By HUNTER O. LYLE
SALAMANCA, NY – Despite some late game dramatics, the Salamanca girl’s soccer team notched their first win in the books with aggressive play that carried them to a 3-2 win over Cattaraugus-Little Valley.
Through their first three games of the regular seasons, the sense of victory had evaded the youthful Warriors, dropping the most recent pair via shutouts. With their offense still finding its form, Salamanca focused on the fundamentals heading into game No. 4.
“We’re definitely a young team and we’ve just been working on passing,” said Salamanca head coach Kersten Furlong. “They want to pass so much sometimes, so we also have to teach them to be selfish and take some shots. We’re just finding that balance.”
Assertive ambition led the way for the Warriors immediately out of the gates. Containing the Timberwolves within their own backfield, Salamanca set up shop early, weaving through the defense and getting the first shot off within the initial two minutes of play. Exactly one minute later, Brielle Massagli put them on the scoreboard with the second shot of the day that soared past Catt-Little Valley’s goalkeeper. On the other side of the ball, Salamanca’s defense continuously swarmed the Timberwolves, stripping passes via committee before again forging a path upfield.

In turn, Catt-Little Valley’s own defense seemed completely out of sync. Along with the building pressure came audible and visible frustration, only made worse by a sluggish back line that allowed deep drives into the interior and bad passes that failed to clear the ball out of their territory. It would take five full minutes for the Timberwolves to cross mid-field and after 20 minutes of play, they had still yet to take aim at the Warriors’ goal.
Meanwhile, after their initial surge, Salamanca then found their stride in waves. Despite controlling lengthy possessions, they were always just one pass away from getting another shot on net. Hesitant passing and mistimed cuts gave way to stunted drives, however, with just over 10 minutes left before the break, the Warriors would find another opportunity.
Handling the ball just beyond midfield, Massagli chipped a shot over the defense and right to Eloise Brown. Finding herself in a 1-on-1 faceoff, Brown came up clutch with a right-side shot that found the back of the net and put Salamanca up by a pair. Although the Timberwolves would finally register a shot on goal in the closing moments, it wouldn’t present an honest threat, with goalkeeper Kendra Bova Redeye tallying an easy save up the middle and preserving Salamanca’s first-half shutout as the clock wound down.
“It was awesome to see us come out strong and that’s what we wanted from the get go,” said Furlong. “We wanted to get a shot right off the bat and they definitely listened and went right at it.”
As in the first, the Warriors hit the pitch sprinting to start the half. Getting their first shot of the period off in just 16 seconds, Salamanca’s Addy Earley registered her first goal of the season after receiving a perfectly placed pass from Ella Crouse just two and a half minutes in.

Looking to stop the bleeding, the Timberwolves doubled down on defense. Seeming to temporarily relent on offense, Catt-Little Valley stuck an extra player in the backfield as a tourniquet and while it had the desired effect of stunting Salamanca’s constant attack, what offense they had ground to a halt.
However, after over 30 minutes of deadlocked play, the Timberwolves found a spark. In the 31st minute, a fastbreak down the left side was crossed to the middle where Talon Bramer powered in her team’s first goal of the night. Noticeably invigorated, Catt-Little Valley pushed the pace which was returned with a renewed physicality from Salamanca. That body-on-body aggression would back-fire for the Warriors when, with just under five minutes remaining, an aggressive slide tackle would result in a Timberwolves free kick. Rebekah Butcher took the shot, curving the ball into the top left corner of the goal and cutting the deficit to just one.
Suddenly pushed onto their heels, the Warriors were desperate to keep the ball at midfield. Constant clears downrange and crisp passing burnt time and as the final seconds burnt off the clock, the Warriors had survived the surge, earning their first win of the season.
Salamanca will stay on their home field for the next two contests, facing Olean on Friday and Gowanda on Monday before seeing the top two teams in the Chautauqua Cattaraugus Athletic Association Class 2, Ellicottville and Randolph, the following week.
“We just want to keep getting better everyday,” said Furlong.