Saturday Roundup: Tallman, Southwick-Powers each net pair, Scott-Schneider honored for 200th career win in GV/Belfast’s 6-1 rolling of Lady Lions; Fillmore soccer records Homecoming sweep of C-R
BELMONT — Back on Wednesday, there was a great deal of bending that was showcased, but rarely any breaks. As a result, Wellsville and Genesee Valley/Belfast combined for one goal — one that was connected upon by Danika Scott in the shape of a corner kick to give Genesee Valley/Belfast the 1-0 win in the Lion’s Den.
Fast forward to their second meeting in three days, things would pan out a lot differently on Homecoming weekend at Judy Bliven Field in Belmont. As opposed to the one-goal decision the previous time, the two teams would come together and orchestrate one of the more chaotic and tumultuous first halves this season.
Five goals helped set the stage. The majority of which came from the dynamic duo of Bayleigh Tallman and Hannah Southwick-Powers. A tandem for Genesee Valley/Belfast that in recent games, have simply become unstoppable.
The Genesee Valley/Belfast freshman and junior were at the tops of their game once again, combining to score five of the team’s six goals — each scoring twice in the first 40 minutes to set the tone on a wild opening half with the Lady Lions that never saw them relinquish the lead, as they floored it straight towards victory at the end of the day to claim a 6-1 victory for the season-series sweep and their sixth win in seven games.
“It is a wonderful addition. Bayleigh’s been starving from the sweeper position, and finally Mary (Hamer) was able to come back for us and get healthy so we can move her back up with Hannah,” GV/Belfast co-coach Lisa Scott-Schneider said. “We’ve worked on the passes and our transition down the field. They both have speed and power, and I have them both together again for one more year. They are only going to continue to keep getting better.”
The battle for early possession was on, but only briefly in the first 10 minutes when Genesee Valley/Belfast (11-2) was able to break it open at the 29:11 mark on a ball that was won by Tallman just past midfield. She pried it free from the Wellsville defense and then sprinted to the races, where she ultimately knocked it home short side to fire up the engine.
Not long after the score, the lead for the hosts in black and white branched their advantage to a pair with Southwick-Powers’ first tally on a jaunt from midfield herself, alongside Tallman to her right. The duo exchanged passes before Southwick-Powers collected the final retrieval on a wide-open cross in front of the Lady Lions (3-9-1) net, taking it and ripping it home at the midway mark.
It would remain a two-goal lead until Southwick-Powers returned to her scoring ways with 11:20 to go, beginning with Tallman speeding past the defense down the sideline to deliver an absolute strike of a pass to her junior teammate, who raced in all alone for the breakaway, working it past Lydia Kaye in front of the net for a 3-0 advantage.
A mere 35 seconds removed off the score, the Lady Lions were able to respond right back again by eliminating the shutout. On the very next offensive rush, a play formulated under the guidance of Ayla Faulkner, who pushed the possession deeper into the Genesee Valley/Belfast zone. A shot ricochets at the bottom of the post and then sputters to the other side of the cage where a wide open Caelyn Stevens knocked in the loose rebound into the net to cut the deficit to a pair.
But right before the half’s conclusion, Tallman would help the hosts close out on a strong note by regaining their three-goal lead, as she made another run down the sideline before cutting in towards the net to let a picture-perfect shot fly to the top shelf.
From an offensive eruption, the game was flipped on its head in the second half where a defensive battle settled in for much of the time. But it didn’t stop Genesee Valley/Belfast from finding the back of the net two more times, as Tallman completed her hat trick off a big helper from Jenna Hill near midfield before Mary Hamer finished off the scoring on a direct kick at the top of the Wellsville 18.
The Lady Lions were presented multiple chances to try and trim their deficit in the last 10 minutes of play, bending the Genesee Valley/Belfast defense directly in front of their net. But on their chances, the defense was able to clear the zone each time to keep their opposition at bay until the final horn.
“Wellsville comes to play. They weren't really full steam today, but they still came to compete,” said Scott-Schneider. “She plays an aggressive defense, and if you can slide one through past them, Bayleigh and Hannah got past them to do the job for us. It was a funky day. Scoring early and often takes the pressure off of us. That's what we told our defense, but it was nice to put the ball in the back of the net six times as opposed to Wednesday. You could tell what we've worked on since then, and apply it here.”
24 combined shots were garnered between both teams, with Wellsville outshooting Genesee Valley/Belfast by a narrow 13-11 count. In goal, the win was collected by Kimme Ball, who made 12 saves. On the opposite end, Lydia Kaye and Lauren Viglietta combined to make seven saves for the Lady Lions.
