PORT ALLEGANY, PA – Sealed with a late goal from Ketha Line, the Port Allegany girl’s soccer team picked up a 3-1 win against Ridgway, keeping their postseason hopes alive with a win on Senior Night.
In the closing minutes of Monday’s contest, the Lady Gators held the advantage. However, the Lady Elkers were threatening, setting up shop in Port’s backfield with the hopes of erasing their one-goal deficit. Relentlessly attacking the net, Ridgway returned with force every time Port cleared the ball. However, with just six minutes left, the Lady Gators found a lane.
Dispatching Ridgway once again, Port was able to feed their attack with Kylee Pelchy feeding Line who breezed a shot past the final Lady Elker for her first goal of the season.
“That was a big moment. I didn’t get excited all game long, but that was the first time I was excited,” said Port Allegany head coach Matt Lawton. “It was great to see her score. That’s Kylee Plechy’s first assist of the season too. She came across the line, dropped it to Ketha and a lot of times when kids get that drop, they sky it, but she placed it right in the netting. It was beautiful.”
Earning a third win in a row and playing under a 0.500 rule, Port now stands at 7-7-2 with two games left. Having to win at least one to secure a spot in the District 9 Class A playoffs, the only thing to do is stay the course.
“I think part of (our winning) is that they’re just playing stronger. I think they got a little bit of a head check and they just know they need to play stronger and they need to play 80 minutes,” said Lawton, whose team plays Eisenhower on Wednesday and Elk County Catholic the following Tuesday. “I think it’s all about pushing harder.”
After the game, at the halftime of the Gators’ game against Coudersport, Port also honored the 10 Lady Gators who will be graduating in the spring: Kami Archer, Kailey Bartlett, Anna Cunningham, Madison Fillhart, Hannah Himes, Line, Kendra Meade, Hazel Page, Hannah Taylor and Journey Wilmouth.
“(The seniors) were sophomores when I started three years ago and they have been playing a lot of minutes for three years,” said Lawton. “They’ve been doing so much. They’ve had so much time in the game and time with me that it’s sad to see them go.”
Southwestern 6, Olean 0
JAMESTOWN, NY – A flurry of Trojan goals in the opening 40 minutes dug a hole that the Huskies couldn’t crawl out of, suffering their eleventh loss of the season.
Southwestern would scorch the net in the opening half, scoring in the first eight minutes and walking off the pitch for halftime with a large lead. Adding to the scoreboard two more times in the second half, the Trojans had secured their eighth win of the year.
In the net for Olean, Audrey Hoffman came away with 19 saves.
Portville 2, Jamestown 0
JAMESTOWN, NY – Scoring twice in the first half, the Panthers’ defense would close out the game, posting the team’s fourth consecutive victory and sixth shutout of the season.
Allie Bray opened the action with a score in the 18th minute off an assist from Alexis Linn. Seven minutes later, Kiyah Mohr put Portville up by a pair with an unassisted goal. Protecting the net, Bella Morales ended with six saves.
Randolph 6, Salamanca 1
SALAMANCA, NY – Facing the CCAA Division II leading Cardinals, Salamanca was outgunned and overwhelmed as they picked up their third league loss of the season.
Entering Monday’s contest, Randolph had suffered just one loss in 11 games, boasting an 7-0 Division II record. Against the Warriors, they wasted no time showing why they were at the top.
The Cardinals would begin peppering the net early, punching in a pair of goals in the first 21 minutes. They then added to their lead with two more, scoring in the 28th and 34th minute to enter the break up 4-0.
Although Ireland Fidurko put Salamanca on the board early in the second, Randolph responded by scoring goal No. 5 and 6 shortly after, sealing the win.
Having just four games left on their regular season schedule, two of which are league opponents in Franklinville and Ellicottville, the Warriors standing in Division II is yet to be secured as they share the same 5-3 league record with both the Titans and Eagles.
Volleyball
Falconer 3, Olean 0
FALCONER, NY – The Huskies picked up their fourth loss of the season against Falconer, losing 28-26, 25-21 and 25-23.
Next, Olean will return home to play Jamestown on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
Portville 3, Southwestern 0
PORTVILLE, NY – The Portville girls volleyball team saw another team fall victim to their unbeaten record as it swept Southwestern 25-10, 25-10, 25-11.
Leading the Panthers was Addie Walker, who dished out 27 assists along with her five aces, three digs and three kills. Alongside her, Ali Haynes had 18 kills and six digs, Gaitley Maiolo tallied eight kills and four digs, and Mia Rhinehart had 13 digs.
Port Allegany 3, Cameron County 0
PORT ALLEGANY, PA – Isla Lehmier’s do-it-all mentality led the Lady Gators to a season sweep over Cam Co.
As always, Lehmier ran the Lady Gators’ offense with 24 assists, however, she also added two kills, two blocks and three aces in the win. Lily Lehmier ended with three aces, 15 kills and seven digs alongside Peyton Gordon’s six aces, two kills and three blocks.
Up next, Port will see the second seed in the North Tier League, Otto-Eldred, where they will look to complete another season sweep at home. That match is slated for Tuesday at 7 p.m.
DuBois 3, Bradford 2
DUBOIS, PA – Being forced into their second fifth-set match of the season, the Lady Owls were unable to pull out a road win late.
After taking the first set of the night 25-19, Bradford saw the Lady Beavers storm back with consecutive wins at 26-24 and 25-20. Despite coming away with a 25-23 victory in set No. 4, the Lady Owls fell short in the tie-breaker, losing 16-14.
Addison Carter led the Lady Owls with 18 kills while Emma Pilon and Haley Keane both had 14. Keane also recorded four blocks while Aliya Corignani came away with 43 assists, two kills and two blocks.
Otto-Eldred 3, Galeton 0
GALETON, PA – Rayel Hakes’ six aces and 12 kills carried the Lady Terrors to a win in hostile territory.
Hakes also tallied eight digs in the win, while Jahden Smith finished with nine digs and four aces. Emma Button facilitated the floor for 27 assists, also ending with four digs and four aces.
