In 3rd straight Far West rendezvous, impeccable defense, early 1st half PK sets pace for Ellicottville in stunning defending State Champion Fillmore with 1st loss in 3-0 shutout

WEST SENECA — Entering the 2023 campaign outdoors on the pitch, the Fillmore Eagles have blazed a fiery trail of glory. A trail like never before.

Ever since that 3-0 defeat to the hands of then-State champion Mount Academy hailing from Section IX back in the 2021 State Championship, they proposed a mission. The objective: Go back and do it all over again. The monumental task was placed close to the top of their allegorical to-do list when the calendar flipped to 2022.

In that very season, the Eagles were simply indomitable.

One after another, they found the win column each and every time. 23 times to be exact — a number that allowed them to finish their campaign with absolute perfection to claim the school’s first ever State Championship and Allegany County’s first in the Empire State in nearly 20 years, in what was the first year of the Jarrett Vosburg era.

As time passed over the course of that year and into the summer since that very shining moment in Middletown that further cemented Fillmore’s rich history on the soccer pitch, a straightforward and yet perplexing question now arose during the offseason leading into this year — How in the world do you follow-up your best season ever?

The response that the convocation of Eagles would provide? The same as their objective from a year ago: Do it again.

Following their Empire State conquering 23-0 season, the Eagles of Fillmore picked up where they left off from winning it all, and across their docket of battles on the field, they added to their untouchable hot streak. But the path they followed back up to the top was not easy by any means. During their Sectional journey, the Eagles had to fight tooth and nail with Marion a second time, then powerhouse Naples in the Class D Finals, where they hit gold in overtime to win it all — their fourth Section V title in the last five years.

With both D classes combining together to form one giant class of its own for the 2023 season, the Eagles marched on directly into the next stage: The Far West Regional — one single step away from that return trip back to that sacred place where the State’s elites meet at one place, at one time, to fight for the right to be named State Champion.

On the other side, another convocation of Eagles representing Ellicottville, the same squad Fillmore defeated the last two years to earn their spots in the Final Four. A team that had this very game at West Seneca West on Friday circled since their last Regional clash in Spencerport.

To defeat a team three straight times in a game of such immense stature like this one, it can be difficult. This, all while having the biggest targets on their backs not only in Section V or the region, but in the entire State itself after authoring last season’s success story.

The conditions for their third act in Far West Regional play just outside the City of Good Neighbors, were not exactly ideal. Temperatures were lukewarm, but the wind was very much apparent, creating havoc on both sides for much of their battle. When it boiled down to earning opportunities, Fillmore and Ellicottville made the most of what they were able to garner.

But when it came to controlling possession however, Ellicottville took charge. And with it, the chances that soon came along, were golden. Cattaraugus County’s soar of Eagles did something that no other team has been able to do against Allegany County’s Eagles for nearly two full seasons — dethrone the State Champions.

To do it, they used a late first half penalty kick by Owen Doherty — one of two he would score, to claim the game’s first lead going into the half. To ensure they never relinquished it, Ellicottville maintained firm control of the midfield possession with and against the blustery winds by all means necessary, adding two more goals in the second half to further cement their eventual victory and first-ever trip to the State Final Four with a stunning 3-0 shutout of Fillmore to end their amazing run.

“Ellicottville is a great squad, and they really played some outstanding possession soccer tonight,” said Fillmore coach Jarrett Vosburg. “They won a couple more battles than we did, but that's nothing to take away from these guys. They're the defending State champs and we got everyone's best effort this year. We came up one short to go back to the big dance again. We've been on the other end a lot of times, and tonight was our turn for the soccer gods to not go our way.”

The chances Fillmore (20-1) accumulated against Ellicottville were there for the taking, especially in the first half while going up against the winds. The Eagles put Ellicottville on their feet through the first 20 minutes of play with some phenomenal looks at the opposing net, seeing Nolan Krzeminski firing in a direct kick that slipped through the keeper’s hands before being cleared out by the defense a short time late, as well as a Noah Strickland pass up the middle for Henry Sardina, rifling a shot that nearly created a second chance rebound in the process.

While the action in the middle saw a few cracks from Fillmore’s offense, they saw some big special teams help develop with a pair of back-to-back corners, nearly striking again with the latter of the pair pinballing around in the Ellicottville box. But on each occasion, the Section VI D Champions were able to somehow stave off the early bout of pressure to clear the ball out of the zone.

