In back-and-forth D-I donnybrook, GV/Belfast’s Cobb records game-winning goal with 3 minutes left to secure massive 4-3 home win over B-R

Genesee Valley/Belfast senior Matt Weaver (20) looks to maneuver around a swarm of Bolivar-Richburg defenders including senior Hunter Stuck (10), sophomore Caden Gaines (2) and junior Ryder Easton, back, during Saturday night’s home contest in Belfast. [Chris Brooks/WellsvilleSports.com]

Bolivar-Richburg sophomore Reiss Gaines (9) heads the ball away from the defense of Genesee Valley/Belfast senior Morgan Torrey (12) during Saturday night’s road contest in Belfast. [Chris Brooks/WellsvilleSports.com]

Genesee Valley/Belfast senior Gavin Szalay, off-center, and Bolivar-Richburg senior Wyatt Karnuth (13) battle for the loose ball near midfield during Saturday night’s contest in Belfast. [Chris Brooks/WellsvilleSports.com]

Bolivar-Richburg junior Evan Pinney (21) advances the ball downfield while under pressure from the defense of Genesee Valley/Belfast senior Justin Hill, back, during Saturday night’s contest in Belfast. [Chris Brooks/WellsvilleSports.com]

Genesee Valley/Belfast senior Trent Scott (2) heads the ball downfield during Saturday night’s home contest against Bolivar-Richburg, in Belfast. [Chris Brooks/WellsvilleSports.com]

BELFAST — Two of Allegany County’s best teams in Division I. A packed sideline. A ton of noise. Just a few ingredients for a recipe that can help create a Sectional-like atmosphere like the one represented in full strength at the Rich Sullivan Complex, Saturday night.

Bolivar-Richburg and Genesee Valley/Belfast put on display one of the more nail-biting finishes this season across the County. After a 2-1 lead was collected at the half by the hosts in red and white, it was a back-and-forth donnybrook through and through in the second half.

It was either team’s game to control, as possessions were being won, the tempo was at an all-time high, and to say both teams supplied a physical appearance on the field, it would be a massive understatement.

In the end, the back-and-forth contest saw one person rise to the occasion during crunch time. That being Daemon Cobb.

After Genesee Valley/Belfast found a way with under 10 minutes left to tie the game at three with Bolivar-Richburg, they would assume control deep in the Wolverines zone, which allowed Matt Weaver to supply what was the game-winning assist, a ball which was stuck in the midst of a scrum in front of the net that was ultimately dug loose by Cobb next to the near post and put away with three minutes left in regulation, causing bedlam on the sidelines and securing a massive 4-3 Homecoming win over the Wolverines with his game-winner.

“I thought it went in spurts. We owned it for about 10 minutes, and then they owned a spurt or two. It’s been a long time that my teams get outran and outplayed, and tonight Bolivar-Richburg came here and did that,” said GV/Belfast coach Mark Sullivan. “That happened all game except for when we found a way to tie the game again late in the second half. The guys started to play with some emotion, and they never let them cross midfield again after that. They have to play like that all the time. You can’t flip it on with five minutes left to go.”

Before the fireworks sounded off in the most exciting 10 minutes of the evening, Genesee Valley/Belfast (9-5) had to overcome a very rapid start from the Wolverines to begin the night, as they broke the ice with a 1-0 lead no more than six minutes after the opening kick when a ball carried in by Reiss Gaines carried momentum against the defense.

As Gaines got closer to the net, he waited until the last second to squib a pass off to the empty side of the net where a rushing Landon Barkley to his right raced forward to knock it in, getting Bolivar-Richburg (9-4-2) off and running.

The early lead was short-lived however, as Genesee Valley/Belfast shook it off and managed to tie the game at one just past the 10 minute mark off a penalty kick which was set up by a trip inside the box on Matt Weaver. The Genesee Valley/Belfast senior was the one that elected to take the kick, which was ultimately capitalized upon, finding the back of the net underneath a diving David Abdo in goal for the Wolverines to create the night’s first of many deadlocks.

The first deadlock was broken past midway when Weaver created another play on the offensive, sending his ball across to the front for an awaiting Evan Turybury, who would wind up scoring his first career Varsity goal to give Genesee Valley/Belfast the 2-1 lead when the first half reached its conclusion.

