Saturday Roundup: Jetta scores 19 seconds in to set pace for Panthers, avoid late 1st half push from And/Whi to claim 2-1 home edge; Kalkhof, Vogel score in 2-0 Lions win at A-A

HOUGHTON — Some intense and severe weather began to surround Allegany County on Saturday, with the thunder and lightning causing a delay between Andover/Whitesville and Houghton Academy. The two teams were able to finish the first half following the 30-minute recess, but they would not go further from that point on, as the weather began to intensify.

Fortunately in the case of the Panthers, the first 40 minutes would be all they needed, as they came out swinging for the fences in the opening seconds of battle to set the tone with an early lead of Andover/Whitesville. Although the visitors trimmed the deficit down the middle before halftime settled in, that would be all the goalscoring that the contest would offer, as the Panthers scored a 2-1 home win in game-shortened action.

Just 19 seconds into the game, the Panthers (4-2) set off some early fireworks right from the opening kick at midfield, as they immediately pushed into the Andover/Whitesville zone and capitalized on their first shot on goal from David Jetta, who went on to post his first of two goals on a run up the far sideline, streaking in fast and furiously to bury his shot home.

Andover/Whitesville (3-3-1) nearly had their equalizer to deliver in return, with a long ball from past midfield going in on the Houghton Academy goal for a speedy Brody Vance, who broke away from the Panthers for a breakaway rush to the cage. He evaded the defense at first, but a quick recovery by the Panthers allowed them to swarm Vance and clear the potential game-tying sequence from further danger.

The momentum tilted back in Houghton Academy’s favor with a corner kick working its way out to the front of the net. It remained deep in the Andover/Whitesville zone, allowing Jetta to jar the ball loose. From about 20 yards out, Jetta was able to let a curling missile sail straight towards the far post of the cage and in for a 2-0 lead with 24 minutes remaining.

With Andover/Whitesville attempting to shift the momentum back in their favor one more time, the Panthers defense countered by keeping any more chances away from further development, with thunder sounding off around the area to force a 30-minute halt on the action. When the two teams returned to the field to close out the first half, Andover/Whitesville managed to cut the deficit in half with the aid of Oliver Smith’s tally with 1:40 left to go.

But with a 2-1 lead at halftime, and the severe weather beginning to intensify, the contest was officially called due to the weather, cementing Houghton Academy’s victory — their fourth in a row, after 40 complete minutes.

Despite the defeat, Andover/Whitesville went on to hold an 8-5 advantage in shots. As for the Panthers, Jerry Pham recorded seven saves to earn the win, while Skylar Orpet made three saves for the visitors in between the posts.

Both teams will return to the field on Tuesday in a pair of 5 p.m. contests, as Houghton Academy hits the road to visit Cuba-Rushford, while Andover/Whitesville heads back home to welcome in Friendship/Scio to Whitesville.

Wellsville 2, Alfred-Almond 0

ALMOND — In their first five games of the season, the Lions of Wellsville reached a game-tying impasse with their opponent in four of them. Among those opponents, was their very first foe of the season — the Alfred-Almond Eagles, at the Craig Lawrence Memorial Tournament at Wayland-Cohocton at the beginning of the month.

With a long week after the weekend consisting of three games across a four-day span, the Lions were searching for every bit of momentum they could put to good use. Their opportunity to do that came early Saturday morning with their visit to the Eagles before the severe weather made its impending arrival across the area later in the day.

It was time well spent for Wellsville, as they grabbed a goal in the first 10 minutes of both halves to get the start they wanted to have, holding it down permanently behind Blake Kalkhof and Ty Vogel’s help, while Gavin Haggerty held the fort down in between the posts to record the 2-0 shutout over the Eagles.

“This was a great way to kick off a busy week next week. I hope we can capitalize off of this feeling. We changed up some formations that allowed Ty to play up higher than usual. It was definitely nice to be able to use him as a scorer for us. This game today definitely put us in the direction we want to move in for the week.” said Lions coach Bethany Faulkner.

