relentless attack from the start, garnering multiple chances to break through the Avoca-Prattsburgh defense, with perhaps their best opportunity coming from Grace Walton early into the second half, as she beat out Lady Titans keeper Ellie Harrell for the loose ball in front of the cage, poking it past her to continue her momentum towards the vacated goal. But at an instant, the defense behind her swarmed the ball and forced a clear outside the zone.
With 22:25 left to play, all of their cracking finally paid off with their first marker of the game, as Emalyn Mucher delivered the ice-breaking connection for the Lady Eagles in the midst of a scrum in front of the Avoca-Prattsburgh net, knocking home a corner that was delivered perfectly from Payton Duvall on the near side, taking one bounce towards the far post before Mucher put the right touch on the ball to knock home.
The Lady Eagles maintained their momentum following the goal, adding a massive piece of insurance down the stretch from Tenlee Miller, who did not hesitate knocking home the team’s second goal, displaying a stellar amount of patience while under pressure with possession to reveal a lane straight to the Lady Titans goal, as she fired a shot right to the far post and into the cage for a commanding 2-0 lead with 11:24 left in regulation time.
That would be all the scoring that the Lady Eagles needed, as they finished off a 22-shot display against Avoca-Prattsburgh to take care of business. In total, the Lady Eagles went on to claim a 22-6 advantage in the shots department.
Between the posts, the shutout win was credited to Grace Clark, who made all six saves for Fillmore. As for the Lady Titans, Harrell made 20 saves.
The story continues for the Lady Eagles on Wednesday when they take the field for the Class D Semifinal round, as they prepare to take on the No. 5 Keshequa Lady Wildcats at a site and time to be determined.
BOYS SOCCER
Class B Quarterfinals
No. 6 Wellsville 2, No. 3 LeRoy/Cal-Mum 1
CALEDONIA — Saturday night’s performance for the Lions of Wellsville will go down in history. They caught fire entering the tournament, and with a trip to the Semifinals now on the line, they looked to keep that blaze aflame over the road for the rest of their campaign, beginning with a visit to the No. 3 LeRoy/Cal-Mum Rivals.
The Lions have had the best of both worlds work in their favor down the stretch and into the playoffs, with the offense clicking and the defense stepping up to make massive plays to keep their opposition idle. One of those key pieces to the puzzle has been their goalkeeper, Gavin Haggerty, who has done everything imaginable to keep the ball out of harm’s way for Wellsville.
The Lions boys soccer program has seen plenty of incredible goalkeepers come and go over the course of time, with names like Tim Hardy and Hunter Kane amongst the few.
But for Haggerty, his latest performance might be the best one ever.
Aside from an early first half marker given up to LeRoy/Cal-Mum, the Wellsville senior keeper buckled down and delivered a masterful display of defense like no other. While the offense reignited to deliver a comeback, Haggerty was sprawling left and right between the posts across all 40 minutes of remaining time in the second half, keeping the ball out of the net with nine monstrous saves out of 10 big shots applied by the host Rivals to ensure their ticket was punched to the Class B Semifinal round, as they upset the No. 3 seeds with a 2-1 victory in Caledonia.
“We talked at halftime about the choices we had to make about our level of effort,” said Lions coach Bethany Faulkner. “We didn’t look like ourselves, which meant we were capable of beating them. And for the full 40 minutes of the second half, they gave everything they had. We shifted Ty (Vogel) back to a midfielder and he helped immensely slowing the ball down through the middle and transitioning it back to offense. Aiden (Cowburn) was looking for endless opportunities, and Gavin stopped the show tonight. He had the game of his career.”
After some time battling for possession early, LeRoy/Cal-Mum dug down deep early and delivered a big strike to put the Lions (10-4-4) on their feet, with Jacob Wiley putting the first goal of the game away off a pass sent by Noah Kaczanowski close to midway in the frame. From that point on, for the remainder of the game, the rest would lay on the shoulders of Haggerty in net while the offense formulated their response and then some, to counter the No. 3 seeds.
Just past 10 minutes off the clock, Wellsville dished out a game-tying answer with the first of two markers by Aiden Cowburn, with his first coming on a loose ball in front of the LeRoy/Cal-Mum cage that the goalkeeper could not fully secure, as Cowburn raced in to finish off the shot with 13:22 remaining the half to tie the game.
From the second half on, the Wellsville defense would have to stand its ground against the test of time. Led by a multitude of plays by the Rivals and saves from Haggerty behind them in between the posts, the Lions established a hefty amount of momentum off of it to utilize for the final stretch of the game, trying to break their first half deadlock with the Rivals.
Closing in on 10 minutes remaining, the Lions sought relief from Cowburn once again, as he took a throw-in from Cam Lyons and sprinted off to the races with it, taking one turn inside towards the LeRoy/Cal-Mum net and blasting home a gigantic go-ahead goal. All the way down to the end of the game, there was no quit from the Lions, as they managed to seal the deal on defense one last time to keep LeRoy/Cal-Mum at bay, recording the biggest of upset victories to move on to Wednesday night’s Semifinal round.
