Monday Roundup: Hornell provides clutch goal, edge out Lady Lions with 5 ticks left in double OT to win 1-0; Ward nets 50th career goal in 8-2 Fillmore win over Holland
WELLSVILLE — As the rain poured down over the Lion’s Den, the Lady Red Raiders of Hornell and host Lady Lions engaged in a battle that saw over 30 shots being recorded on goal. The bulk of those shots belonging to the visitors in white and red. But it was the score on the board that mattered most.
Except there was one. Yet.
After 80 minutes on the clock, the contest would see two extra 10-minute periods arrive to determine a winner. With precious seconds being removed, a massive opportunity arose for one team. Perhaps the final chance to break the game-long deadlock from a corner kick.
For Hornell, they made the golden opportunity shine in the night, taking the chance from the corner in on goal, and in the midst of a scrum in front of the Wellsville cage, the ball managed to find its way in and with five seconds left in double overtime, as the Lady Red Raiders escaped town with a 1-0 shutout of the Lady Lions, Monday night.
“We played the best game of our season so far,” Lady Lions coach Erica Aftuck said. “I’m not even mad about the goal at the end. We got a solid performance from Makenna (Dunbar) in goal, she had an amazing game with all those saves she made. Our entire team fought until the end, and the girls left everything they had out there. I am so proud of each and every one of them, and this game proved that we can compete. It really changed our outlook, and even though we lost, it feels like a win to me and the girls.”
The corner kick game-winner was the 27th Hornell shot applied on the Wellsville (1-4) goal, as they outshot the Lady Lions by a 27-5 total count. Makenna Dunbar would go on to make 26 saves for the hosts in black and white.
The Lady Lions will look to build off the massive boost of confidence when they get back on the road Wednesday night to pay a visit to Dunsmore-Latimer Field to take on the Lady Wolverines of Bolivar-Richburg in a 7 p.m. first kick.
Genesee Valley/Belfast 2, Andover/Whitesville 1
WHITESVILLE — 12 shots on goal were gathered collectively by Genesee Valley/Belfast and Andover/Whitesville in a game that reached its conclusion with five minutes left in regulation, due to rain and darkness in Whitesville. But, the visitors found a groove at the start of the second half that saw them stay one step ahead.
After carrying a 1-0 lead into the break, Genesee Valley/Belfast extended it in a big way right out of the gate in the second half, as Addy Grusendorf put away a big goal to provide the biggest of steps forward, and away from Andover/Whitesville’s reach to hang on and capture their fourth win in first five games by a 2-1 decision on Monday.
Hannah Southwick-Powers began the scoring just past the 10 minute mark of the opening half to give Genesee Valley/Belfast (4-1) the early lead, putting away a feed provided by Sondra Guilford at the 14:15 mark that saw them break the ice.
Further cracking of the ice was provided later on by Grusendorf and her goal, as she put away a big piece of insurance from the hands of Abby Sullivan after a throw-in just four minutes into the new session to branch the lead to a pair. But with time running out, one last attempt at building pressure came for Andover/Whitesville (2-3) with 6:30 remaining in regulation, as Kennedy Bledsoe capitalized on a massive penalty kick to cut the deficit in half.
In the blink of an eye, rain and darkness began to surround the field in Whitesville, and as a result, the game was called in Genesee Valley/Belfast’s favor, which allowed them to take the one-goal decision back home.
Genesee Valley/Belfast outshot Andover/Whitesville by a 7-5 total count, with Ashley Burrows recording the four-save victory in between the pipes. On the other end, Brynn Scholl made five stops for Andover/Whitesville.
Both teams are back on the field Wednesday night, as Genesee Valley/Belfast will go for their fifth win in the first six with a 7 p.m. battle in Fillmore against the unbeaten Lady Eagles, while Andover/Whitesville looks to rebound back in Andover with a 6 p.m. first kick against Friendship/Scio.
Cuba-Rushford 2, Friendship/Scio 0
SCIO — The Lady Rebels of Cuba-Rushford ran wild all over the field in Scio, Monday night.
In the midst of the downpouring rain, the team managed to get 29 total shots off on the Friendship/Scio cage. Two of them would find their way in, both scored by Taylor Searle, who continued to keep her flame ablaze with a goal in each half to help set up a 2-0 shutout over the road.