Ellicottville handed everything Fillmore stacked up against them, pairing the resiliency with some stout defense to prevent any further developments by Allegany County’s soar of Eagles. Because of it, they were richly rewarded with the game’s first goal on a massive penalty kick opportunity with 5:46 left in the half.

After a foul inside the box committed against Fillmore, it would set up the first of two penalty kicks for Owen Doherty, knocking home his first off an initial stop by Brayden Hennard in between the posts, which took a fortuitous and favorable ricochet off the far post and to the netting on the inner portion of the post itself to break the ice with a 1-0 lead going into the break.

Although they were now put behind the eight-ball going into the last 40 minutes, Fillmore showed no signs of giving in, as they continued to chip away as much as they could against Ellicottville, including another pinball-esque sequence taking shape deep in the offensive zone to keep all the pressure they could up against their opposition.

But each time, it was either met by outstanding blocks or partial clears to keep Fillmore away from the net. In short, the Ellicottville defense bent, they would not break.

“I felt like we had a lot of quality chances, especially against the wind,” said Vosburg. “The first half, if a couple of those shots had gone through the goalie's hands, on the goal line, had those go our way, it would have been a different game. We just couldn't find the back of the net, and credit to them, they did a great job filling in for each other. It's one of those things that you preach about as a coach, and because of it, it just simply was not our night.”

While the defense held its ground, the offense in transition made the most of another fine opportunity set up from midfield. Sam Edwards was the recipient of a pass that saw him break away from a pair of Fillmore defenders, as he managed to knock home a big score with 24 minutes remaining to extend Ellicottville’s lead to 2-0.

With firm control of the game now in their possession, Ellicottville controlled their own destiny from that point forward, as they continued to keep Fillmore on their feet and off the board behind more outstanding possession soccer and pressurized defense. To further cement their advantage over the defending State Champions, Ellicottville removed all doubt completely with one final score with 90 seconds to go — Doherty’s second penalty kick goal of the game, putting a bow on their first-ever trip to Middletown with a Class D Far West Regional Championship.

Ellicottville’s three goals were met on seven total shots they applied against Fillmore, as Allegany County’s Eagles outshot their opposition by a 10-7 total count in the contest. In between the posts, Hennard went on to make four saves for Fillmore.

The defeat for the Eagles of Fillmore comes nearly two full seasons removed from their last, as their win streak closes at 43 straight dating back to that 2021 State Finals bout against Mount Academy. But Vosburg notes that because of the team’s will to win, their drive and passion for the game itself and many more elements revolving around the program, was all the driving force for the team’s long-standing term in power.

“It takes kids that are willing to be coached, and willing to be pushed and want to get better every day in practice,” he said. “It takes parents that support them and get them to practices, drive them to summer soccer and do whatever it takes to keep building the program. It takes a community that lives and breathes Fillmore soccer. It takes consistency in my coaching staff behind me in Jamie, Mike and Jordan. It means the world to them, and our families as well to buy into what makes this program great. It's a whole cohesive thing that seems to mesh together to make it all work.”

The 2023 campaign for Fillmore has now officially closed its book for the Fall, as the Eagles put a bow on yet another phenomenal season on the pitch with a record of 20-1 overall. The team will bid farewell to eight seniors when Graduation time comes later this year. Amongst them, Henry Sardina and Layton Sanasith — two of the team’s leading scorers, as they join Nolan Krzeminski, Eben Schilke, Jude Beardsley, Jack Cool, Zach Sisson and Noah Strickland when they walk across the stage in June.

If there was one single word to describe what his seniors have meant to the program, the word of choice from Vosburg was “irreplaceable”.

“This is an incredible squad that we've got here,” the second-year coach said. “You feel for our eight seniors. Some of them have been here for five years, most of them have been here for at least two. Eight starters, they are all irreplaceable. They never quit and you have to be proud of them for that. The State Final Four runs, there are teams out there that never get that chance to play in a Sectional Final, and kids on here have been to three State Final Fours. It's absolutely astonishing.”

Vosburg spoke of his seniors’ leadership, noting that “The record speaks for itself, and truly, it's about them bringing the younger crowd along. We have a great JV program that will now step up and fill in their shoes, and it's all because of them. The leadership in the season that they brought, and their support on the sidelines at their games, even on Saturday mornings. It's a testament to their character and what they stand for as a person. When you look at it, it's what you dream about as a coach.”