Friday Soccer: Lions find Senior Night success, as Heaney nets pair to help propel toward a 4-0 shutout of Scio

Written By Chris Brooks

WELLSVILLE — Friday night, Wellsville had the honor of recognizing all seven of their seniors for the contributions they have made over the years.

Many of them have been big pieces to the boys soccer program’s rebuild under Matt Buckley, who enters his second year guiding the team.

Amongst the group, Quinn Heaney and Sam Schmidt. The two seniors both combined to score three of Wellsville’s four goals to make their Senior Night a success, taking down visiting Scio with a 4-0 shutout to pick up their third win in their first four games.

“It was a great Senior Night, and we got a lot of contributions from the reserves. The Seniors played well. Quinn scored two and played really well defensively,” said Lions coach Matt Buckley. “He was marked on Cam Loucks all night, and he did a great job with that. We’ve had a bunch of different guys get involved with our offense. We like spreading it around.”

The evening began with Wellsville (3-0-1) pinning Scio deep in their defensive zone with multiple chances early on, including a header from the head from Heaney in the first 10 minutes.

A little later on, Schmidt received the ball at center and proceeded to head down the endline before making a turn to the inside to deliver a cross to the front. The initial shot was fanned on by the Lions, but Aidan Riley wasted no time to put the ball himself when it found his feet to give them the 1-0 lead.

The chances kept mounting for Wellsville in the first half. Dominic Sawyer, after a foul by the Tigers (2-3-1) in their box, sends a ball in toward the net from 30 yards away. Scio keeper Cory Bolzan made a call for the ball, but the save was bobbled. Heaney was on the doorstep to pick up the rebound to knock it in upon arrival to extend the lead to a pair.

41 seconds later, a scrum formulates on the next Lions transition back down the field. A plethora of shots were taken in front of the cage, but the last attempt taken by Sam Schmidt was the one that finds the back of the Scio net, branching the lead out to three when the game hit halftime.

In the second half, Heaney would go on to add one last goal for the Lions to finish off an offensive effort that included a 13-3 outshooting of the Tigers. Logan Dunbar made all three stops to secure the shutout in goal, while Bolzan made nine stops for the visitors.

Prior to the game, Buckley honored all seven of his seniors: Schmidt, Heaney, Sawyer, Alex Ordiway, Jake Schrlau, Liam McKinley and Nate Jefferds. He said that his group has come a long way since the early days playing on the JV level.

“I had a lot of the seniors already down on the JV level before I made the jump to varsity,” Buckley said. “They’ve come a long way, and it’s been a fun ride with this great group of kids. They always make the practices a lot of fun, and it was nice to send them off in style after this game tonight.”

Wellsville will have a quick turnaround with a 1 p.m. contest at Andover/Whitesville this afternoon. As for Scio, they hit the road once more to visit Genesee Valley for a 5 p.m. contest on Tuesday.

Belfast 3, Houghton Academy 1

HOUGHTON — In a game where one team outshot the other by over a 3-to-1 ratio in the shots department, Belfast’s Matt Weaver had a field day on offense, netting a hat trick to give the room the Bulldogs needed to succeed toward a 3-1 win over Houghton Academy over the road on Friday.

Weaver took charge within the first 10 minutes of play for the Bulldogs (3-2), as he found his way to the net on a big run, putting the ball away in the process. Just past the midway mark, Houghton Academy (2-2) managed to tie the game up.

Malachi DeGolyer received a feed from the foot of Anna Huizenga at the 18 minute mark in the first half. It would be 1-1 heading into the break, but the Bulldogs had more artillery to unload in the second 40 minute session, as Weaver connected with his last two goals to break the tie, and help Belfast pull away for good.

“Belfast were the aggressors today. They won the 50-50s, they imposed their will and we just were not able to slow them down. They didn’t allow us to play the passing game we’re used to. Belfast wanted this game more, that’s for sure.” said Panthers coach Jeff Prentice.

In all, Belfast applied 27 total shots on the Houghton Academy net compared to the Panthers 8 total shots. In net, Stephen Struckmann picked up the victory behind four saves. Chris Habecker on the other end made 13 stops for the Panthers.

Belfast heads back down the road to their home field for their next game on Wednesday, as they take on Friendship for a 7 p.m. contest. As for Houghton Academy, they will host the Golden Eagles beforehand on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m.

Fillmore 3, Cuba-Rushford 1

CUBA — Cuba-Rushford gave undefeated Fillmore a run for their money early on, providing a response to tie the game up at the half. But the Eagles found away to bring the second half momentum to life, scoring the next two unanswered to spring ahead, and toward a 3-1 victory over the road on Friday.

“I think we still have a lot of work to do before we start making an impact on our league,” said Rebels coach Nick Perillo. “We as a team worked really hard today through the full 80, which is something we lacked in the past few games. Fillmore is a good team that makes you pay for all your mistakes, and we did so today. We had some quality chances that we didn’t finish, which could have kept it a closer game. But the credit goes to Fillmore, and their defense.”

The Fillmore (5-0) defense played a big role in stopping all the momentum the Rebels created going into the second half. Despite numerous opportunities, the Eagles defense was able to steer away each one that entered the zone while capitalizing on their pair of chances in the next session.

