By HUNTER O. LYLE
SALAMANCA, NY – Led by early production, the Salamanca girl’s soccer team punched their ticket to the Section VI Class B quarterfinals, beating Newfane 4-1 in their first taste of postseason action.
Entering the playoffs with the fifth seed, the Warriors took to their home turf with a head full of steam. Suffering just three losses throughout the campaign, they punctuated their 13-3 record with four consecutive wins to book-end their regular season.
“I thought we had a great season. The kids really stepped up. You can tell that the kids who have played year-round, all that offseason stuff really has helped,” said Salamanca head coach Kersten Furlong. “They work well together and we have a group of really unselfish kids which really helps. And we’re a young group so the future is bright.”
Reaching the playoffs with a potent offense, one that outscored their opponents by over three goals a game, Salamanca’s attack showed up early. Seeing their first shot ricochet off the post in the first 70 seconds of play, their next one found its mark. Lining up for a direct kick just beyond the box, Arliegh Chudy lofted a shot over the goal keeper and into the back of the net, scoring her ninth goal of the season.
However, the Panthers didn’t waste their own initial opportunity. Breaking through midfield for the first time of the afternoon, a long outlet found Lily Vogle in front of the net. In a maneuver to free up space, she collided with keeper Gwyn Emborsky, earning a penalty kick in the third minute of play. Going top shelf, Vogle’s attempt drew the game back to even, scoring Newfane’s fourth goal of the season.
But as they took one step forward, the Panthers took two steps back.
Responding to the equalizer, the Warriors opened the field. Playing wide with lateral outlets that carved lanes down the sidelines. On one such attempt, Chudy sent the ball through the middle, unintentionally losing possession. However, on a backpass to the goalkeeper, Newfane gave one away with an own-goal. Two minutes later, the Warriors scored again, going up 3-1.
After building themselves a cushion, however, Salamanca settled into a lull, one that rolled over past halftime.
As their passing began to deteriorate, unable to find lift to cross the field or power to shoot through the crowd, the Warriors were pinned into midfield, finding lone one-and-done drives that failed to add to their lead. Meanwhile, the Panthers began to threaten, albeit, not sufficiently enough to find accurate shots on goal.
Crossing into the second half, the stalemate ensued with neither team managing to muster momentum or a sustained possession. Control rapidly swapped hands as passes were sent, stripped and repeated while passive defenders gave way to streaks towards the box. Shots became a rarity.
“I thought we started off really, really well with our passing-and-going and then I think we let up a little bit. We scored a couple goals and then we took our foot off the gas,” said Furlong. “It was a little sloppier. We picked it up but it certainly wasn’t how we normally play. I don’t know if was nerves or what.”
Deep in the contest, Salamanca began building steam once more. Drives became stronger, passes found feet and as the clock broke under twenty minutes, shots became more frequent. Finally, just before the 68th minute, the Warriors ended their drought. Receiving the ball just outside the box, Presleigh Jimerson sent it inside, finding Chudy who punched in her second score of the day.
If not already, the game became sealed, fizzling out through the final ten minutes as the Warriors coasted to their first victory of the night.
Along with Jimerson, Molly Duhan also recorded an assist on the win while Gwyn Emborsky stopped two shots while tending the net.
Up next, the Warriors will see a familiar face in the quarterfinals, where they see Eden for the second time in as many years. Although Salamanca dispatched the Raiders in the 2025 postseason, Eden struck back in their initial meeting, handing the Warriors their first loss of the season on opening night.
“Since we’ve already played Eden, we know we’re going to have to play a lot harder than we did today,” said Furlong. “They have a really good goalie so we’ll have to come ready and play hard.
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