Thursday Roundup: Lady Lions stymied in 1st half by Piliero’s 2-goal night, Lady Chargers defense in 3-0 defeat; Wellsville girls tennis sweeps Way-Co to win 5th straight to open season
WELLSVILLE — While the football field was being prepared for action later on in the night, the Lady Lions of Wellsville had a little change of scenery on Thursday, as they shifted next door to the grass to face Canisteo-Greenwood/Jasper-Troupsburg on Thursday to close out the week.
All of the game’s scoring was done right in the first 40 minutes of play, and after a quick start on both sides, the visitors burst straight through the gate.
Led by Kadyn Piliero and Mya Rexford on the attack, Canisteo-Greenwood/Jasper-Troupsburg was able to break the ice 10 minutes in to lay the foundation down for a big first half while on defense, keeping the Lady Lions pinned deep in their own zone for a vast majority of time to allow a tone to be set in their 3-0 shutout on the road.
Rexford was the first to reach the board for the visitors in white and red, as she poked home a goal right in the first 10 minutes of play to earn the game’s first upper hand. The advantage was glued intact for the remainder of play, as the Lady Chargers continued to add onto the lead with the first of two Piliero goals 10 minutes later.
Piliero would assist in providing a strong finish with six minutes left until the break when she scored her second of the game off a helper dished along by Rexford, as the team shifted their focus to the defense in the last 40 minute stretch to keep Wellsville (2-4-1) at a standstill to preserve the shutout.
The Lady Chargers would go on to outshoot Wellsville by a 35-7 count, with Lydia Kaye staying busy between the posts for the Lady Lions with 32 saves. On the other end, the shutout was credited to McKenna Ferris, who made all seven saves.
Up next, the Lady Lions will get set to host defending State Final Four Finalists in Class D — Keshequa, on Monday at 7 p.m.
Friendship/Scio 4, Hammondsport 2
SCIO — A rich feeling of excitement and ecstaticism was felt by the Friendship/Scio ladies after they battled tough and delivered the first loss that Genesee Valley/Belfast witnessed this season just 24 hours ago.
On Thursday, a chance to build off that came when they hosted Hammondsport for the first of two clashes in round-robin play of the Amy MacMichael Tournament in Scio. They would have to outlast the Lady Lakers across an early midfield battle for possession in the opening half, but when the door began to open up slightly, it was taken full advantage of.
Friendship/Scio has Nevaeh Ross and Lexi Crossley to thank for that, as the two combined of three of the team’s four goals — each scoring twice themselves to help set up a first half lead over their opposition that was remain intact despite some late pressure down the stretch, as they doubled up the Lady Lakers by a 4-2 count.
“We had some nice runs offensively, halfbacks and forwards. We could have done a lot better finishing the ball, but at the same time, with this being the second game of a back-to-back, it’s been a lot of minutes and the girls pulled out another win. I’m really proud of them for showing up and being ready to play.” said Friendship/Scio coach Dillon McFall.
After 20 minutes of hard-fought battling with Hammondsport across the field, Friendship/Scio (3-2) would connect with the first of their two first half goals, with the first off the foot of Ross, stemming off a pass sent along by Jordyn Nickerson for the finish to break the ice. With 4:10 left to play, a big goal by Crossley was added into the fray, as Ross dished along her first of two helpers to extend the lead by a pair going into break.
With all control leaning in their direction, the hosts in black and yellow added to their lead once again with Ross’ second goal of the battle from Crossley just over five minutes in to make it a 3-0 lead on Hammondsport. After the Lady Lakers responded later on off a direct kick by Nicole Merry, Crossley connected with Ross for the last time just past the midway mark to regain their three-goal lead.
Hammondsport would go on to finish off the scoring with a penalty kick conversion with 9:57 left by Gabby Doyle.
Friendship/Scio outshot the Lady Lakers by a 12-6 count, with Grace Drumm making four saves to record the victory in between the posts.
The Amy MacMichael Tournament will wrap up for Friendship/Scio on Saturday, as they play host to Cuba-Rushford at 11 a.m.
BOYS SOCCER
Fillmore 3, Bolivar-Richburg 0
FILLMORE — Whether it’s right at the beginning of the season, in the middle, or at the end, games in League play competition are always important. The Eagles of Fillmore knew that right from the start when they came together with Bolivar-Richburg on a brisk night under the lights in Fillmore.