Before the defense kicked into gear, Mason Cool helped them get there with the game’s first goal near the 10 minute mark, holding the lead until the Rebels (1-2-1) forced a tie at the break from Ethan Rix, and his first goal of the season at the 24:33 mark.

In the second half, and just over a minute in, Mitchell Ward scored his County-leading 11th goal of the season, taking a pass from Eben Schilke at center to give Fillmore the lead they needed to jump in front. The victory was secured in the 57th minute when Isaiah Voss helped the cause on a goal off a Carter Sisson pass.

36 total shots combined were applied between both nets, with Fillmore taking the 21-15 advantage. Dylan Valentine picked up the triumph with four saves, while Jarrett Campbell had eight for the Rebels.

Both teams are back on the field over the road at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, as Fillmore looks for six straight victories in Wellsville, while Cuba-Rushford pays a visit to Bolivar-Richburg.

Genesee Valley 1, Bolivar-Richburg 0

BOLIVAR — After their 2-0 halftime lead was foiled by Cuba-Rushford this past Wednesday on the road, a chance to right the ship back toward their first win of the season came about on Friday at Bolivar-Richburg.

It was a battle all through the night. But in the end, it was well worth the wait for the Jaguars.

With the game all squared away at zero on the scoreboard and time winding down on regulation, Genesee Valley came through the clutch with 1:43 left to play as they found the back of the net to break the deadlock and win the 1-0 shutout of the Wolverines.

“It feels good to finally get into the win column,” Jaguars coach Ryan McKnight said. “The boys came out in the first half really flat. We couldn’t really get anything going. Bolivar had a lot of opportunities in that half, and fortunately Keegan (McKnight) was able to make some great saves off those opportunities. We controlled most of the second half, and it paid off for us with very little time left on the clock.”

Thai Norasethaporn was responsible for the game-winning goal for Genesee Valley (1-3-1), as Christian Tuttle brought the ball in down the endline, making a pass over to the Jaguars sophomore in front of the Wolverines cage, where was at the right place at the right time to knock it away to go ahead for good.

Despite the loss, Bolivar-Richburg (2-2-1) was in complete command of the offensive side of the spectrum, outshooting Genesee Valley by a 10-4 count. McKnight made nine saves to earn the win for the visitors, while Wayne Karnuth made three stops for the hosts.

Both teams are back on the field Tuesday night, as the Jaguars return back home to welcome in Scio for a 5 p.m. contest, while the Wolverines look to get back into the win column in a 6 p.m. home contest against Cuba-Rushford.

Andover/Whitesville 2, Hinsdale 2

ANDOVER — It was a battle through and through in Andover, Friday night. With both teams battling back and forth all through out the 100 minutes the game saw in its entirety, there was no winning outcome for either side, as visiting Hinsdale and the host Panthers settled on a 2-2 tie.

Andover/Whitesville (0-3-1) was the first to strike with just under 10 minutes left in the first half, as Hayden Niedermaier connected on his first goal of the season off a pass provided by Tommy Thorp, putting the shot away to break the ice.

Not long after, the Bobcats (1-2-2) would manage a tie behind a penalty kick. Damion Brown had the honors of tying the game, and did so by finding the Panthers netting. But the hosts would grab the lead right back again heading into the half from Spencer Cook, and his first goal of the season off a Connor Phillips pass with 6:21 left to go.

The game would remain in Andover/Whitesville’s favor for much of the second half, but the lead would soon go back down to a tie once more from Brown, as he put away the game-deciding goal with 11:31 left to play to force a 2-2 tie for the remainder of the game.

“It was a battle tonight. After the three losses, our team was able to come out, come back and still fight. I’m very proud of how they came to play tonight.” said Panthers coach Tony Cook.

The game saw 33 total shots taken in between each net, with Andover/Whitesville taking the 20-13 advantage. In goal, Colby Gaines made 14 saves for the Panthers, while Ethan Cashimere had 13 for the Bobcats.

Andover/Whitesville will have a quick turnaround today, as they play host to Wellsville in a 1 p.m. matinee. For Hinsdale, they will take an extended break away from action until Thursday, when they head home to host Belfast for a 5 p.m. contest.

GIRLS SOCCER
Fillmore 8, Hinsdale 0

HINSDALE — 24 hours after the Lady Eagles of Fillmore established a 5-0 start through their first five games of the season, they kept adding fuel to their fire the very next day.

The Lady Eagles continued their road swing into Hinsdale on a chilly Friday evening, and came out victorious with their sixth straight victory, finding every way possible toward the Lady Bobcats net to come away with an 8-0 win.

Hope Russell and Grace Russell both led the charge for the Fillmore (6-0) offense, as they each produced a pair of goals while Hope added an assist along the way to complete a five-point evening for the visitors.

Three of the next four individual goals came from the Lady Eagles and their midfielders and beyond, as Zoe Beardsley, Torann Wolfer and Morgan Byer all allotted for a goal and assist each, while Sophia Templeton added to it with a goal and apple herself on the frontlines.

In goal, Preslee Miller racked up another shutout, courtesy of a three-save performance. On the other end, Haylee Jozwiak made 18 stops for the Lady Bobcats (0-4-1).

Both teams will return to action next week, as Fillmore will look to make it seven straight back home against Franklinville in a 6 p.m. matchup, while Hinsdale continues their search for win number one in a 5:30 p.m. contest against Bolivar-Richburg on Wednesday.

Chris Brooks
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