Thursday Roundup: Lady Lions assemble strong debut on tennis court, stroll past Fillmore with 5-0 sweep; C-R girls net 4 2nd half goals to earn Tri-County Cup title game berth over B-R
WELLSVILLE — The sun was shining brightly for the Wellsville Lady Lions on the tennis court, Thursday night. On a brilliantly radiant evening to open up a new campaign on the court, the defending Class B2 champions reigned supreme against visiting Fillmore, opening up their title defense strongly with a complete sweep of all five matches in action, taking the 5-0 decision with the Lady Eagles.
Wellsville (1-0) witnessed strong performances from Samantha Bidzerkowny, Hanna Miles and Peyton Cawley in the singles department, with Bidzerkowny’s first singles win of 6-2, 6-2 over Fillmore’s Clair Schilke helping lead the charge. Miles followed suit in her second singles match against Molly Mahoney, garnering a 6-1, 6-2 win, while Cawley wrapped up the 3-0 sweep with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Indigo Knapp.
Down in the doubles department, both Lady Lions squads each recorded 6-0, 6-0 shutouts to put a bow on the 5-0 match victory, with Sarah Mattison and Caitlin Bittel claiming victorious honors at first doubles over Fillmore’s (0-1) Kirra Bentley and Greta Kettinger, while Shayla Cowan and Dalilah Dimpfl secured their win over Lena Tucker and Victoria Tetta at second doubles.
Both teams resume play tonight in a pair of 5 p.m. first serves, with Wellsville hitting the road for the first time with a visit to Addison, while Fillmore opens up their home slate of matches at Houghton University with a visit from Avoca-Prattsburgh.
Singles
1. Samantha Bidzerkowny (WLSV) def. Clair Schilke (FIL), 6-2, 6-2.
2. Hanna Miles (WLSV) def. Molly Mahoney (FIL), 6-1, 6-2.
3. Peyton Cawley (WLSV) def. Indigo Knapp (FIL), 6-1, 6-1.
Doubles
1. Sarah Mattison/Caitlin Bittel (WLSV) def. Kirra Bentley/Greta Kettinger (FIL), 6-0, 6-0.
2. Shayla Cowan/Dalilah Dimpfl (WLSV) def. Lena Tucker/Victoria Tetta (FIL), 6-0, 6-0.
BOYS SOCCER
Craig Lawrence Tourney at Way-Co
Wellsville 1, Alfred-Almond 1 (A-A won in PK, 4-2 to advance)
COHOCTON — There was plenty of excitement in the air at the Cohocton Sports Complex on Thursday. With the ladies teams opening up the Craig Lawrence Memorial Tournament the day before, it was now the boys’ turn to have their chance to do the same.
After the night began with a strong 4-1 win for the Hornell Red Raiders over host Wayland-Cohocton, the lights came on for both Alfred-Almond and Wellsville to take the stage on the pitch to close out the action. And it was a thriller down to the wire, witnessing a game-long lead morph into a very late second half tie to force extra time.
Both the Eagles and Lions would end regulation in a 1-1 draw, but Alfred-Almond would have the final say at the end of it all, as they collected four big goals in the penalty kick session to earn their place in this weekend’s championship game, ultimately claiming the 4-2 win over Wellsville.
The two foes fought across all areas of the field through much of the first 40 minutes of play, with Wellsville (0-0-1) controlling the majority of possession along the way. When the opportunity arose however, the Eagles made the most of it entirely with their lone score off the foot of Connor Warren, as he maneuvered around the Lions defense on his way in for the tally and the lead with 15:53 left on the clock.
Across a vast majority of time between both halves, Alfred-Almond continued to ward off the mounting pressure applied by the team in black and orange. But with less than three minutes remaining in regulation, Wellsville received their game-tying moment from Kamron Dodge, as he glued together a play that stemmed off a pass sent along by Payson Root, and finished it off to the back of the Alfred-Almond net to force overtime between the two squads.
The goal was one of 10 shots Wellsville strung together on the attack.
Despite opportunities on both halves of the pitch, the score would remain at a 1-1 deadlock until overtime reached its expiration. That would lead into penalty kicks to determine which team would advance to play Hornell for the tournament’s championship — a sequence that the Eagles capitalized upon in full, doubling up the Lions to secure their spot on Saturday.
As for the Lions, they will move into Consolation round action, where they will take on host Wayland-Cohocton at 5 p.m.
GIRLS SOCCER
C-R Tri-County Cup
Cuba-Rushford 5, Bolivar-Richburg 0
HINSDALE — The final season for Cloey Larabee in the blue and white of Cuba-Rushford has begun with the biggest of bangs on Thursday. In their opening round battle of their annual Tri-County Cup Tournament, the Lady Rebels senior gave them the early lead in the first half to begin assuming control. In the last 40 minutes, she went on to add three more monstrous tallies to cement what was a 5-0 victory over the Lady Wolverines.