After the game reached its conclusion, Genesee Valley/Belfast, along with their home crowd, recognized co-coach Lisa Scott-Schneider for eclipsing the 200-career win mark earlier this week against Cuba-Rushford. The team presented her with flowers and a “200” sign that each player autographed
An emotional Scott-Schneider reflected on her journey since the very beginning, noting that she is very thankful to have had the opportunity to coach incredible talent over the years, as well as the merger between both athletic programs to keep soccer going.
“I just told the girls that I was very thankful that we merged, because Genesee Valley was starving for soccer players. It's good to be double-digit for your career,” she said. “It's 19 years of coaching, and I've got one more year to go. Some really great kids have gone through this program over the years, but I'm really thankful for this merger. I knew the first year was going to be difficult, but look at us now. They've really bought into what we've instilled.”
Genesee Valley/Belfast is back on the field for Senior Night at the Rich Sullivan Complex in Belfast on Thursday, as they play host to Andover/Whitesville at 7 p.m. on Thursday. As for the Lady Lions, they return home to the Den to welcome in Bolivar-Richburg on Monday in a 7 p.m. first kick of their own.
Fillmore 4, Cuba-Rushford 0
FILLMORE — The Lady Rebels of Cuba-Rushford pushed undefeated Fillmore back against the wall early in a closely contested first 40 minutes of play that could have tilted the balance of power either way.
Although they were put on their feet, despite a 1-0 lead at the break, the Lady Eagles would shake it off rather quickly in the second half and leave it directly in the past. They have one of Section V’s best in Hope Russell to thank for that, as she went on to complete her hat trick. And then some, scoring all four of the team’s goals while the defense kept Cuba-Rushford at bay in their 4-0 Homecoming victory, Saturday night.
“It was Homecoming weekend for everyone here at Fillmore, and I thought we didn’t play with the energy we should have in such a great environment,” said Lady Eagles coach Jon Beardsley. “Credit first goes to Cuba-Rushford for making our lives difficult. They played some sound defense and more energy than we did in the first half, especially early on. I thought moving Amelia Rose to the midfield from the defense was the spark we needed to have, and that got us going before halftime. The second half, we played with more energy and simply won more balls than our opponent.”
Both teams were in a midfield fight for their lives for much of the time occupied in the first half, as chances were garnered but none were capitalized upon. But with 11:40 left until the break, the Lady Eagles (11-0) were able to navigate their way through the Lady Rebels defense for Hope Russell’s first goal to give them a giant step forward going into the second half.
In the last 40 minute stanza, Fillmore would use every bit of momentum they built, especially Russell, who went on to score three more goals to further cement the team’s lead all the way to the end. On three of the goals, Grace Russell would record the primary assist to set up the attack.
The four goals came on 14 total shots applied against Cuba-Rushford (5-5), as they outshot their opposition by a 14-2 count. Both Lady Rebels shots were stopped by Preslee Miller to record the shutout — the team’s ninth of the season. On the other end of the pitch, Lilly Johnson-Clark made 10 saves for the visitors in white and blue, who will now head for Canisteo-Greenwood for a 5 p.m. first kick on Monday.
Up next, the Lady Eagles will look to remain hot with a 5 p.m. visit to Friendship/Scio on Tuesday, in Friendship.
Avoca/Prattsburgh 4, Friendship/Scio 0
SCIO — Olivia Kilmer had a phenomenal day leading the charge for Avoca/Prattsburgh on the front line, striking gold with a hat trick-clinching performance, as the Lady Titans scored a pair of goals in each half while keeping Friendship/Scio off the board completely to secure what was a 4-0 shutout win on Saturday in Scio.
Kilmer was able to crack through the ice for Avoca/Prattsburgh right in the first 10 minutes of play with her first marker, garnering the game’s first lead and holding onto it until they were able to add onto it once more with her second score coming with 10:36 left to play, as the Lady Titans claimed a 2-0 lead heading into the break.
The momentum would remain with the visitors in white and black when Kilmer finished off her hat trick just 45 seconds after the opening kick at midfield to extend their lead to three. Nearly five minutes later, the victory was capped off by Madison Fitzwater, as she posted a goal of her own at the 34:21 mark. Madison Taylor, Issie Walburn and Ina Kjernli all had assists to chip in to further the team’s cause.
With their four goals, Avoca/Prattsburgh went on to outshoot Friendship/Scio (6-6) by a 14-4 total count, with Grace Drumm making 10 saves for the host in black and gold. On the opposite end of the field, Ellie Harrell and Lily Hausauer combined to make all four stops for the shutout, for the Lady Titans.
