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Bears Seize Control Of Division

Frewsburg’s Madie Caflisch, right, and Silver Creek’s Kristen Wielgasz battle for a ball during the first half of Thursday’s CCAA Central Division girls soccer game at the Robert H. Jackson Sports Complex in Frewsburg. P-J photo by Matt Spielman

FREWSBURG — A six-minute scoring barrage to open the second half allowed Frewsburg to take control of the Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Association Central Division with a 4-2 soccer victory over Silver Creek on Thursday afternoon at the Robert H. Jackson Sports Complex.

Tied 1-1 at halftime, the Bears (4-3-1, 4-0-1) scored three goals in the opening 5:36 after the break to take command of the game and the league.

At the 39:15 mark, junior Gabby Iuculano sent a ball into the box that found the foot of junior Mikayla Corrigan who beat a defender and the Black Knights (8-2-0, 5-1-0) keeper along the ground for her first goal of the season to give the hosts a 2-1 lead.

Less than four minutes later, Iuculano got on the board herself when she dribbled down the side of the box to keeper senior Tessa Douglas’ left and scored on a long shot off Douglas’ hands for a 3-1 lead. The goal was Iuculano’s eighth of the season.

“We all knew that there was some scoring that needed to be filled in,” Frewsburg coach Jen Armella said. “We just talked about across the board, we need to get more people involved with the scoring. The pressure was on with Maddie (Sohl) being out for sure. The girls stepped up.”

Frewsburg’s Sophia Walter dribbles past Silver Creek’s Taylor Farley. P-J photo by Matt Spielman

Just over a minute later, Iuculano scored her ninth when she took junior Taylor McLaughlin’s pass from the left wing, settled it at the top of the box and one touch later scored high into the net to make it 4-1 at the 34:24 mark.

“You come out and sometimes things click,” Armella said of the Bears’ start to the second half. “I haven’t seen anything like that in a long time, if ever.”

“In seven years I’ve been doing this, I’ve never had any team of mine do what we did in the first 10 minutes of the second half,” Silver Creek coach Kevin Rice said. “I don’t know what that was, to be honest with you. … That was our worst showing of the year. Plain and simple.”

Silver Creek got a goal back just over a minute later when junior Kiana Brown scored her fifth goal of the season with an assist from freshman Carly Barrett.

But the Bears’ defense was able to lock it down from there, led by senior Kelsey Wolfe.

Frewsburg’s Ava Hultberg dribbles away from Silver Creek’s Kristen Wielgasz.

“Kelsey is our leader back there and it’s her job to direct traffic and tell people where they need to be because she can see everything,” Armella said.

Junior Madeline Proctor, sophomore Rachel Annis and sophomore Amanda Dilts also did a good job of limiting the talented Black Knights, who entered the game outscoring their opponents, 27-6.

“Their scoring is really balanced. Looking at them it’s not one girl you mark up on and shut down,” Armella said. “This was really a team effort, knowing they have a lot of people that can score, and that we need to be on our marks at all times.”

Silver Creek took an early lead in the game when sophomore captain Chloe Barrett scored her eighth goal of the season from Carly Barrett in the 15th minute.

The Bears fought back to tie the game 15 minutes later when sophomore Sophia Walter scored her second goal of the season with 9:42 left in the opening 40 minutes.

“That’s just girls going out and not playing hard enough … not doing what we are capable of doing. To be honest with you, the first 12 minutes of this game was what we are,” Rice said. “We were up 1-0 and the rest of the first half we started losing our wind. They are in much better shape than we are from an athletic standpoint.”

Frewsburg was playing without junior keeper Alyssa Lobb and senior Maddie Sohl, its leading scorer entering the game with eight goals on the season. Both were injured in a non-league game Monday at Maple Grove. Freshman Skyler Ownbey made her first start in goal and freshman Ava Hultberg played most of the game at midfield after both were called up due to the injuries.

“I knew she was ready, but I didn’t know she was that ready,” Armella said of Hultberg. “I’m really happy with how she played and how she stepped up.”

The Bears will next travel to Cassadaga Valley for a 10 a.m. game Saturday while Silver Creek will visit the Cougars on Tuesday.

“There are six division games left for all of us. We are only halfway through,” Rice said. “This can be one of those games that helps to refocus us, helps get us going back in the right direction, I hope. It could also do something else, but I hope that something else doesn’t happen.”

NOTES: Douglas was credited with 11 saves for the Black Knights while Ownbey made three for the Bears.

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