“I thought we passed and moved the ball really well tonight. We were much more efficient with our finishing in the second half, which was a relief after struggling to find that second goal for a while,” Lady Rebels coach Aaron Wight said. “Cloey was obviously tough, but the team effort of everyone around her was top notch even though you won’t really see that in the scorebook.”
The five goals by the Lady Rebels were assembled off a powerful 27-shot effort on offense, with Larabee getting the scoring started just past the halfway checkpoint of the first 40 minutes, as she collected the first of two assists from Jen Tuttle and buried her shot straight to the upper right corner of the Bolivar-Richburg cage.
It would remain 1-0 in favor of the hosts in gray entering a second half where they proceeded to never lose a beat.
Beginning in the first 10 minute timespan of the last half, Cuba-Rushford put the gas pedal straight down to the floor, as Larabee found the back of the net a second time off another Tuttle pass that found the top shelf of the Lady Wolverines (0-1) net. At the 25:07 mark, Larabee finished off with her clinching of a hat trick with a solo rush to the net, burying it home.
Her third goal would set up an amalgamation of markers across a six-minute span, with Brynn Lavery finding her way onto the board herself just two minutes later off a Larabee pass. With 19 minutes remaining, Larabee would finish off a nine-point evening on the front line with her fourth goal of the game, finishing off a cross sent by Lily Yehl to the lower corner of the cage.
Cuba-Rushford went on to outshoot Bolivar-Richburg by a 27-6 count, with Annaleece Melton recording the six-save shutout. On the opposite end of the pitch, Maya Zilker made 22 saves for the Lady Wolverines.
The Tri-County Cup will reach its conclusion on Saturday, with Bolivar-Richburg taking on Olean in the Consolation round with an 11 a.m. first kick, while the Lady Rebels will battle Canisteo-Greenwood for this year’s crown later in the day, at 3 p.m.
Fillmore 3, Andover/Whitesville 0
FILLMORE — The first game of the season can always find a way to bring some nerves. But for defending State Finalist Fillmore, they were ready to go, as they pitched a complete shutout of visiting Andover/Whitesville on both ends of the pitch to open up their 2024 campaign on the strongest of notes, rolling towards a triumphant 3-0 blank.
“Opening night always brings its own nervous energy,” Lady Eagles coach Jon Beardsley said. “I thought the girls did many good things for the first game out, we just didn’t execute in the box that well. It was nice to create opportunities. There were many new bodies out there, so we still need to figure some things out. I thought Andover/Whitesville stood strong in the central defense and their goalie was stellar. That speaks volumes about their character and mental toughness.”
Five different Lady Eagles (1-0) were all involved in helping manufacture the three goals that found the back of the Andover/Whitesville net. Their first stemmed near the midway mark of the opening half, set up by Morghyn Ross and her pass along to Grace Walton for the early icebreaker. The score would hold leading into the halftime break and into the second half.
In the final 40 minute half of play, Fillmore padded their advantage with two more big goals in a four-minute span, both provided by the efforts of Ryleigh Goodliff, who scored the team’s second off a feed dished along from Emalyn Mucher. At the 60 minute mark, Goodliff would then provide aid herself with a helper along to Kallie Pastorius to branch the lead to three, finishing off the scoring for good.
The three shots came off 18 total applied against the Andover/Whitesville (0-2) goal. In net, Grace Clark recorded the shutout for the Lady Eagles, while Olivia Waters made 15 saves.
The Lady Eagles are back on the field Monday night with a 7 p.m. visit to Holland, while Andover/Whitesville prepares for a 5 p.m. visit to Jasper-Troupsburg coming up on Wednesday.
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
Allegany-Limestone 3, Cuba-Rushford 0
CUBA — Inside the Wighthouse at Cuba-Rushford, volleyball officially brought the curtains up and commenced on Thursday with the host Lady Rebels gracing the center stage with a battle against the Allegany-Limestone Lady Gators.
The Lady Rebels were able to work their way past an early first set deficit to the Lady Gators, rebounding with strong performances across the next sets of action until the end of play. But at the conclusion of festivities, Allegany-Limestone was able to carry a victory in each of the three sets needed to proclaim victory, as they rolled towards a 25-9, 25-22, 25-19 win.
Leading the charge for Cuba-Rushford (0-1) were both Lilah Stroud (three blocks) and Katelyn Radomski, as each posted four kills on offense. Kendall Tompkins chipped in with seven helpers, four digs and three aces.
The Lady Rebels will return to the court on Tuesday with a 7:30 p.m. visit to Fillmore.
