Warriors tally fifth straight victory on Senior Day
By HUNTER O. LYLE
SALAMANCA, NY – For the past two weeks, the Salamanca girl’s soccer team has been on a tear, stringing together win after consecutive win. On a night where they were honoring their senior leadership, the Warriors would not be denied, cranking out their fifth straight win with a 10-0 win over Gowanda/Pine Valley.
Entering their home rematch with the Panthers, the Warriors were thriving, boasting a 8-2 record that shattered their previous campaign’s watermark – 7-9-1 in 2025. And along the way, the entire roster was contributing. In Salamanca’s last four games alone, which saw back-to-back overtime wins, a 7-1 blowout and a 3-0 shutout, nine Warriors registered goals and seven tallied assists.
“We’ve seen this coming. We’re a very deep team. A very young and athletic team. We have a lot of players that can enter the game and make an impact,” said Salamanca head coach Kersten Furlong. “In practice we scrimmage a lot and mix up the lineups so everyone can mesh together and I think that’s really helped us a lot.”
Against Gowanda, the Warriors continued to add to that growing list. Having six seniors recognized before the game, the mission seemed clear: help them find the back of the back of the net. It didn’t take long to see the fruits of their labor.
Absolutely dominating from the get go, Salamanca immediately pulled the trigger, with the first goal of the night coming from Arleigh Chudy, a senior, after less than a minute and a half. Just over two minutes later, Chudy scored again off a pass from Myla Galante, a fellow senior, who then also punched in a score just before the 20-minute mark, putting Salamanca up 3-0.
As the Warriors continued to control virtually every aspect of the game, controlling possession and containing the action to the perimeter of the Panthers’ box, the flood gates opened. Before the end of the half, four seniors – Chudy, Galante, Avianna Stahlman and Lily Volge – had scored as they amassed a 6-0 lead going into the break.
“I’m very proud of how unselfish everyone played tonight. Everyone stepped up to get the seniors looks and set up their teammates,” said Furlong. “It was great to see.”
In the second, after an initial score from Addison Earley – her team-leading 12th of the season – the next senior made their way into the scoring column. Four minutes after Earley’s goal, Lailee Pierce took advantage of Gowanda’s goalkeeper finding herself out of position, stretched too far from the net and helpless to defend Pierce’s successful shot on goal.
With just one senior remaining, all efforts aimed towards giving Ava Porter the ball. Maneuvering around the Panthers, Salamanca constantly tried to find ways to feed the crease. However, with ten and a half minutes left to go, Porter found her chance.
After a heavy hit in the box, the Warriors sent her to the line for a penalty kick, one she took full advantage of as she completed the senior cycle with her second goal of the season. With one final cherry on top, a goal coming from Ireland Fidurko, Salamanca cruised to win No. 9.
Having just five games left and sitting at 9-2 overall and 7-1 in the CCAA Division II standings, Salamanca now carefully eyes the horizon, where a trip to the Class B playoff looms.
“We’re just going to hopefully use our depth to coast towards the playoffs. We have to stay mentally tough, especially this late in the season,” said Furlong. “Everyone’s getting tired this late in the season and that’s why we push them in practices and run so much, so that we have that extra energy and fuel when it’s a tight game. So we need to stay the course and stay mentally tough.”
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