Thursday Roundup: Early 1st half goals by Southwick-Powers, Proctor enough for GV/Belfast to ward off late B-R push; Wellsville girls tennis to face A-A in B2 Finals after Semis win over Fillmore

BOLIVAR — One of the County’s best defenses pinned up against one of the quickest offenses on the field. A matchup of epic proportions would begin to unravel in their very first game of the season, Thursday night at Dunsmore-Latimer Field in Bolivar.

In the early stages, the Genesee Valley/Belfast defense that ultimately became their best offense in transition, allowing them to set up shop with a strong first half performance that wound up being enough to remain in the lead over host Bolivar-Richburg, despite a late push from the Lady Wolverines down the stretch, as they came away with a massive 2-1 win to spoil the Senior Night festivities.

The momentum for Genesee Valley/Belfast (9-3-1) would build up after their first big chance against the Bolivar-Richburg goal came from Whitney Young straight off the crossbar on a shot directly in front of the net, in the midst of a scrum. Although the Lady Wolverines were able to coast back down the field for chances of their own, the scoring chance would build a fair amount of energy to help give the visitors their first goal of the game.

Both first half goals for Genesee Valley/Belfast would stem from corner kicks, both being handled by Mary Hamer, with the first sailing in on goal and slipping through the grasp of Kyla Gayton in between the posts. The ball would squirt free and towards the other side of the net, where Hannah Southwick-Powers was right on the doorstep to knock the ball into the empty side for the game’s first lead coming at the 16:22 mark.

Nearly five minutes later, the visitors in white and black would get another big corner kick opportunity from Hamer, as she sent another perfectly-placed ball in on the Bolivar-Richburg cage, meeting a header by Harley Proctor on the way in, firing it past Gayton to the right side to extend out their lead to a pair to close out the first half.

In the second half, a moment of potentially game-changing fervor would occur for the Lady Wolverines. With time beginning to tick away approaching halfway, Genesee Valley/Belfast’s best chance to add to their lead was stopped stone cold by a diving Gayton across the front of the net against a streaking Southwick-Powers in on goal, halting the play with a miraculous save to send the ball back down the field.

With it, came Bolivar-Richburg’s latest rush led by McKinlee Harris down the near sidelines. With one defender to beat, she took a sharp cross inside towards the goal before sending along a pass to Madigan Harris directly in the middle. After colliding with another Genesee Valley/Belfast defender right out front, Harris would regather the ball and send a high drive straight into the net at the 24:45 mark to close the gap to a single goal.

The goal would allow the Lady Wolverines to keep the pressure on the Genesee Valley/Belfast until the end of the game, creating more chances along the way. But no more scores were found when the final horn sounded, as the visitors held on for the big win over the road.

Genesee Valley/Belfast came away with a 9-6 outshooting of Bolivar-Richburg on offense, with Ashley Burrows being credited with the win behind five saves. On the other end of the field, Gayton would make seven stops for the Lady Wolverines.

Both teams will have Wellsville up next on their schedule, with Bolivar-Richburg getting first call Saturday morning in an 11 a.m. first kick in the Lion’s Den, while Genesee Valley/Belfast awaits their turn back at Judy Bliven Field in Belmont, Tuesday night starting at 7 p.m.

Cuba-Rushford 5, Friendship/Scio 0

CUBA — It was as successful of a Senior Night as the Lady Rebels of Cuba-Rushford could have hoped for on Thursday, as they saw five different scorers find the back of the net, three of them coming in the first 40 minutes of play to set up shop against visiting Friendship/Scio in what was a 5-0 shutout victory to move back up to .500 on the season.

“It was nice to have so many different girls contributing. We finished a little better than we have been lately, but we struggled to finish over in Scio earlier this year and it almost came back to burn us late,” Lady Rebels coach Aaron Wight said. “I know he was missing a lot of girls today because of illness and injury, but credit to them, they gave us a hard, solid 80 minutes. Overall, it was a great Senior Night. I’m happy for our Seniors that we can send them out this way.”

Aside from their senior netminder Tara Duvall, Cuba-Rushford’s three remaining seniors — Taylor Searle, Fran Childs and Sofia Riquelme all scored to ring in their honorary night in style. First, a golden opportunity for the Lady Rebels (6-6-1) to strike first came after a quick battle through the midfield with Friendship/Scio, when they were given a chance to capitalize on a free kick after a penalty inside the box. That chance belonged to Childs just over 10 minutes in, burying it to capture the first lead.

It would be branched out towards the tail end of the opening half with help from Searle, who handed out both assists to Shae Maples and Cloey Larabee on a pair of goals in the last five minutes of play, earning the 3-0 advantage going into the break.

The scoring would reach its end after a quick strike was delivered by Riquelme almost after the kick at center, as she received a pass along by Riley Keller to finish off the goal at the 37:17 mark. The four-goal advantage would hold up until midway when Searle was the last to find the back of the Friendship/Scio (3-10-2) net with her unassisted marker to put a bow on the win.

