North Collins' Jaylee Jimerson, Breanna Kaczanowski, Kendra Dechow and Novalee Schlenker celebrate after beating Ellicottville in the Section VI Class D championship game Saturday at Karl Hoeppner Field in Dunkirk. P-J photo by Matt Spielman

DUNKIRK — Jaylee Jimerson was sick of red patches.

So she went out and won herself a blue one.

The North Collins senior scored the only goal of the game in the 67th minute as the second-seeded Eagles beat No. 1 Ellicottville 1-0 in the Section VI Class D championship game Saturday afternoon at Dunkirk High School’s Karl Hoeppner Field.

Jimerson, who’s been a varsity player since her freshman year, had been on the losing end of the past two sectional finals against Ellicottville.

Not anymore.

North Collins' Jenna Sickau kicks at the ball in front of Ellicottville's Addison John during Saturday's Section VI Class D championship game at Karl Hoeppner Field in Dunkirk. P-J photo by Matt Spielman

“Luckily, for me, I’ve gotten a red patch every year,” Jimerson said. “But this year, I knew I had to push the girls harder to show up when we needed to show up.”

Neither team generated much offense in the first half.

Ellicottville’s best opportunity came in the 13th minute when senior Brooke Butler rocketed a low ball through the 6-yard box that missed the feet of both senior Audrey Hurlburt and junior Jayden Doutt.

In the 29th minute, North Collins freshman Isabella Contro nearly had a breakaway toward the Ellicottville goal, but her last touch was a bit too hard and Ellicottville’s junior keeper, Courtney Marsh, was able to cover.

“I thought we played well in the first half,” North Collins head coach Vince Fininzio said. “We had opportunities. It’s just about our ball movement and seeing the field.”

North Collins' Jaylee Jimerson, Breanna Kaczanowski and Hannah Jasinski celebrate Jimerson's goal during Saturday's Section VI Class D championship game at Karl Hoeppner Field in Dunkirk. P-J photo by Matt Spielman

After halftime, Ellicottville survived four early corner kicks from North Collins.

Then, off a harmless throw-in along the sideline from North Collins freshman Hannah Jasinski, Jimerson let a high shot go from 25 yards out that deflected off Marsh’s hands into the goal for the 1-0 lead.

“Jaylee and Breanna Kaczanowski can light it up from probably 30 or 40 yards. … She can shoot it,” Fininzio said of Jimerson. “She scored from 35 or 40 yards in the semifinals. It’s a tough save when the ball is up.”

“I’m trying to get anything on net to be completely honest. I wasn’t fully expecting to score on that one,” Jimerson added. “I knew I would finish at one point because I had to if I kept putting the ball on net.”

Naturally, North Collins needed one big save down the stretch to secure the victory.

Ellicottville's Layla Kerns settles the ball during Saturday's Section VI Class D championship game against North Collins at Karl Hoeppner Field in Dunkirk. P-J photo by Matt Spielman

The Eagles got it from junior Meadow Mitchell, who denied a try from Hurlburt near the post with 5:55 remaining.

“Phenomenal save. You have an opportunity like that and you are kind of cringing as you see the ball go down there,” Fininzio said. ” … It’s a great save. Probably 90% of the time that ball goes in. She saved the game from becoming a tie.”

“That was a huge save. Thank goodness for her,” Jimerson added. “If not for that, we would’ve had to push ourselves for another six minutes and we couldn’t play extra defensively like we did. That was a game changer.”

From there, North Collins ran out the clock for its first sectional title since 2019 and seventh in program history.

“It’s a good group of kids. They work hard and they are confident in themselves,” Fininzio said. “I think they have the ability to beat anybody at times.”

North Collins' Miranda Bartosik kicks the ball in front of Ellicottville's Cameron Kaleta during Saturday's Section VI Class D championship game at Karl Hoeppner Field in Dunkirk. P-J photo by Matt Spielman

The Eagles will travel to Caledonia-Mumford High School for next Saturday’s 2 p.m. Far West Regional against Section V champion Fillmore, which beat Northstar Christian Academy 4-0 in the Rochester area’s title game.

“We were 2-6-2. We were at the bottom. Frewsburg beats us up. We were competitive with Chautauqua Lake,” Fininzio said of the Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Association Division 2 West standings. ” … I think it prepares us for competitive games like this all year long.”