In the beginning stages of the second half, the Wolverines set the pace, beginning past the 10 minute mark by garnering four straight corner kick chances deep in the Genesee Valley/Belfast zone. They could not get their first three kicks to formulate a play in front, but on the fourth, Bolivar-Richburg struck gold with a kick from Reiss Gaines that reaches a body trap in front by Ben Kisel, directly next to the empty portion of the cage where he puts it in to tie the game back up at a pair.

The goal by Kisel created even more steam for Bolivar-Richburg to control the midfield, providing more chances on the cage with Aydin Sisson intercepting a ball near the far sidelines and dishing a pass toward Barkley on his way in. The shot from just inside the box was on target, but a massive mitt save by Thai Norasethaporn in net knocked the opportunity straight over the net and out of play.

A few rushes later, the Wolverines came right back with Wyatt Karnuth leading their latest charge behind his corner, which ultimately finds his feet once more on a deep shot in on goal that hit directly off the crossbar and away. But their big reward would come later in the form of a go-ahead netter with nine minutes left in regulation, after Karnuth was tripped up inside the box.

Hunter Stuck gave the Wolverines a big 3-2 lead to control with all the momentum in their direction.

As for Genesee Valley/Belfast, time was running out. Sullivan said that even though they fell behind once more, he had a feeling there was more coming.

“We have not had a game where I could go home at night and say that they played a whole 80 minutes,” he said. “It’s bound to happen, but tonight, B-R had most of it. But these guys were resilient. We were down just like in the Fillmore game and we came right back to make a game out of it. I had a feeling in the second half that we were going to get one when they started to get tired.”

His gut feeling was right.

Genesee Valley/Belfast tied the game one last time four minutes after Stuck earned it for the Wolverines off his free kick, beginning with a Trent Scott corner kick that found the inside of the box where Caanan Sullivan regrouped, and dug the ball free just enough to send along a pass to Weaver, who weaved in to put his shot to the far side of Abdo to tie the game at three with 5:09 left on the clock.

That wasn’t all.

All of a sudden, the momentum remained on the hosts favor for the last five minutes, as they shelled out one final goal. It was perhaps their biggest of the night, and it came from Cobb with 2:57 left to play, staying alert in front of the Bolivar-Richburg goal to identify the ball’s whereabouts in the middle of a massive scrum in front, and fire it to give Genesee Valley/Belfast the narrow room they needed to finish off their win.

Sullivan said that the game with Bolivar-Richburg was one that not just his team, but both teams needed to experience before Sectionals arrive in just over a week’s time.

“I was talking to Mike (Zilker) after the game, and I told him that this was the kind of game to have going into Sectionals,” he said. “You want to have a game like this, where it’s a dogfight, and you’re going to experience that all tournament long. No matter who you play, they’re going to be nail-biters. We face that in a D1 bracket that is loaded, and B-R’s going to face that in the C’s. This is what we need, and we need these points against Cuba and Scio next week too. We’re going to be 4th, 5th or 6th seeded for Sectionals, and we need all that we can get coming down the stretch.”

In the same turn, Sullivan also commended Zilker and his Wolverines team for their performance tonight, adding “13 for them (Karnuth) is the best player on the field, hands down. He’s unbelievable. He owns the ball in the air, his throw-ins were deadly. Mike’s team does a great job in the middle of the field, and when they started getting better last season with COVID seeing some of those football kids go and play soccer, the confidence with his group just started growing. They knew they had the potential to win some games, and that really motivated more of their kids to go and play soccer.”

18 total shots were gathered by each team when it was all said and done, as Genesee Valley/Belfast recorded the narrow 10-8 advantage over Bolivar-Richburg. In between the posts, Norasethaporn picked up the win behind five massive saves, while Abdo made six for the Wolverines.

Both teams are back in action Tuesday to begin their final week of the regular season in a pair of 5 p.m. contests, as Genesee Valley/Belfast looks to pick up more big Sectional points over the road against Cuba-Rushford, while Bolivar-Richburg will host another enormous Division I contest against red hot Fillmore back home at Dunsmore-Latimer Field.