Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Peter Martillotta, who scored the lone Medina FC goal drives the ball up field against a Sporting Cavs defender during the playoff title game this evening at Nichols School in Buffalo.

A late goal proved to be the difference as the Medina Mustangs FC dropped a narrow 2-1 decision to the Sporting Cavs in the championship game of the Buffalo & District Soccer League Championship Division playoffs this evening at Nichols School in Buffalo.

The Sporting Cavs got the game winning goal with about 10 minutes remaining on a shot by Matt Cordovani which snapped a 1-1 deadlock.

The Sporting Cavs also jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first half.

Medina FC put on good pressure early in the second half with two corner opportunities and a pair of direct kicks.

The Mustangs finally tied the game on a penalty kick goal by Peter Martillotta 25 minutes into the second half.

Medina again put on good pressure late in the game but could not score again.

Medina goalie Tyler Ribbeck made 10 saves including a pair of diving stops in the first half.

Both teams advanced to the finals with upset wins in the semifinals. No. 6 Seed Medina FC upset top seeded Buffalo Italia 1-0 and No. 5 Sporting Cavs bested No. 2 Ukraine 2-0.

Medina FC and Sporting Cavs played to a 2-2 tie during the regular season.

Medina finishes the season at 6-5-2 and Sporting Cavs at 7-4-2.

Zak Rowekamp works to gain control of the ball for the Medina FC.

The Medina Women’s Softball ‘A’ League playoff competition will continue with three games Monday evening at the Jr. Wilson fields to determine the two teams which will compete in the championshp round on August 17.

At 6 p.m. Banes will face top seeded Jr. Wilson in the winners bracket final and White Birch will take on Katys/Parkitects in the losers bracket semifinal.

Then at 7:15, the Jr. Wilson vs. Banes loser will take on the White Birch vs. Parkitects winner in the losers bracket final.

The championship round is then scheduled for 6 p.m. August 17 at Jr. Wilson.

Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Jameson Eisenhauer and his Medina Mustangs FC will play for the playoff championship on Sunday.

Looking to keep the momentum from Tuesday’s big semifinal upset victory, No. 6 seed Medina Mustangs FC will face No. 5 Sporting Cavs for the Buffalo District Soccer League Championship Division playoff title on Sunday at 5:45 p.m. at Nichols School in Buffalo.

Medina upset top seeded Buffalo Italia 1-0 in the semifinals while the Sporting Cavs upended No. 2 Ukraine 2-0. Jameson Eisenhauer scored the Mustangs goal.

The Mustangs had played to a 2-2 tie with Buffalo Italia in the regular season finale while the Sporting Cavs avenged a 2-0 regular season loss to Ukraine.

Medina played to a 2-2 tie with the Sporting Cavs during the regular season.

Both teams bring identical 6-4-2 records into the championship game.

The Mustangs have gone 6-1-2 over the last nine games after an 0-3 start to the season when the team was playing shorthanded.

Medina opened the playoffs with a 2-0 win over No. 3 Revolution. Peter Martillotta scored both Mustang goals.

Offensively Medina has been led by Cole Callard (8 goals, 3 assists) and Martillotta (5 goals, 2 assists) as Tyler Ribbeck in goal has anchored the defense.

The Mustangs are looking for their first playoff championship since 2023 when they defeated top seeded Ukraine 2-1 to win the 3rd Division title.

Coming up with a HUGE victory, the No. 6 seed Medina Mustangs FC upset top seeded Buffalo Italia FC 1-0 in the semifinal round of the Buffalo District Soccer League championship Division playoffs Tuesday evening at Buffalo State.

Jameson Eisenhauer scored the lone goal for Medina off a quick corner kick by Cole Callard with less than five minutes to go in the first half.

The Mustangs defense anchored by Tyler Ribbbeck in goal did the rest. Ribbeck made a huge save with five minutes to go in the second half to preserve the narrow upset victory.

The defensive stalworts also included Caleb Suckow and Zak Rowekamp who both played a full 90 minutes at center back.

Medina will now face the winner of today’s semifinal between No. 2 Ukraine and No. 5 Sporting Cavs in the playoff championship game on Sunday at 4:45 p.m. at Nichols School in Buffalo.

Medina improves to 6-4-2 while Buffalo Italia finishes the season at 9-1-1.

The Mustangs also tied with Buffalo Italia 2-2 in the regular season finale.

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Banging out hits in Monday evening’s playoff action were Lorelei Sanders for Katy’s/Parkitects, at left, and Jen Thom for Jr. Wilson.

Jr. Wilson and White Birch both scored victories in Medina Women’s Softball ‘A’ League playoff competition Monday evening.

Jr. Wilson downed Katy’s/Parkitects 14-1 in a women’s bracket game and White Birch topped Mr. Septic 8-1 in a losers bracket contest.

Wet grounds at Jr. Wilson caused the games to be moved to  the Sacred Heart field. Two other games were postponed as only one field was available.

Playoff action will continue next Monday evening at 6 p.m. at Jr. Wilson as Jr. Wilson will take on Banes in the winners bracket final and White Birch will face Parkitects in a losers bracket game. Then at 7:15 p.m. the Jr. Wilson vs. Banes loser will face the White Birch vs. Parkitects winner in the losers bracket final.

The championship round is now scheduled for Monday August 17.