Kalkhof was the first to strike while the iron remained hot on the stovetop for Wellsville (2-0-4), as he made a long dribble into the Alfred-Almond zone up the far sideline before cutting across to the middle. From 25 yards away, Kalkhof was able to fend off the Eagles defense to let his shot soar straight into the net to break the ice with a 1-0 lead, 10 minutes in.

The lead would hold for the Lions going into the second half, when a massive piece of early insurance was secured by the aid of Vogel, who earned a free kick from the same spot as Kalkhof’s score, rocketing his shot straight through the hands of the Alfred-Almond keeper and into the net to double their lead, keeping their opposition in the rearview mirror in the process.

The pair of goals came off a 26-shot display of offense for the Lions, as they heavily outshot their opposition by a 26-4 count. All four shots applied by the Eagles received stops from Haggerty in net, as he went on to post the shutout for the visitors in white and orange.

Wellsville is back on the road Monday night with a 5 p.m. visit to Campbell-Savona.

GIRLS SOCCER

Arkport-Canaseraga 2, Friendship/Scio 0

FRIENDSHIP — The Friendship/Scio ladies held down the fort for as long as they could against the Arkport-Canaseraga Lady Wolves, Saturday afternoon. With a scoreless battle unfurling across the majority of play and overtime beginning to eclipse over the horizon, time was running out for the offenses to make their presences known.

But at the very last moment, the Lady Wolves put the pieces to the puzzle together and flipped the game on its head, as they scored two gigantic goals in the game’s last three minutes of play to take a scoreless deadlock and turn it into a 2-0 road win in Friendship.

“It was a really tight game, and we defended really well again today,” said Friendship/Scio coach Dillon McFall. “We have to find a better job getting more opportunities to rush in towards the goal against some of these tougher opponents, like Arkport-Canaseraga. I have to give credit to the girls though, we were down three girls going into this one today and we competed really well. Unfortunately, we just came up a little bit short.”

After a long-term fight across the field for possession, the deadlock was broken by the Lady Wolves with 2:52 left in regulation, as Maia Jones delivered an absolute strike to pick up the game’s first lead. With Friendship/Scio (2-5) looking for a response to deal in return, the visitors in white and teal countered with a massive piece of insurance to keep their lead intact, as Natalie Mulheisen found the back of the net with 45 seconds remaining.

The two goals for Arkport-Canaseraga stemmed off 14 shots, as they outshot Friendship/Scio by a 14-4 count. In net, the win belonged to Maddie Kellogg for the Lady Wolves, making all four saves for the shutout. On the other side of the pitch, Avery Lamberson made 12 saves for the hosts in black and gold.

Friendship/Scio is back on the field Wednesday night in Whitesville, visiting host Andover/Whitesville in a 5 p.m. first kick.

GIRLS VOLLEYBALL

Houghton Academy 3, Andover/Whitesville 0

HOUGHTON — While the boys soccer team was outdoors, the Lady Panthers of Houghton Academy set up shop earlier in the day on the volleyball court inside with another strong performance 24 hours removed from a straight-set win at Hinsdale, as they collected another 3-0 victory back home over Andover/Whitesville by a 25-7, 25-13, 25-15 count.

Taking care of the offensive efforts for Houghton Academy (3-2) was Jaqi Dover, who recorded a team-high nine aces from the service line, pairing them with a duo of kills. Julia Winkens chipped in with five additional kills to go with three aces and three digs, while Abby Reitnour finished with seven more digs on defense to pair with five aces.

Statistics for Andover/Whitesville (0-6) were not made available to report upon publication.

Both teams are back on the court Tuesday night in a pair of 7:30 p.m. first serves, as the Lady Panthers pay a visit to undefeated Bolivar-Richburg, while Andover/Whitesville heads back home to host Cuba-Rushford in Andover.