Title contest will be a first for Albion girls

Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Albion’s Alexis Bentley and her Purple Eagle teammates will make their playoff final debut Saturday as they face Newfane  for the Section VI Class B-1 title.

Making a first ever appearance in the finals, Albion will face a very familiar foe when the No. 8 seed Purple Eagles take on No. 2 Newfane in the Section VI Class B-1 girls soccer playoff championship game at 11 a.m. Saturday at Williamsville North.

It will also be a history making clean sweep day for the Niagara-Orleans League which also has both of the Class B-2 finalists as No. 4 Wilson faces No. 2 Akron at 1 p.m. at Will. North.

Albion and Newfane played to a wild 6-6 overtime tie in their first league meeting this season. However, the Lady Panthers blanked the Purple Eagles 4-0 in the rematch in route to capturing a second straight N-O championship with a 10-1-1 record.

Albion advanced to the history making first trip to the championship game by trimming No. 5 Alden 2-1 on Tuesday in what was only the Purple Eagles second every appearance in the semifinals.

Newfane, which is the defending B-1 champion, had an even closer call in the semifinals as the Lady Panthers needed double overtime to oust No 6 Olean 4-2.

Last year Newfane went on to win overall Section VI Class B title with a 1-0 win over Fredonia and the Far West Regional with a 2-0 victory over Palmyra-Macedon before being nipped in the state semifinals 1-0 by Chenango Forks.

Offensively, Newfane is sparked by the 1-2 senior scoring combination of Kayleigh Daniels (28 goals, 16 assists) and Emily Foltz (25 goals, 11 assists).  Foltz had 3 goals in the win over Olean. Junior Madelyn Traverse in goal anchors the Lady Panthers defense.

Junior Brylie Hapeman has led Albion’s underclassmen dominated squad in scoring with 19 goals and 5 assists. Freshman Claire Squicciarini has 9 goals and 5 assists, sophomore Mariah Plain 7 goals and 1 assist and sophomore Kendall Derisley 4 goals. Squicciarini netted both goals in the win over Alden. The Purple Eagles defense is anchored by eighth grade goalie Sydney Mulka.

Newfane brings a 15-2-1 record into the title contest while Albion is 11-6-1.

It will be the rubber match for Akron and Wilson which split a pair of regular season N-O meetings by the identical score of 1-0.

Akron downed No. 3 Southwestern  4-1 in the semifinals while Wilson edged No. 8 Fredonia 2-1 to avenge a 1-0 loss in last year’s B-2 final.

Freshman Kara Sequin has scored 29 goals and added 13 assists to lead the Akron offense which also has junior Jenna Robnett with 12 goals and 15 assists and senior Maggie Leeds with 8 goals and 8 assists. Sequin had 2 goals and 2 assists in the semifinal win. Anchoring the Lady Tigers defense is senior goalie Laurie Poeller.

Sophomore Skylar Munnikhuysen has 11 goals and 5 assists and freshman Lilly O’Lay 7 goals and 5 assists to lead the Wilson offense. Senior Emily Kelly in goal anchors the Lakewomen’s defense.

The B-1 and B-2 winners will then meet next week for the overall Section VI Class B championship and a berth in the state playoffs.