Friendship/Scio is on the field again Tuesday night back over the hill, as they prepare to host the undefeated Lady Eagles of Fillmore in a 5 p.m. first kick in Friendship.
BOYS SOCCER
Fillmore 7, Cuba-Rushford 0
FILLMORE — While the Lady Eagles started Homecoming weekend on the biggest of footsteps, the Fillmore boys squad took the stage under the lights to try and close out Saturday night with a complete sweep against Cuba-Rushford.
Fortunately enough, they were able to witness five different Eagles all find the back of the net, with Layton Sanasith and Zach Sisson each scoring a pair to pave the way, while the defense kept the Rebels at a complete standstill to remain in the driver’s seat to score their 11th straight victory in shutout fashion, 7-0 over the Rebels.
“It was a really good weekend to be an Eagle. I thought we played our best game of the year in front of a packed Homecoming crowd, so I give our fans and alumni a lot of credit for helping us take it to the next level tonight,” said Eagles coach Jarrett Vosburg. “A lot of guys also had some great games for us. In particular, Zach Sisson did some very nice things for us on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball from the stopper position. Overall, our defense was great once again, helping launch our offense most of the night. Alex Baron made some really nice saves in the first half for them to keep things close, so credit to him for a solid effort in net.”
Fillmore (11-0) opened the scoring just over 10 minutes into the battle with Jack Cool’s marker off of the first of three Eben Schilke assists to break the ice against Cuba-Rushford.
The advantage would hold up towards the late stages of the half when the Eagles would find the back of the net two more times in a span of 1:21, as Layton Sanasith and Isaiah Sisson did the honors of branching the lead to 3-0, with Sisson sending along a helper to Sanasith while Schilke provided his second helper to Sisson.
The Eagles would then go on to further cement their lead in the second half with four more goals, two of them from Zach Sisson just over 10 minutes after the kick, and later on with under 10 minutes remaining to play, with Noah Strickland and Eben Schilke recording the helpers on the tallies. In between, Sanasith scored his second of the game with a helper from Cool just 2:31 removed from Sisson’s goal, and later on, Schilke posted a goal of his own off a helper from Sisson at the 67:43 mark.
The seven goals came courtesy of a 21-shot output against Cuba-Rushford (6-4-1), as they outshot the Rebels by a 21-4 count. In net, Brayden Hennard made all four stops to record the shutout, while Alex Baron made 13 saves for the Rebels on the opposite end of the field.
Fillmore will return to their home field on Monday with a big 7 p.m. visit from the Marion Black Knights, while Cuba-Rushford will look to rebound back into the win column next Friday night with a 5 p.m. visit to Friendship/Scio, in Friendship.
Campbell-Savona 7, Andover/Whitesville-Jasper-Troupsburg 1
WHITESVILLE — The Campbell-Savona Panthers ran wild on the field in Whitesville bright and early Saturday morning, as they went over the road and returned home victorious with a big 7-1 win over host Andover/Whitesville-Jasper-Troupsburg.
Brody Vance helped Andover/Whitesville-Jasper-Troupsburg (4-7) eliminate the possibility of a shutout for the Panthers, as he scored the team’s lone goal on a penalty kick opportunity.
Additional in-depth statistics were not made available to report upon publication.
Up next, Andover/Whitesville-Jasper-Troupsburg will prepare for a 6 p.m. trip to Scio, visiting host Friendship/Scio.
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
Fillmore 3, Hinsdale 0
FILLMORE — After a battle between two of the County’s burning infernos saw the Lady Rebels of Cuba-Rushford put out Fillmore’s phenomenal five-game win streak, the Lady Eagles made sure they went into the weekend on a positive note, as they rebounded and delivered a straight-set sweep of visiting Hinsdale on Saturday in The Rock with a 25-15, 25-13, 25-20 win.
The Lady Eagles (6-5) saw Eevie Cox keep the ball off the floor in a big way, digging deep to deliver eight team-high digs to go with four aces from the service line. On offense, Jenna Austin paved the way with three kills and two aces, while Savannah Hosmer continued the team’s success from the back line with four aces to pair with two more kills on the attack.
Statistics for the Lady Bobcats (1-8) were not made available to report upon publication.
Both teams are back on the court Monday night on their home floors, as Fillmore looks for their seventh win in the last eight games with a 7:30 p.m. first serve against Arkport/Canaseraga, while Hinsdale heads back home to host Ellicottville at 6:30 p.m.
