Wednesday Roundup: No. 9 Bath-Haverling kicks tires on rapid start paced by Hoad’s hatty as No. 8 Lions see season end in 4-0 shutout; C-R boys downed by C-S, And/Whi girls shut out Romulus
WELLSVILLE — The Lions of Wellsville were faced with a monumental task against perhaps one of Section V’s soccer powerhouses in Bath-Haverling. They had that assignment already this year back at the end of September, but now in a moment where everything is put on the line, they had to make sure they could not afford to let history repeat itself twice over.
The Lions would have home field advantage against the Rams in their 9-8 matchup to kick off the opening round of the Class B2 playoffs on what was deemed a peak Fall night on Wednesday. Having to battle the cold, the wind, the wet and slick turf, those conditions can certainly play a factor.
But for the Rams, their foot was on the gas pedal and they never let off, despite it.
Right from the gun, Bath-Haverling was on fire, scorching home the game’s first tally in mere minutes, adding three more along the way, garnering a 2-0 lead at halftime over Wellsville to build on later in the night, coasting towards another 4-0 shutout win over the Lions to end their Sectional trek just as soon as it began.
The Rams struck gold with a massive night from Ezra Moad, who had the team’s first three goals to complete his hat trick for the offense, with his first coming almost immediately after the opening draw at center. Beginning with a longball from Michael Binkowski near the center circle, it would land into the right wing for Zach Musso to control, sailing an immaculate cross to the front of the Wellsville (6-9-2) cage for Hoad to head into the net past Logan Dunbar for the lead.
Later on, a lead extension was provided by the visitors in white and blue from Hoad again with 24:24 left to go in the half. With a scrum formulating in front of Dunbar and the Lions cage after a corner kick was sent in, the ball delivered a direct hit to the mass of players fighting for the ball.
Hoad was able to jar the ball loose, drop back slightly and then rip home a shot to the far right post for his second of the game, and a 2-0 Rams lead at the break.
The Bath-Haverling junior would complete his hat trick almost immediately after the break, as he capitalized on a Wellsville throw-in deep in the offensive zone, picking up possession and rocketing a bullet straight into the net from 20 yards out, through the hands of Dunbar just over five minutes removed from the second half clock.
The scoring would end for the Rams with a goal for Musso, picking up possession after a perfectly-placed ball from center landed right into his wheelhouse on the break from the Lions defense, shifting his shot to the far right side of the net for the game’s final goal to lockdown the victory at the end of the night.
Further in-depth statistics were not made available to report upon publication.
Wellsville’s first season in the Noah Holmok era has come to an end, as they wrap up with a record of 6-9-2 overall. The Lions will graduate six seniors at the end of the year in Dunbar, Cody Costello, Gavan Dickerson, Kavan O’Grady, Ayden Faulkner and Nate Flansberg.
Class C2 First Round
No. 7 Campbell-Savona 4, No. 10 Cuba-Rushford 1
CAMPBELL — For the second straight season in the playoffs, and by the same score on the board, the Rebels of Cuba-Rushford saw their season come to a close in opening round action of the Class C2 playoffs, as host Campbell-Savona saw their offense kick into gear right away with an array of goals to spring out to a lead they never lost going forward, rolling towards a 4-1 win to force elimination on Wednesday.
All five goals in the game were scored in the first 40 minutes of play, which allowed the Panthers to set the tone against the Rebels (3-13) fairly quickly. In between the first two goals for the hosts to take the lead, Braeden Wight was responsible for earning Cuba-Rushford’s final goal of their campaign off a penalty kick chance to cut their deficit in half.
But a short time later, the momentum continued to swing into Campbell-Savona’s favor, as they went on to score the next two goals to push their lead out three, insurmountably, using their defense to hold the fort down in the last 40 minute session to take the victory away and out of Cuba-Rushford’s reach.
Preston Bilotta made 10 stops on 14 shots that the Panthers would provide against the Rebels.
Cuba-Rushford’s campaign comes to an end with a record of 3-13 overall. The team will say goodbye to all five of their seniors at the end of the school year in Bilotta, Jacob Smith, Jack Frank, Maddox Keller and Will Adams.
GIRLS SOCCER
Class D2 Play-In
No. 8 Andover/Whitesville 1, No. 9 Romulus 0
CANISTEO — Just a single goal turned out to be the ultimate difference maker in deciding who would seal up one of the final spots in the Class D2 playoff bracket. That was to be determined by either No. 9 Romulus or No. 8 Andover/Whitesville on some even playing ground on a Wednesday Fall evening in Canisteo.
Back and forth went both teams across the midfield, battling for possession for most of the game. It would come down to early crunch time for a team to be able to create a large opening on the run. That came from the eight-seeds, who saw Maddi Barona-Aiala fire home the game’s lone tally in the waning seconds of the opening half, giving them the room they needed to stay out in front and record the win, taking the 1-0 decision to claim their spot in the Quarterfinal round.
“I’m very proud of this group. They worked really hard tonight,” said Andover/Whitesville co-coach Aaron Rawady. “We didn’t have the regular season that we wanted to have, but it was nice to get a win and extend our season. Our next matchup is going to be tough, but we know the girls will do whatever they can to keep it going. Northstar does everything well. They’re the top seed in our class for a reason.”
Barona-Aiala’s goal came with just 27 seconds remaining in the opening 40 minute period for Andover/Whitesville (2-11-3), as she piloted a shot on the Romulus net that squirted through the keeper’s grasp and into the back of the net, putting them in front going into the break, and ultimately for good, holding off the Lady Warriors all the way to the end for the victory.