In the past, the Eagles and Wolverines have had their fair share of tight battles. More recently, 3-2 and 1-0 decisions went into the direction of the defending Class D State Champions in last season’s series. But history wouldn’t change on Thursday, as the hosts in black and green remained at the very top of their game.
Eben Schilke had a hand in all three goals for the Eagles, scoring a late second half tally after handing out helpers on the team’s first two goals in rapid succession during the first half of play, as they went on to keep Bolivar-Richburg at bay with a big 3-0 shutout victory in Allegany County League action.
“This was a very important League win for us tonight. You can always count on Bolivar-Richburg to play you tough, and that was certainly the case tonight,” said Eagles coach Jarrett Vosburg. “In particular, David Abdo made a handful of point-blank stops in net to keep them in the game. Hats off to him for his effort. I felt we did a nice job controlling the pace of the game. Zach Sisson, Eben Schilke, Jack Cool were able to win the battle in the middle of the field for us, and they became real difference makers. Overall, this was a great team effort to earn our fourth shutout this year.”
Both foes fought tooth and nail across much of the first half’s time before the Eagles (4-0) turned on the jets approaching past midway, when Schilke began by handing out two straight helpers to both Henry Sardina and Jack Cool in 90 seconds time to clinch a quick 2-0 lead on the Wolverines.
The two-goal lead would remain as such for the foreseeable future, all the way until the midway point of the second half, when Fillmore added a monstrous piece of insurance to further cement their advantage against Bolivar-Richburg (3-3), as Schilke found the back of the net himself of a helper dished along by Carson Sanasith at the 58:23 mark.
The three goals came on 18 total shots the Eagles would supply on offense, while the defense only allowed the Wolverines just four shots back the other direction. In goal, the victory belonged to Brayden Hennard, who made all four stops, while David Abdo made 15 saves for the visitors in white and red, who will now get set to battle Friendship/Scio back home on Monday at 5 p.m.
As for the Eagles themselves, they will return to their home field at 5 p.m. on Saturday, as they welcome in the C.G. Finney Falcons for another big mid-season clash.
Andover/Whitesville-Jasper-Troupsburg 3, Houghton Academy 2
HOUGHTON — Each team would have an opportunity to tilt the balance of power in the direction across all 80 minutes of play in what was a thrilling battle to the finish, Thursday night. For host Houghton Academy, they were given two big chances to turn the heat up on visiting Andover/Whitesville-Jasper-Troupsburg going down the homestretch in the second half, erasing a 3-0 lead at halftime.
But for the visitors, a last second goal wound up being the team’s difference maker at the end of the night, as Brody Vance’s two-goal night was enough for Andover/Whitesville-Jasper-Troupsburg to hold on for dear life with a 3-2 road win over the Panthers.
“The boys really wanted this win. We got to the field a little later, and we didn’t get a chance to really warm up. We struggled to find out pace, but once we were able to settle in, Colton (Calladine) had a free kick to help us put it away in the first half,” AWJT coach Cody Borden said. “Brody Vance put us up even more at halftime. We gave up two goals late in the game, but we buckled down to secure the win. Jeff (Prentice) is a great coach and his team showed up to play. This was a great game to be a part of.”
Andover/Whitesville-Jasper-Troupsburg (3-2) assumed full control of the first quarter for much of its entirety, as they built a 3-0 lead on Houghton Academy, with the first marker coming with 27:40 left to go, as Colton Calladine lofted a direct kick straight in on the Panthers goal and in behind Marco Zanini to break it open.
More damage was applied with two more goals in the last 10 minutes — both from Brody Vance, with the first coming on a perfectly-positioned ball in front of the Houghton Academy (1-4-1) net, where he was able to race and crash towards the net for the score. Vance followed up with his second marker of the game in the waning seconds to branch the Andover/Whitesville-Jasper-Troupsburg lead to three at halftime.
Despite falling behind the eight ball to the visitors, the hosts in blue and white were able to work their way back to within range, as Javier Velasco recorded both Panthers goals in just over three minutes at the 14:21 and 11:40 marks of the second half to trim the deficit from three to just one, as they began to apply pressure on Andover/Whitesville-Jasper-Troupsburg down the stretch.
But in the end, the visitors were able to hang on for dear life to keep their lead intact for victory.
Both teams recorded 18 shots on goal apiece, with Derek Perkins setting aside 16 of them to record the win for Andover/Whitesville-Jasper-Troupsburg. On the other end, Marco Zanini made 15 saves for the Panthers, who now host Cuba-Rushford on Monday at 5 p.m.
