Saturday Soccer: Lady Panthers bounce back after first loss to blank Wellsville, 4-0; GV, Belfast girls also earn shutout triumphs

Written By Chris Brooks

ANDOVER — It was a bit windy outside, but you cannot argue for a much more perfect day to enjoy soccer on a Saturday afternoon in Andover. The sun was out, and there were no clouds to be seen in the vicinity of the soccer field out back, as the Lady Panthers took the field first to begin a doubleheader for both soccer programs, as they prepared to do battle with Wellsville.

The Lady Panthers were coming off their first defeat to the hands of the Belfast Lady Bulldogs on Thursday, but looked to use it as fuel to get back on the right side of the tracks once again. For the most part in the first half, it was a bit of a slow go at first. But after the designated mask break at the halfway mark, the ice began to crack.

Andover/Whitesville began chiseling away at success in the back half of action in the first half. They would later carry it over to the last 40 minute stage of the day, as they went wild on offense with a rebounding victory, as the Lady Panthers scored twice in each half while holding the Lady Lions at a standstill in their 4-0 shutout triumph.

“I was proud of the girls. It's all coming together,” said Lady Panthers coach Al Barber. “They're good soccer athletes, and they're going to have success. It's a matter of how quick it comes. It's fun coaching this group of girls. We have five balls to the corner in the first three minutes. It was a great game, and it's always nice to get the victory against Wellsville. They've had our number last year in close games, so it was nice to get that back.”

The Lady Panthers (3-1) saw their success come after the State-implemented mask break at the halfway point of each half, but it didn’t come without some close opportunities they scavenged in the first 20 minutes of play, including some Kelsie Niedermeier to Zoey Lee connections, as the two soccer starlets linked up to turn the heat up on the Lady Lions defense with a pair of Niedermaier crosses to the front of the net. Each time however, Lee was not able to get the shot away on either attempt.

But after the break, the hosts in purple did manage to break through the ice, as Kennedy Bledsoe started the first big rush for the team on a dribble down the field. She found a streaking Gabby Terhune to her far left side, where she was able to sneak the ball past Lady Lions netminder Makenna Dunbar to give Andover/Whitesville the 1-0 lead.

With under 10 minutes left in the half, Andover/Whitesville found another way to get on the board. The next goal was courtesy of Rachel Jackson, who received the ball from about 20 yards away from the Wellsville (1-4-1) net on a pass from Terhune. Off-balanced on the run toward the goal, Jackson let a beautifully lofted shot go over the head of Dunbar and out of reach, finding the top shelf on the way in to assist in branching the advantage to a pair.

“The girls really communicated today, and really worked to the outside,” said Barber. “We're starting to do the right things. We have to keep the ball to the ground a little bit more, the passes are in the air a little bit more than on the ground. We have to be quick with it. It was a matter of heads up, look for your teammates instead of doing things yourself. There's plenty of quality athletes on this team that can help you out. Give and go’s, the pass and moves, you get the ball right back. We're trying to beat that into all the kids' heads. We just have to keep our shape, and look for one another on the field.”

It was a 2-0 lead in favor of the Lady Panthers heading into the second half. Coming back out, there were no signs of slowing down on the offensive side of production. Andover/Whitesville, just two minutes into the new set of time, extended their lead to three goals as Jackson provided the assist on the next play - a pass straight down the middle to a waiting Zoey Lee, knocking the ball to the far side of the Wellsville goal.

The chances on the Wellsville continued to mount after scoring their third of the game, as Gabby Terhune nearly found Zoey Lee on the far left side of the post for a near sliding tap-in, but the ball skittered past the cage, and away. After both teams retook the field with the last mask break in the rearview mirror, Andover/Whitesville put the finishing touches on the shutout with one last goal, which turned into Lee’s second of the game from after taking a pass from Katie Calladine at midfield.