The goal was one of 13 total shots they applied on the cage, while the defense recorded the shutout by not allowing a single shot back the other way, awarding a shutout for Olivia Waters in between the posts along the way.
Andover/Whitesville now moves into the Class D2 Quarterfinal round, which begins Saturday afternoon over the road with a trip to visit top-seeded Northstar in a 2:30 p.m. first kick at Grace & Truth Park.
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
Wellsville 3, Fillmore 0
WELLSVILLE — The end of the regular season continues to draw near. For most teams in the county, they’re down to just a pair of games left before the final weekend heading into the playoffs. Among them: the Lady Lions of Wellsville, who are currently building a strong finish to their regular season.
On Wednesday, they would continue to do that. And much more.
Against the Lady Eagles of Fillmore, the Lady Lions ignited a trailblazing first set by scoring a ginormous run to automatically set the bar, using some resiliency a set later to pull ahead one more to add more momentum to the arsenal in what was a straight-set victory on their home floor, taking the 25-8, 25-15, 25-16 win.
It was as incredible of a start that Wellsville (13-2) put together to begin the night against Fillmore. After a back-and-forth trading of early points, the Lady Lions would find their groove. After a 3-1 lead was garnered, they went on to score the next 15 points in a row to help set the bar for the remainder of the set, pushing towards an ultimate 25-8 victory.
The second set would help the Lady Eagles (7-9) earn a chance to shake it off however, as they transformed a first set defeat into a bounce back, battling right alongside the Lady Lions for much of the set, exchanging multiple lead changes along the way. But some late resiliency towards the middle of the set was brought on by the hosts, after they fell behind in a 14-11 deficit to Fillmore.
From that point on, all momentum would shift towards Wellsville’s way for the rest of the night, as their epic 14-1 run to close out the set would help set up shop for their eventual straight-set win to record their 13th win of the season.
Leading the charge was a solid seven-kill night from Bry Moultrup, adding six digs on defense along the way. Morgaen Howe added in six more kills of her own, coupling them with three digs and a block. Emma Dunaway chipped in with five more kills and two digs, while Averee Palmatier was solid from the service line behind her six aces, four digs and two kills. Setter Maddy Parks (four digs, three aces) handed out 23 assists.
Stats for the Lady Eagles were not made available to report upon publication.
Both teams will close out their regular season Friday night on their home floors one last time beginning in 7:30 p.m. first serves, as Wellsville hosts Hinsdale, while Fillmore heads back home to welcome in Bolivar-Richburg.
Cuba-Rushford 3, Bolivar-Richburg 0
BOLIVAR — The Lady Rebels and Lady Wolverines were in a close battle for supremacy in their final regular season matchup of the season, Wednesday night.
Points were exchanged, a lot of fighting and clawing. But at the end of the night, the result would remain the same.
The Lady Rebels of Cuba-Rushford docked wins across the first three sets of the night with Bolivar-Richburg chasing them down as time went on, nearly overcoming a third-set defeat after being pushed to the brink, but the visitors were able to hang on for the straight-set sweep over the road by a 25-20, 25-22, 25-23 win.
Some strong offense conducted by Lauren O’Keefe helped propel Cuba-Rushford (9-5) behind a team-high eight kill night to go with eight digs and two aces. Bri Green furthered the offensive cause with five additional kills to pair with two digs, two blocks and an ace. Emma Retz had three kills, three digs, three assists and two blocks. Setter Kendall Tompkins (eight digs, four aces, two kills) handed out 23 assists.
For the Lady Wolverines (9-6), Brena Walp helped head both the offensive and defensive efforts with 10 digs, and a team-high six kills to go with three aces. Kori Thomas chipped in with eight more digs, five kills and a denial, while Haley Mascho had a team-high 15 digs.
Both teams will end their regular season Friday night in a pair of 7:30 p.m. first serves, as Cuba-Rushford looks to end theirs with a fifth straight win with Genesee Valley/Belfast in town for a visit, while Bolivar-Richburg looks to get to 10 wins on the road in Fillmore.
Houghton Academy 3, Canisteo-Greenwood 0
HOUGHTON — If there was ever a time to grab a big boost of energy heading into Sectionals, Wednesday night was the perfect time for the Lady Panthers of Houghton Academy.
The Lady Panthers would square off with one of the area’s best on the court — Canisteo-Greenwood, giving them a battle right from the get-go to start the night at home. With the action being forced into extra serves, the hosts were able to find the two points they needed to grab the early upper-hand on the Lady Redskins going forward.
The win would give them that boost of momentum going into the next pair of sets, which the Lady Panthers would come away victorious in, as they held down the fort in the second before shutting the door completely in the last to record the straight-set sweep by a 27-25, 25-20, 25-13 count.
Jess Prentice has been red hot all season for Houghton Academy (8-7), as she kept up the intensity with a game-high 19 kills, 15 digs, two aces and two blocks to pace the attack. On defense, setter Abby Reitnour was busy handing out the helpers while keeping the ball off the floor, recording team-highs in assists with 26, and digs with 17 to pair with two additional aces. Jessica Adenuga had 11 more digs, six kills, four blocks and two aces to chip in.
Rama Samba rounded off the Lady Panthers with six more digs and four aces.
Houghton Academy’s regular season will reach its conclusion tonight back on the road, as they visit Genesee Valley/Belfast in a 6 p.m. first serve.
