Albion, Kendall seek sectional soccer titles

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Kendall’s Brianna Wakefield and Albion’s Leah Pritchard and their Lady Eagles and Purple Eagles teammates will be looking to claim sectional championships on Saturday.

Saturday will be a huge one for both the Albion and Kendall girls soccer teams as the Purple Eagles and Lady Eagles will be seeking to capture sectional championships.

Undefeated (17-0-1) Albion will be seeking its first ever sectional title as the No. 4 seeded Purple Eagles face No. 7 Olean (16-2-1)  in the Section VI Class B1 championship game at Williamsville East at 3 p.m.

Kendall (13-5) will be taking aim at claiming its 11th sectional crown as the No. 4 Lady Eagles take on No. 2 Fillmore (17-1) in the Section V Class D1 championship contest also at 3 p.m. at Perry.

Albion, which reached the sectional finals for the first time last year dropping a narrow 1-0 decision to Newfane, advanced to the title contest by defeating No. 5 Springville 3-1 in the opening round and No. 1 East Aurora 2-0 in the semifinals.

Offensively the Purple Eagles have been led by Abby Scanlan with 17 goals and 6 assists and Brylie Hapeman with 15 goals and 17 assists. Goalie Sydney Mulka anchors the defense.

Olean, which is sparked offensively by Calista Heisler who has 55 goals and 12 assists, downed Dunkirk 7-0 in the opening round, City Honors 3-2 in the quarterfinals and Alden 2-1 in the semifinals.

Kendall, which last captured a sectional title in 2015, advanced to the finals by downing No. 4 Alfred-Almond 4-1 in the quarterfinals and No. 9 Arkport-Canaseraga 6-0 in the semis.

The Lady Eagles offense has been led by Hailee Mitchell with 24 goals, Grace Levett 11 and Alezya Brown 9.

Fillmore, which belted No. 3 Avoca-Bradford 7-0 in the semifinals has received goal production from 20 different players this season led by Emily Hatch’s 18.