Golden Cougars come up short

If only they could’ve found one more open look, things could’ve been different.

Hornell scored twice in the first half and withstood a solid second half from the Golden Cougars to beat Falconer/Cassadaga Valley/Maple Grove 2-1 in Friday’s Class B girls soccer Far West Regional at Williamsville North High School.

With their first New York State Public High School Athletic Association quarterfinal victory since 2013, the Section V-champion Red Raiders advanced to next week’s final four in Cortland.

“I asked a bunch of individuals at the beginning of the year and the girls said this was the stated goal,” Hornell head coach Mike WIlkinson said. “We want to go as far as any team has gone. … They were the first kids to run off the field in tears tonight just because that was their big goal and they accomplished it.”

Falconer/Cassadaga Valley/Maple Grove’s Sydnee Snow makes a play during Friday’s Far West Regional against Hornell.
OBSERVER photo by Matt Spielman

For the Golden Cougars, their season comes to an end with a 17-4-0 record and the program’s first Section VI title since 2014.

“We bounced back in the second half,” Falconer/Cassadaga Valley/Maple Grove head coach Brett Johnson said. “It sucks that we didn’t come out on top here tonight.”

Hornell’s speed was a problem early Friday and Falconer/Cassadaga Valley/Maple Grove sophomore goalkeeper Ellyson Baglia was called upon to make a pair of breakaway saves in the first 10 minutes to keep the match scoreless.

“A couple of big saves. They had a lot of well-timed runs,” Johnson said. “She came up huge, came out and made the saves. She kept us in the game, for sure.”

In the 23rd minute, another long ball from the Red Raiders’ Chloe Harwood proved costly as Parker Graham touched a shot past Baglia to make it 1-0.

Falconer/Cassadaga Valley/Maple Grove’s Giada Schauman makes a play during Friday’s Far West Regional against Hornell.
OBSERVER photo by Matt Spielman

“They overload really well. They time their runs up and they know what each other is going to do,” Johnson said. “It was hard to keep track of them in the first half.”

Baglia stopped her third breakaway of the first half in the 29th minute, but Hornell got an all-important second goal with six minutes left when Graham scored from Ella White to make it 2-0.

“In the first half, we knew that those wind gusts were really helping us out,” Wilkinson said. “Falconer was playing with a high, flat back four. We thought if we could play behind there, we could create chances.”

As the teams switched sides for the second half, so too did Falconer/Cassadaga Valley/Maple Grove’s fortunes.

Sophomore Julianna Roth put a long shot on net that was stopped with a diving save and Kylie Kress, another sophomore, sent a cross into the box that was punched over the goal by junior Mary Lundmark in the first 12 minutes of the half.

Finally, in the 53rd minute, Lundmark made a run down the right side of the field and scored on a laser over the outstretched hands of Red Raiders keeper Allisa Haley.

“She was flying down the sideline. It was fun to watch on a couple of those runs,” Johnson said. “She finally got one at the right time in the right place and was able to capitalize.”

The Golden Cougars pressured for much of the remaining 27 minutes, but could never get a great look at the goal from the top of the 18-yard box.

“They did a really good job of staying in front of us and not letting us get anything easy,” Johnson said.

Time and time again, Roth, Kress, freshman Sydnee Snow and others seemed to be one touch away from a possible tying goal, but were turned away by the Red Raiders.

“There is just too much attacking talent on that team,” Wilkinson said. “We knew they were going to be dangerous. They created some set pieces, some corners and some really nervy moments for us because they just wouldn’t quit.”

In the final minute, Hornell made one final clear toward the Falconer/Cassadaga Valley/Maple Grove end of the field and was able to run out the clock to lock up a trip to Central New York next weekend.

While the Golden Cougars will graduate Ashlynn Smith, Natalie Dossey and Alex Caldwell, assuming the three-school merger remains intact, they will have as good of a shot as anybody in Section VI at repeating in Class B next season.

“We hate losing the seniors, but we have a young team,” Johnson said. “The outlook is good for the future. Just keep grinding year after year and build a successful program.”