Jr. Wilson 14, Katy’s/Parkitects 1
Junior Wilson scored 4 runs in the first inning on a leadoff walk and singles from Lizzy Hazel, Sara Flansburg, Alyssa Robarge, and a double off the bat of Jaclyn Rodriguez to spark the win over Parkitects.

Robarge later hit a 3-run home run in the 4th frame to put Junior Wilson up 10-1.

Parkitects scored one run in the 4th off the bat of Alishia Foss. Kennedy Clark had an RBI single in the 5th for Parkitects as well.

Junior Wilson scored 4 more in the bottom of the 5th to secure the mercy rule win.

Hazel and Flansburg both finished with 4 hits for Jr. Wilson as Robarge and Jodi Zacher both had 3 and Jessica Rosenbeck and Rodriquez went 2 each.

Robin Blaun, Kristin Ball, Bree Smith, and Grace Capstick all had hits for Parkitects.

White Birch 8, Mr. Septic 1
White Birch banged out 14 hits which included a triple and two singles by Ella Lewis. Aubrey Lewis had a double and Stacy Buckland and Morgan Ralph each had two singles. Anna Lewis, Maddy Boyle, Kenzie Muck and Dana Cotriss all contributed one single each.

Mr. Septic had 11 hits including two singles from Lindsay Ward, a double by Emily Kams and a triple and single from Cami London, who also had a strong defensive game in centerfield.

In action in the circle are Bri Gudzek for Jr. Wilson, at left. and Robin Blaun for Katy’s/Parkitects.

Four Niagara-Orleans League schools have earned special academic honors from the New York State Public High School Athletic Association.

Wilson has earned a NYSPHSAA School of Distinction Award.

Barker, Roy-Hart and Newfane have all earned NYSPHSAA School of Excellence Awards.

Schools qualify for the School of Distinction Award by having 100 percent of their varsity teams earn NYSPHSAA Scholar-Athlete Team recognition during their respective sports seasons.

To earn the School of Excellence Award, 75 percent or more of a school’s varsity teams must achieve Scholar-Athlete Team status.

The purpose of the School of Distinction and School of Excellence Awards is to unite athletic departments in challenging every varsity team to achieve statewide academic recognition through the NYSPHSAA Scholar-Athlete program.

For the 2025-2026 school year, 118 schools earned the School of Distinction Award, while 237 schools earned the School of Excellence Award. This compares to 110 Schools of Distinction and 221 Schools of Excellence during the 2024-2025 school year.

“The commitment demonstrated by our member schools to academic excellence continues to be one of the greatest strengths of educational-based athletics,” said Dr. Robert Zayas, NYSPHSAA Executive Director. “These awards recognize entire school communities that value success in the classroom as much as success in competition.”

The top seeded Niagara Surge downed the Medina Mustangs 15U 11-2 this afternoon in the quarterfinal round of the Western New York Summer Classic Baseball Tournament being played at West Seneca.

Medina did jump out to a quick 2-0 first inning lead on a two-run single by Brayden LaMartina after two walks and a hit batter had loaded the bases.

However, the Mustangs managed no more hits and no more runs the rest of the way.

The Surge rallied into the lead for good by scoring three times in the second inning on a bases loaded walk, a fielders choice play and an RBI single.

Keeping the momentum, the Surge locked up the win by scoring a total of 8 runs over the next four innings including one in the third, two in both the fourth and fifth and three in the sixth.

Medina Women’s Softball ‘A’ League playoff competition will continue with four games on Monday evening at the Jr. Wilson fields.

At 6 p.m. top seeded Jr. Wilson will face Katy’s/Parkitect in a winners bracket game and White Birch will take on Mr. Septic in a losers bracket contest.

Then at 7:15 p.m. the Jr. Wilson vs. Parkitect winner will take on Banes in the winners bracket semifinal. In addition, the White Birch vs. Mr. Septic winner will take on the Jr Wilson vs. Parkitect loser in the losers bracket semifinal.

The playoffs are scheduled to conclude on Monday evening August 10.

Nine proved to be the lucky number for the opposition as the Medina 15U baseball team dropped a pair of decisions today at the Western New York Summer Classic Tournament being held at West Seneca.

Medina first lost 9-4 to the Clarence Crushers and then 9-3 to the 716 Patriots.

The tournament will continue on Sunday.

Clarence Crushers 9, Medina 4
Leading by a narrow 5-4 margin, the Crushers put a lock on the win by scoring four times in the sixth inning on two triples, two errors and a wild pitch.

Earlier, Medina built up leads of 3-2 in the fourth inning and 4-3 in the fifth frame.

The Mustangs scored once in the third on a single by Shawn Robertson and a passed ball, twice in the fourth on an RBI single by Viktor Snyder and a passed ball and once in the fifth on an error following a single by Brayden Calabro.

716 Patriots 9, Medina 3
Three run scoring bursts in the first inning on three walks, two singles and a multi run error and in the fifth frame on a double, a ground out and a double keyed the 716 Patriots to the win.

Medina had grabbed a quick 1-0 lead in the top of the first on a sacrifice fly by Mason Berry which followed singles by Jacob Duffina and Snyder.

An RBI sacrifice fly by Duffina, which followed two walks and a single by Brandon Floret Jr., pulled Medina to within 4-2 in the third inning but the Mustangs would get no closer.

Medina’s other run came in the fourth inning on an RBI single by Brayden LaMartina.