THE BEST IN THE WEST: Lady Eagles break late 2nd half scoreless tie with Ellicottville, soar to State Final Four behind 2-0 shutout to capture Far West title
CALEDONIA — Fillmore. A town in the Northern part of Allegany County that rapidly shaping into one of, if not, the year’s biggest storyline. These are times that are not often experienced around this tiny area of ours. But what the Eagles have going on, it is certainly providing a ton of shockwaves not only locally, but reverberating across the entire Section as well.
After the Lady Eagles volleyball squad defeated Houghton Academy in LeRoy earlier in the evening, the team had completed the rare Fall Trifecta for the school — a feat that has not been accomplished in a single season in recent memory around the local scene.
But on the same night they would capture their first Sectional title since 1995, there was more to be had. It had began a 24-hour span of soccer that would give the school another chance to provide some hardware for their trophy showcase right outside The Rock from within its halls.
After both soccer teams came away triumphant in their State Qualifier matches back on Tuesday in Perry, they now sat one step closer to the grandest stage of them all — the State Tournament. Up first, were the undefeated Lady Eagles, who are riding a wave like no other.
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Without question, the Lady Eagles are putting together some of their most overpowering and magnificent displays of soccer of the season. It has resulted in a Sectional championship that saw their opposition never break through their defense to score, as well as take advantage of a strong back-to-back Class D2 champion Notre Dame-Batavia team with a 5-0 shutout.
You want to talk about leaving no doubt? There was none.
And it continued when the team advanced into Friday’s Far West Regional at Caledonia-Mumford, against Section VI, Class D champion Ellicottville — the very same team who knocked the Lady Eagles out of State contention back in 1999, the last time they reached this stage.
When the two foes intertwined in their colossal clash for a trip to Cortland and the State Final Four on the line, there was a pretty extravagant display of battling through the midfield. In a game that the Lady Eagles heavily outshot Ellicottville in, the Class D champions from the West remained in reach. But then, a call that completely changed the game.
Ellicottville was called for a handball.
After 65 minutes of scoreless soccer being put on display, the Lady Eagles had a chance late in the second half. A chance to break the ice with the biggest of cracks on perhaps their biggest direct kick of the season. The usual representative that elects to take those kicks for Fillmore, is senior Zoe Beardsley.
And boy, did she deliver.
With 15 minutes left in a nail-biting scoreless tie, the Lady Eagles Senior came up with perhaps the biggest kick of her career, and maybe perhaps, of the program’s history from the 15-yardline right at the top of the Ellicottville box. After a blow of the whistle, Beardsley sent the goal sailing in on goal, going over the head of the Ellicottville netminder and into the back of the net to give Fillmore a lead they would hold onto until the very end, advancing to next weekend’s State Final Four in Cortland behind a 2-0 shutout — their fifth in a row, this postseason.
“Zoe hit sweetness with her direct kick. Fillmore has scored a lot of goals in the past, but that might have been the biggest goal I have ever seen,” said Lady Eagles coach Jon Beardsley, Zoe’s father. “You might say it was a bit emotional. She is a special kid, but I might be smiling for a while. That strike might be the biggest in our girls soccer history. Being the coach’s kid has more grief than good, but today, there was a whole lot of good. She deserves to feel good, all the girls do, and she would be the first one to say that she absolutely loves her teammates.”
There were some chances earlier in the contest to help each side hop on the board first, but perhaps one of the more bigger moments of the evening came in opening half, when Fillmore (21-0) netminder Preslee Miller stoned Ellicottville on a big breakaway chance on the goal with a massive save that powered the Lady Eagles on offense back the other way for the remainder of the game.
The save echoed into the second half when Fillmore began to take over, ultimately finding the back of the net with Beardsley’s monumental netter with 15 minutes remaining to give the team a 1-0 lead to control. That lead soon grew to two with a massive piece of insurance coming from the foot of Hope Russell, who broke free from the Ellicottville defense off a pass from Sophia Templeton from the middle to put the game on ice with a two-goal lead at the six-minute mark remaining.
The two goals were part of a 23-shot barrage fired on the Ellicottville net, as they outshot their opposition from Section VI by a 23-8 count. In goal, Miller made six stops in all to secure her biggest shutout of her career thus far.
“Today was a culmination of many years of hard work. This win was not only for these girls, but for many that have come before them,” Beardsley said. “Gratifying and beyond comprehension, and being thankful is an understatement. Tonight was one of those nights where you might have thought the soccer gods weren’t on our side, but we found a way to persevere. The ball didn’t find the net as easily, even with many chances on goal, but it was a different type of game for us. The girls figured it out.”
The journey for the scorching hot Lady Eagles of Fillmore will come to an end next weekend in Cortland, where they will be come one of four teams left standing in Class D in the entire State of New York, as they now look to fight their way toward a State Championship beginning next Saturday at Cortland High School.
The Lady Eagles will prepare to take on either Section IX’s Mount Academy in the State Semifinal round, beginning at 3 p.m.
But beforehand, the ladies will head for Buffalo this afternoon to cheer the boys on at Williamsville South, where they will look to lock in their second trip to the State tournament in three seasons in a matchup against Ellicottville of their own.
With the success surrounding Fillmore Central School lately, Beardsley said there’s no better time to be a Fillmore Eagle, than now.
“I am so proud of our girls, and I am so thankful for all of them,” said Beardsley. “They are truly a blessing. Seriously, tonight knowing that our girls volleyball team won Sectionals, having two of our three girls advance to the State Qualifier for tennis, our team going to the State tournament next weekend, it makes this Athletic Director, coach and teacher at Fillmore pretty proud of these young ladies. Now, I hope we can add to it with our boys team tomorrow with a chance to go to States.”
WellsvilleSports.com will be on scene in Cortland beginning next weekend to continue along the Lady Eagles, and their journey as it comes to a conclusion with the final two days of the soccer season.