Lee began running halfway down the field before making a slight turn to the inside, letting the ball go at a difficult angle by curving it in toward the near posting, finding the netting behind it for goal number four for the Lady Panthers to wrap up their offensive efforts on the day. But for the Lady Lions, they had one last big opportunity to end the shutout in front of the cage Livia Simon occupied, as Pride Brantley picked up the loose ball in front. She then applied a shot that hit directly off the post, before a sprawling Simon came across to make a point-blank save on the second attempt to keep the ball out of harm’s way.

From that point, the remainder of the game was history, as Andover/Whitesville rebounded from being dealt their first loss of the season. Through five games so far as a combined group, Barber sees that the chemistry between all of his girls is continuing to grow after each game on the field.

“I'll start with off the field, the kids are having fun,” he said. “They are having such a great time playing together. They laugh and joke a lot, and then we get on the field, and it carries over. I thought the on-the-field stuff would get here before the off-the-field stuff. They got off the bus that first time Saturday morning and they said, “Hey Al!” like I've known them for 20 years or something. That was a good start, and the acceptance of both squads playing together and wanting to be good, is excellent.”

Simon preserved the shutout for Andover/Whitesville behind 11 total stops in between the pipes, while on the other side, Makenna Dunbar made eight saves for the Lady Lions, who will continue their road swing into Cuba-Rushford on Wednesday for a 6 p.m. contest.

Also on the docket Wednesday, Andover/Whitesville returns to action back on their home field once again, as they prepare to host the Friendship Lady Golden Eagles for a 6 p.m. contest of their own.

Belfast 1, Cuba-Rushford 0

BELFAST — Hannah Southwick-Powers was the only one that found the back of the net Saturday afternoon in Belfast, as the Lady Bulldogs eighth grader received a feed across to her feet, burying the ball in the process to put Belfast ahead for good, as they managed to collect their fourth straight win with a 1-0 shutout of visiting Cuba-Rushford.

Southwick-Powers received a ball from center off the feet of Abby Sullivan to put away the lone goal for Belfast (4-1) just three minutes into the second half, after battling the midfield alongside the Lady Rebels throughout most of the opening 40 minute period. The goal was just one of three total shots Belfast applied to the Cuba-Rushford net, with the visitors taking the overall 7-3 advantage at game’s end.

Kaitlin Sadler managed to set aside all seven shots she saw on goal to preserve the shutout victory for the Lady Bulldogs. On the flip side, Tara Duvall stopped two shots for the Lady Rebels (1-4).

Belfast will look to make it five in a row Wednesday night, as they prep for a 7 p.m. contest down the road in Scio. As for Cuba-Rushford, they will look to steer the ship back in the right direction Monday night back home, as they host red hot Genesee Valley - winners of four of their first five games.

Genesee Valley 6, Friendship 0

FRIENDSHIP — Emera Aquila has been the spark plug to Genesee Valley’s success so far this season. When Saturday morning came around, she showed no signs of slowing down, as the Lady Jaguars senior added two more goals to up her season total to six, helping her team hang their fourth win in the first five games with a 6-0 shutout in Friendship.

Aside from Aquila, four other Lady Jaguars (4-1) got on the board with a goal of their own, including a pair of players that recorded their first ever Varsity goals. Sadie Hemphill was one of them, as she recorded her first goal of her varsity career in the opening half. Later on in the first 40 minutes, Avery Grusendorf would make it 4-0 for Genesee Valley at the break with her tally.

Two more goals were scored in the second half, as Lizzy Bentley chipped in with her first goal of the season on a free kick to the Friendship (1-3-1) cage. Tasha Wedge rounded off the offensive efforts connecting on a one-timer from Sophia Gugino, marking the first goal of her Varsity career. In all, the Lady Jaguars put 18 shots on the Lady Golden Eagles net, while steering away two shots in their defensive zone.

In goal, Ashley Burrows received credit for the shutout, as she combined with Aquila to make two stops for the visitors. On the other side, Madeline Lerro and Karlee Cochran combined to make 12 stops for Friendship.

Next up, the Lady Jaguars will look to make it five in the first six games over the road again, as they visit Cuba-Rushford for a 6 p.m. contest. As for Friendship, they head out to visit Andover/Whitesville for a 6 p.m. contest of their own on Wednesday.

Chris Brooks
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