In that Semifinal round, the Lions will now get set to square off with their longtime rival, the Hornell Red Raiders, for an opportunity at next weekend’s Class B Finals at Honeoye Falls-Lima. Time and site for their Semifinal contest has yet to be determined, with the winner going on to face either No. 4 Avon or No. 1 Livonia for the Championship.
Class C1 Quarterfinals
No. 2 Geneseo 2, No. 11 Cuba-Rushford 0
GENESEO — After an incredible performance filled with redemption against Canisteo-Greenwood to open their Sectional trek, the No. 11 Rebels of Cuba-Rushford were now pitted against a familiar face to continue their title defense — No. 2 Geneseo, the very team they edged out to win the Class C2 Championship last Fall.
To say that redemption of their own was on the minds of the Blue Devils entering Saturday night, would be an understatement. But it was something that Geneseo most certainly wasn’t going to pass up, as they acted quickly right before the end of the first half to set the bar going forward for the Rebels, as they held a two-goal advantage from that point forward to close out Cuba-Rushford’s campaign on the pitch with a 2-0 home win in Class C2 Quarterfinal action.
“Geneseo is a very talented squad and we hung tight with them,” Rebels coach Rob Wight said. “We had our chances but unfortunately, that ball just cannot find its way to bounce your way sometimes. It’s a tough way to go out, but I’m really proud of the way my guys fought tonight. I’d really like to thank my Seniors for everything they have given to our program over the years, not only for myself but for coach (Devin) Kinney and coach (Nick) Perillo as well.”
The goal-scoring would proceed to occur right in the first half of play, as Geneseo survived a tough challenge from Cuba-Rushford early on to get their offense running on the right foot. In a span of 1:47, the Blue Devils changed to complexion of the gate at the drop of a hat, as Jack DiLaura and Leo Bailey went back-to-back to score a 2-0 lead they went on to never lose.
The two goals for the Blue Devils stemmed off a 23-shot volley against the Rebels, as the hosts proceeded to claim the 23-10 advantage in that respective department. In goal, Finn Ricketts put a stop to 21 shots he faced.
Another fine season of soccer for Cuba-Rushford has now reached its conclusion, as the team wraps up with a record of 8-9-1 overall. The Rebels will graduate six seniors when Graduation arrives in June, in Ricketts, Caleb Elliott, Anderson Seigel, Ethan Chapman, Tyler Richards and Braedyn Kenjockety.
Class C2 Quarterfinals
No. 3 Genesee Valley/Belfast 4, No. 6 Harley Allendale-Columbia 0
BELFAST — After being awarded the No. 3 seed for their first trip through the Class C2 Playoffs, Genesee Valley/Belfast took some extra time to prepare for the long run before Sectional fever officially settled in at the Rich Sullivan Complex in Belfast, Saturday night.
WIth the ladies team already having successfully assembled a game-winning formula to knock off the Harley Allendale-Columbia Lady Wolves the previous night down the road in Belmont, it was now on the boys team to take care of business themselves against the Wolves with a potential weekend-closing Quarterfinal sweep now in the cards.
It was a close quarters fight to begin, with the No. 3 seeds garnering the upper-hand early on to claim a one-goal advantage going into the break. But when the team returned to the field for the second half, Genesee Valley/Belfast went on to set the tone in resounding fashion, scoring eight seconds after the kickoff at midfield to double their lead, extending it with two more goals later on to firmly secure what was a 4-0 shutout over the Wolves.
“This was a great confidence builder to help us get going for Sectionals. They finished their opportunities really well in the second half, after we came up empty with a bunch of them in the first. We passed the ball well, we won the ball across midfield really well. It all just happened to work in our favor tonight.” said GV/Belfast coach Mark Sullivan.
The four goals for Genesee Valley/Belfast (14-2-1) came off a 14-shot outburst against Harley Allendale-Columbia, with Callahan Tallman getting the scoring started in the first half with a 1-0 lead going into the halftime recess. Then the jets were at full blast for the hosts in black, as Evan Turybury connected on a score just eight seconds after the opening kick at midfield to instantly double their lead over the Wolves.
Genesee Valley/Belfast would go on to add two more goals across their three-goal second half from both Turybury again and Will Guilford to complete a strong night of offense. Ryan Snyder and Jordan White-Phipps each chipped in with an assist to help the offense further their cause against the Wolves.
As for the defense, Zach Thomas assembled a shutout in goal, making one stop for the hosts.
Coming up Wednesday night, Genesee Valley/Belfast now enters the Class C2 Semifinal round where they now prepare to take on No. 2 Dundee/Bradford for an opportunity to battle for all of Section V’s glory next weekend. The site and time of their Semifinal contest has yet to be determined.