Searle connected with her first goal near the halfway point of the opening half to give Cuba-Rushford (3-2) the lead at the break, being provided with her first of two goal-clinching passes from Cloey Larabee at the 18:18 mark. Later on, Searle and Larabee would hook up one more time at the 26:44 mark to extend the Lady Rebels lead insurmountably, keeping their victory in tact.
While collecting nearly 30 shots on goal, the defense did not allow a shot from Friendship/Scio (1-4) back the other way, as they finished the 80 minute contest with a 29-0 outshooting of the hosts. In goal, Tara Duvall recorded the shutout while Nevaeh Ross made 24 saves for Friendship/Scio.
Both teams will have Andover/Whitesville up next on their schedule, with Friendship/Scio up first on the road in Andover in a 6 p.m. first kick. Cuba-Rushford will have their chance back home on Friday in a 5 p.m. first kick of their own.
BOYS SOCCER
Campbell-Savona 5, Wellsville 1
CAMPBELL — Through the downpouring rain in Campbell-Savona, the host Panthers navigated their way through the inclement weather to come away victorious, as they rolled their way past visiting Wellsville behind a 5-1 count on Monday.
Cody Costello provided Wellsville’s (2-3) only goal in the contest, capitalizing on a penalty kick to erase the shutout already in progress by the Panthers. Further statistics were not available to report upon publication.
The Lions are back on the road Thursday night, when they pay a 5 p.m. visit to Dunsmore-Latimer Field to take on Bolivar-Richburg.
Fillmore 8, Holland 2
FILLMORE — The Eagles of Fillmore were aiming for a bounce back when they returned to their center stage on a rainy and windy Monday evening under the lights. Despite the bad weather, they would do just that, and then some when Holland paid a visit.
Four different scorers found the back of the net for the Eagles, with Mitch Ward paving the way for the offense behind his netting of a hat trick to reach 50 goals in his Varsity career, including his first just 10 seconds into the game to establish what was an 8-2 rout to help the team spring back into the win column.
“We played some quality soccer tonight, and we played our brand of soccer,” said Eagles assistant coach Jordan Mullen. “It was better than where we were a couple of days ago. Mitch scored his 50th goal of his career, so that is a nice feat in itself, but that’s not to take away from an incredibly well-rounded team effort from everyone.”
The ice would be broken right from the opening kick, as Ward got Fillmore (3-2) on the board after Alex Ellsworth provided the first touch of the ball at center. Ellsworth would then score a goal of his own, as he and Brent Zubikowski went back-to-back in nearly a minute’s span late in the half, with Zubikowski scoring on a penalty kick, while Ellsworth scored off an Eben Schilke assist.
Five minutes later, Holland would end the shutout with a goal of their own to get on the board. 12 minutes later, Fillmore earned a three-goal lead once again with Ward’s second of the half, as Damon Wood grabbed the first of two assists in his direction to help pick up a 4-1 lead at the half.
After Holland cut the deficit in half for the final time, the Eagles went back to their scoring ways with their final four goals in a row, including Ward’s hat-trick clincher off of Wood’s last assist just past midway. Ellsworth and Zubikowski would wrap up their two goal evenings with one more each in a span of a minute of one another, as Ellsworth scored on a header off a Wood throw-in, and a direct kick from just outside the Holland zone for Zubikowski.
Layton Sanasith wrapped up the scoring for the hosts in black and green with his second of the season from Zach Sisson late in the second half. In all, the Eagles plastered the Holland goal with 25 total shots while allowing just six back the other way. Graham Cahill made four stops between the pipes for the hosts.
“We have preached to our players from day one that our goal this year is to commit to the process of playing our best soccer come October,” said Mullen. “We have asked our guys to consider some higher level objectives as a team, and as individuals. We have challenged them to use them every single game as just another step towards a larger goal. When you're talking to young athletes about delayed gratification, you're asking them to be incredibly disciplined mentally, but at the same time, we want to celebrate the achievements of the team.”
Fillmore will welcome in Genesee Valley/Belfast for a 7 p.m. visit, Thursday night.
Houghton Academy 3, Hammondsport 1
HAMMONDSPORT — Houghton Academy had to wait until Monday evening to get their season started, due to COVID protocols. But it was a day that was worth the wait, as they picked up their first win of the year over the road in Hammondsport, capitalizing on a 2-0 lead at the half and never looking back on their 3-1 win over the host Lakers.
