Monday Soccer: Belfast starts fast with five-goal 1st half to pace 8-2 victory in Friendship; Fillmore boys, Hinsdale girls also win

Written By Chris Brooks

FRIENDSHIP — The Belfast Bulldogs returned to action for the first time in nearly a week on a soggy and cool Monday evening. Despite the time off, and the conditions surrounding them on the field, they still managed to deliver a fast start in the opening half of play, scoring five first half goals to set the tone on their 8-2 victory over Friendship over the road.

The Bulldogs (5-2) were led by Matt Weaver and Nick Ellison on the offensive attack, as they both collaborated to deliver a pair of the team’s five goals in the first 40 minutes of play, with Ellison starting the scoring off after a big Friendship chance in front in the game’s first minute. Weaver would then find his way onto the board himself, breaking away from the Golden Eagles (0-6) defense to knock the ball in far side off a deep pass from Devin Harriger at midfield.

At the 23 minute mark of the half, three minutes after his first, Weaver added his second goal of the game on another break through the Friendship defense, digging the ball out of a scrum in front to finish the shot near side of the cage to hit the mask break with a 3-0 lead.

Five minutes after the break, Friendship found their way onto the board by creating a rush that began with Devon Ross sending the ball up field. A shot provided on the left side of the Belfast cage, where it is blocked initially by Stephen Struckmann, but it created a rebound that spun on the opposite side of the net for Jerome Harmon to put away into the empty cage.

Despite cutting the deficit down to two, it would go back out to four with two more goals by the Bulldogs to end the first half with a 5-1 lead, as Ellison grabbed his second goal of the game on a feed from the right side. Nearly four minutes later, Max Miller getting on the board himself after an initial Justin Hill shot ricocheted off the crossbar. Friendship was able to clear the ball, only for Miller to send back in on goal, and ultimately into the net after the initial save by Atlin Moore slipped through his mitts.

In the opening two minutes of the second half, Harriger and Hill both would find the back of the net themselves, as they started the new session with back-to-back goals for Belfast that came in a 17 second span to increase their lead, with Stiven Lopez earning the assist on Hill’s goal. The Golden Eagles would find the net one last time on a Cameron Blouvet goal off a Taylor Moore assist. The Bulldogs goalscoring ended at the halfway mark with Jacob Buchholz scoring his first of the season.

Belfast outshot Friendship by a 13-9 count in the game, with Struckmann earning the victory in goal with six saves. On the other end, Moore stopped four shots for the Golden Eagles, who will remain home for their next game on Wednesday, as they welcome in Hinsdale for a 5 p.m. visit.

The Bulldogs will head back home themselves for a Friday night contest under the lights at the Rich Sullivan Complex, as they host the Houghton Academy Panthers for a 7 p.m. battle.

Fillmore 6, Bolivar-Richburg 0

BOLIVAR — There was simply no slowing down the undefeated Fillmore Eagles on the field, Monday night. For the sixth time this season, the defending Class D1 champions were on the button on the offensive attack, scoring three goals in each 40 minute period to roll their way toward victory with a 6-0 triumph over host Bolivar-Richburg.

Mitch Ward continued to be at the top of his game for Fillmore (8-0), as he scored two of the team’s six total goals in the game. After Mason Cool scored four minutes into the game off a Carter Sisson assist to break the ice, Ward’s first goal came with 1:06 left until the break, making an unassisted break to the net. Exactly 60 seconds later, the Eagles would take a 3-0 lead into halftime, as Sisson added in his second goal on the season.

In the second half, the Eagles offense did not slow down, as Ward added his second and 14th of the season just 10 minutes in to branch the lead out to four. The last two goals for the visitors were scored in just under a three-minute span toward the midway mark, as Alex Ellsworth and Isaiah Voss went back-to-back with goals off a direct kick, and penalty kick respectively to finish off the victory.



Dylan Valentine recorded the shutout in goal for Fillmore, stopping four shots. On the other end, Wayne Karnuth also made for stops for the Wolverines (3-3-2).

Both teams are back on the field Wednesday night, as Fillmore looks to continue their perfect run back home with the Scio Tigers in town for a 6 p.m. meeting, while Bolivar-Richburg looks to get back on track with a 7 p.m. contest against the Wellsville Lions.

GIRLS SOCCER

Hinsdale 5, Scio 2

SCIO — For the second time against the Scio Lady Tigers this season, Hinsdale senior Ava Belec was able to find the back of the net three times, two of her goals coming in the second half of play to help the Lady Bobcats break away from Scio after a 2-1 first half lead with a 5-2 victory on Monday over the road.

Four of Hinsdale’s (2-5-1) five goals all came as unassisted markers on offense, with Fransisca Childs giving the Lady Bobcats the opening tally just five minutes in. The lead would remain in their favor up until the 14 minute mark when Celina Warboys tied the game up at one off a pass from Lexi Crossley at center, sending the game into the brief mask break with a deadlock.

Belec gave Hinsdale the lead going into halftime with her first of three with 4:12 left to play in the opening 40 minute stanza, creating a shift of momentum that would see her team scoring the next three goals in a row to take complete command, as Christy Childs scored in between her final two goals of the game to create a 5-1 lead for the Lady Bobcats that they did not look back on.

Scio’s (0-5-1) final goal came with 13 minutes remaining to play, as Crossley connected on her first of the season off a pass at center from Warboys.

Despite the loss, Lady Tigers head coach Eric Weinman returned to the sidelines for his first home game of the season after being sidelined with an illness. The second-year Lady Tigers coach said that it was exciting to be back coaching his girls, and that the desire to play soccer was a win in his book.

“I’ve been down the last couple of weeks being sick, so this was my first home game with the girls tonight,” he said. “We are down in numbers, we have injuries and we only have 10 players. We’re only going to have 10 for the rest of the season. The girls really wanted to come out and play, and for me, that is a win in my book. Hinsdale passed the ball really well, they controlled it really well. They have good team speed and we don’t. For us to be in the game at the half, that’s great, and the girls didn’t sit back either.”

At game’s end, the Lady Bobcats outshot the Lady Tigers by a 15-6 final count, with Haylee Jozwiak recording the victory in goal for the visitors, stopping four total shots. On the flip side, Kiara Grover set aside 10 shots for the hosts in blue.

Both teams are back on the field tonight, as Hinsdale hops back on the bus for a 6 p.m. contest down the road in Fillmore against the unbeaten Lady Eagles, while Scio remains at home to welcome in the Friendship Lady Golden Eagles for a 7 p.m. battle under the lights.

Chris Brooks
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