The Lady Rebels outshot Friendship/Scio by a 17-3 total count, with Duvall recording the shutout in between the posts with all three saves. Grace Drumm would make 12 saves for the visitors.

Both teams are back on the field Wednesday night, as Cuba-Rushford hits the road to Andover for a 6 p.m. contest against Andover/Whitesville, while Friendship/Scio looks to bounce back against Genesee Valley/Belfast in Friendship at 5 p.m.

Fillmore 7, Wellsville 0

FILLMORE — The Lady Eagles of Fillmore unleashed an attack right from the start on Thursday with a trio of goals finding its way into the Wellsville net in the first eight minutes of play, quickly establishing a lead that they would the tone with all game long, as they wound up rolling towards their 13th straight win with a 7-0 shutout of the Lady Lions at home.

“We had a bigger roster today with some JV call-ups, and we were able to work a lot of different options. Early on, we really attacked the end line the best we have all year,” said Lady Eagles coach Jon Beardsley. “We scored two goals off the run of play going end line, and we also scored two goals off corner kicks that resulted in our end line play. We hadn’t finished many corner kicks either, so that was nice to see.”

All five first half goals for the Lady Eagles (13-0) were distributed between Hope and Grace Russell, as the two interchanged across nearly all 40 minutes with Hope starting the scoring first in the second minute of the game. A very short time later, Grace would follow up on a pass from Hope into the Wellsville zone to branch their lead out to a pair.

Fillmore’s lead would grow to three in the first eight minutes with Hope scoring her second goal off an assist from Grace. Their final two goals would come at the 16th and 39th minutes, each scoring one more time, with Hope finishing off a first half hat trick off a feed from Allie Millers right at the end of the first half. Madi Geertman would record an assist on Grace’s second goal.

Hope Russell would complete her four-goal evening 10 minutes into the next half of play, taking one more assist from Grace to put away into the net. The scoring would conclude at seven when Malory DeRock found the back of the Wellsville (1-11-1) net herself with 10 minutes left in the game off Grace’s third assist of the night.

All seven goals were scored on 22 total shots by Fillmore, as they outshot the Lady Lions by a 22-2 count, with Preslee Miller making both saves to earn the shutout. On the other end, Makenna Dunbar made 15 saves for the visitors in white and orange. The Lady Lions will return home to host Bolivar-Richburg in a 11 a.m. first kick in the Lion’s Den, Saturday morning.

Fillmore will stand pat at home, as they prepare to host a Columbus Day battle with the C.G. Finney Lady Falcons beginning at 4 p.m. on Monday.

GIRLS TENNIS

Class B2 Semifinals: Wellsville 4, Fillmore 1

WELLSVILLE — The wait for the Lady Lions of Wellsville to get back to the Finals officially met its end on their home court. On Thursday, they would record yet another dominant performance against visiting Fillmore, scoring four of the match’s five wins to propel themselves to the Class B2 Finals on the very next day, as they ended the Lady Eagles season with a 4-1 win.

Charging the trip back to the big dance for the Lady Lions (13-0) was a sweep of both doubles matches, as the first doubles team of Caitlin Bittel and Hanna Miles had to work their way through a tough second set battle with Fillmore’s Emma Hopkins and Molly Mahoney successfully to record the 6-1, 6-4 win. Kelsey Seely and McKenna Wonderling would add in a second doubles win of their own behind a 6-2, 6-1 triumph over Clair Schilke and Annika Wiltsey.

The momentum continued in the singles department with Wellsville capturing two of the three victories needed to clinch match victory over Fillmore (8-5), with Samantha Bidzerkowny’s dominant victory at second singles leading the way, taking the 6-0, 6-1 win over Kristina Wilcox. Finishing it off was Sarah Mattison at third singles, as she fought through a first set battle to earn a second set shutout of Kali White, en route to victory.

The Lady Eagles and their lone win would come from Olivia Chiu at first singles, as she navigated her way towards victory after a second-set tiebreak against Meagan Riley, settling on a 6-2, 7-5 decision in the end. Fillmore’s season has come to a close, as they finish with a record of 8-5 overall.

Wellsville will now vie for their first Sectional Championship since 2014 on Tuesday, as they now face the Lady Eagles of Alfred-Almond for all of the marbles in a 4 p.m. first serve. Alfred-Almond defeated Lyons in a 3-2 decision to advance into the Class B2 Finals to meet the Lady Lions.

Earlier this season, Wellsville defeated Alfred-Almond in a 4-1 decision in their lone matchup of the season back on September 16.

Singles

1. Olivia Chiu (FIL) def. Meagan Riley (WLSV), 6-2, 7-5.

2. Samantha Bidzerkowny (WLSV) def. Kristina Wilcox (FIL), 6-0, 6-1.

3. Sarah Mattison (WLSV) def. Kali White (FIL), 6-3, 6-0.

Doubles

1. Caitlin Bittel/Hanna Miles (WLSV) def. Emma Hopkins/Molly Mahoney (FIL), 6-1, 6-4.

2. Kelsey Seely/McKenna Wonderling (WLSV) def. Clair Schilke/Annika Wiltsey (FIL), 6-2, 6-1.