Andover/Whitesville-Jasper-Troupsburg will now prepare to host Friendship/Scio in Andover, Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m.
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
Fillmore 3, Genesee Valley/Belfast 1
BELMONT — The search for win number one on the season for the Lady Eagles of Fillmore has officially ended over the road on Thursday, as they used a strong start against host Genesee Valley/Belfast. Despite a third-set rally from the hosts in black and gray, the Lady Eagles were able to finish off the four-set win with a 25-10, 25-11, 19-25, 25-18 victory.
Fillmore (1-4) was led by some strong service once again from the back line, which was paced by Annalisa Bialek, who paved the way with a team-high six aces, pairing them with six service points and three kills on the attack. Following behind was Jenna Austin, who had four more aces of her own to add into the mix alongside four service points and three kills. Setter Bri Santiago handed out 12 assists to go with five aces and five service points to round off the scoring.
On the other side of the net, Genesee Valley/Belfast (1-4) was propelled by a seven-kill, three-ace night from Kendra Bigelow. Liliana Porter-Long chipped in with five more kills and two aces, while setter Cassidy Hand dished out 16 game-high assists to pair with four more aces from the service line.
“We had a pretty slow start. Game three, we came together pretty well and things started to flow a little bit for us. Game four was tight, but we just didn’t have enough to put it away. Fillmore had some strong service that really kept us on our toes the whole game.” said GV/Belfast coach Darren Bradt.
Both teams will participate in this weekend’s Mid-Season Tournament at Genesee Valley, which will begin bright and early Saturday morning.
Bolivar-Richburg 3, Hinsdale 0
BOLIVAR — The Lady Wolverines of Bolivar-Richburg were at the top of their game Thursday night on their home floor, igniting a strong night of volleyball right in the opening set and ending the match with strong emphasis, as they swept visiting Hinsdale with a 25-12, 25-15, 25-4 decision.
Helping the cause for the Lady Wolverines (3-1) was Carmen Crowley, who was outstanding from the service line with a game-high 18 service points to pair with nine aces. Following behind was Kori Thomas (14 service points), who chipped in with eight kills and eight aces to propel the attack, while Brena Walp chipped in with 13 more service points along with five aces.
Statistics for the Lady Bobcats (1-4) were not made available to report upon publication. Hinsdale will head for Genesee Valley to participate in Mid-Season Tournament action beginning Saturday morning.
Bolivar-Richburg will return to the floor on Tuesday, visiting Genesee Valley/Belfast in a 7:30 p.m. first serve.
GIRLS TENNIS
Wellsville 5, Wayland-Cohocton 0
WELLSVILLE — To say that the Lady Lions of Wellsville are on an absolute roll to begin their 2023 campaign on the tennis court, would be an understatement. On Thursday, they kept that fire ablaze with Wayland-Cohocton in town for a visit, as the Lady Lions garnered victories in all five matches to sweep the Lady Eagles with their fifth straight win in a 5-0 decision.
Sam Bidzerkowny and Meagan Riley provided a big spark for the Lady Lions (5-0) in the singles department with outstanding play, as Bidzerkowny rolled to a 6-0, 6-1 win over Wayland-Cohocton’s Pearl Walker at first singles, while Riley recorded a straight-set 6-0, 6-0 shutout of Chloe Hoffman at second singles. To record the sweep, Sarah Mattison was awarded a forfeit win at third singles.
The doubles action was highlighted by a pair of first career wins for both Delilah Dimpfl and Miles Aaron, as the two Lady Lions competitors took care of business with a 6-2, 6-2 win over the second doubles team of Harlee Grodis and Mia Swingle. At first doubles, Hanna Miles and Peyton Cawley finished off the match victory with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Virginia Carr and Cora Hosmer.
Tonight, the red hot Lady Lions are right back to it, as they prepare to welcome in Avoca/Prattsburgh/Hammondsport in a 5 p.m. first serve.
Singles
1. Sam Bidzerkowny (WLSV) def. Pearl Walker (W-C), 6-0, 6-1.
2. Meagan Riley (WLSV) def. Chloe Hoffman (W-C), 6-0, 6-0.
3. Sarah Mattison (WLSV) by for.
Doubles
1. Hanna Miles/Peyton Cawley (WLSV) def. Virginia Carr/Cora Hosmer (W-C), 6-1, 6-0.
2. Delilah Dimpfl/Miles Aaron (WLSV) def. Harlee Grodis/Mia Swingle (W-C), 6-2, 6-2.