“Game number one has been so long, and we’ve been doing virtual learning because of COVID,” Panthers coach Jeff Prentice said. “Going in, I was a little nervous at first because we hadn’t practiced at all. But for our first game, we controlled the ball very well, and Hammondsport is a scrappy team. But we dominated the possession. It’s a start that is definitely good to have.”
Henry Sardina was responsible for all three goals for the Panthers (1-0), kicking the festivities off with his first just 10 minutes removed from the clock, capitalizing on a Hugo Hnang helper. The game was tied up by the Lakers on a goal coming at the 6:25 mark left to go, but the lead was given right back to the visitors in white and blue just seven seconds later, as Sardina netted his second.
With the game in Houghton Academy’s favor, it would remain in tact the rest of the way, as Sardina posted a massive piece of insurance with 7:14 left to play off a Wes Davidson cross to lock up the team’s first victory of the season. Sardina’s three goals were a part of a 23-shot offensive outburst by the visitors.
Hammondsport only recorded nine shots on goal, with senior Chris Habecker making five stops to preserve the win.
Houghton Academy will host their home opener this Thursday night, as they welcome in the Scio Tigers for a 5 p.m. first kick.
Canisteo-Greenwood 5, Friendship 0
CANISTEO — Canisteo-Greenwood’s presence was made evidently clear in the first 10 minutes of play on Monday, as they began the new week of action with a shutout on their turf, scoring a pair of goals to set the tone in their 5-0 blanking of visiting Friendship.
Hunter McCaffery and Derek Jackson provided back-to-back goals in the first 10 minutes of play to get the Redskins off and running in the first half of play. Near the midway point, the lead grew to three with Trent McMindes adding in a goal of his own from a Ben Edwards assist.
Near the halfway mark in the second half, Canisteo-Greenwood finished off the goal-scoring with back-to-back goals in a four-minute span from Edwards and Evan Updyke, as both capitalized on passes provided by Trent Cobin to complete what was a 13-2 outshooting of the Golden Eagles (0-4) on offense.
In goal, Taylor Moore made seven saves for Friendship, who return home and jump right back into action tonight with a 5 p.m. first kick against Cuba-Rushford.
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
Hammondsport 3, Genesee Valley/Belfast 2
BELMONT — Inside the Jungle on Tuesday, it was an absolute nail-biter. Both Hammondsport and host Genesee Valley/Belfast would need all five sets to complete the match. All of them would be decided by no more than four points.
In the back-and-forth affair, it was a fourth-set bounce back by the visiting Lady Lakers that gave them just enough room to make a move toward the finish line to end the night, as they edged out the hosts in green to return home victorious behind a 23-25, 25-21, 25-21, 22-25, 25-21 count.
Statistics were not available to report upon publication.
Genesee Valley/Belfast (1-1) will jump right back onto their home floor tonight with a 7 p.m. first serve against Hinsdale.
Bolivar-Richburg 3, Archbishop Walsh 0
BOLIVAR — Jianna Nix provided another strong showing of offense that ultimately set the pace for the evening at Bolivar-Richburg, Tuesday night. The Lady Wolverines senior shined from the service line in the back, to the top line in the front, accounting for 10 game-high kills and seven aces to fuel a straight-set win over Archbishop Walsh in a 25-16, 25-8, 25-8 decision.
Helping further Bolivar-Richburg’s (2-1) cause was Maddy Thorton and Haley Mascho, as they each chipped in five aces of their own from the service line, while setter Kaitlyn Graves dished out 10 assists at the front.
The Lady Wolverines are back in action over the road tonight in a 7:30 p.m. first serve inside the Lion’s Den, taking on Wellsville.
Olean 3, Cuba-Rushford 0
CUBA — The Olean Lady Huskies made some noise right from the start, as they exploded in a first set victory that ultimately set the tone for the rest of the match, as they went on to bring out the brooms over the host Lady Rebels of Cuba-Rushford on Monday behind a 3-0, 25-10, 25-18, 25-19 victory.
On the offensive front, Brianna Green led the way for the Lady Rebels (1-2), providing a team-high six kills to pair with her three digs, two blocks and one ace from the service line. Ella Jaffe added in four digs on defense to go with her three kills and two aces. Up front, setter Quincy Tyler dished out 10 assists in addition to three digs and one block.
Cuba-Rushford is back on their home floor Thursday night, as they welcome Wellsville into the Wighthouse at 7:30 p.m.
