Falconer/Cassadaga Valley/Maple Grove takes on Section V’s Livonia in the Class B Far West Regional girls soccer game at Geneseo High School today at 4:30 p.m. P-J file photo

GENESEO — In Falconer/Cassadaga Valley/Maple Grove’s first trip to the Class B Far West Regionals, the girls fell behind 2-0 in the first half against Section V champion Hornell. The girls got on the board in the second half, but were unable to erase the deficit completely and suffered an elimination with a 2-1 defeat.

“We feel like last year we didn’t really have any experience in this big of a game,” Falconer/Cassadaga Valley/Maple Grove head coach Brett Johnson said about last year. “We kind of came out and played intimidated, maybe by the big moment. We got ourselves into that 2-0 hole. It was just kind of hard to battle ourselves back out of, but we kept our heads up and made a game out of it.”

The Golden Cougars may have been the better team in the second half last year, but a trip to the New York State Public High School Athletic Association girls soccer championships was cut short. After a regular season with many ups and downs, Falconer/Cassadaga Valley/Maple Grove got into form at the right time to defend its Section VI title and are back in the Far West Regional today at Geneseo High School at 4:30 p.m.

“We’re all really excited,” Johnson said. “The girls are kind of reliving some of those memories from last year and all those good times. The girls are really locked in, they’re excited for tomorrow. I think that positive mindset is going to be really good for us.”

The core of last year’s team helped the Golden Cougars retain the sectional title and they are back with experience and the hunger to go farther this season.

“We’ve talked about this year not letting the moment get too big,” Johnson stated. “It’s just another game. We’ve got to go out and play our game and be confident. If we can do that, I think we’ll be just fine.”

The Far West Regional has recently been dominated by Section V in Class B, with the last Section VI victory coming in 2021 when Lewiston-Porter defeated Palmyra-Macedon 1-0 and even advanced to the state final. Since then, Section V has produced a runner-up and state champion with Haverling.

“You have to be on your ‘A’ game,” Johnson said. “Section V is very good soccer. They have to go through a gauntlet just to get where they are. There are really no games off for them, it seems like, so we’re fully expecting to see a good team (today). We knew whoever we were going to get was going to be a tough matchup for us.”

Falconer/Cassadaga Valley/Maple Grove takes on another formidable opponent in Livonia, which currently ranks No. 4 in the state by New York State Sportswriters Association with an impressive 18-1-0 record this season.

“I know Livonia is a pretty young team. We’ve watched some stuff on them this week,” Johnson added. “We have eight seniors, most of them — with the exception of Bailey (Olson), which has been amazing to have her back this year — played in that game. So having that experience and the ability to be leaders is going to be huge for us. … We’re hoping that veteran leadership shines through for us.”

The Bulldogs have not been scored against in over a month, while only dropping one game to Aquinas, which is the No. 3 team in Class A.

Livonia has outscored its opponents 70-10 this season, while being led offensively by freshman twins Blair and Teghan Maxwell. Blair has provided the team with 11 goals and 13 assists, Reghan is the top scorer with 16 goals and five assists, and sophomore Sunny Quinn brings along another 14 goals and four assists.

“They look like they play with a lot of confidence on offense,” Johnson said about Livonia. “They shoot from deep and make a lot of good runs, dangerous passes into the box. Something we’ve harped on our defense is making sure everybody is accounted for. Our defense has played amazing this season, but it’s going to be a tough test. Winning the midfield is going to be the next biggest thing. If we can keep possession like we’ve done so well all season, it will be a big key to the game.”

However, the Bulldogs will have their hands full with Falconer/Cassadaga Valley/Maple Grove’s balanced attack led by the trio of Julianna Roth, Kylie Kress and Mary Lundmark.

“It’s nice to have a couple girls you can rely on to score, but we’ve spread the wealth around this year,” Johnson said about his team’s depth. “We’ve had a lot of girls get into the mix. It just comes from hard work goals, like crashing the net, doing the right things over and over again it will eventually go their way.”

The Golden Cougars have outscored opponents 16-1 in the Class B playoffs thus far, flexing both the offensive and defensive muscle.

“It feels amazing,” Johnson said about the quality of soccer his team is currently playing. “We’ve struggled to find that for a majority of the season and we couldn’t have waited much longer. Playoffs rolled around and our girls got hungry and we flipped a switch and they turned it around. We’ve been very happy with everything we’ve seen so far throughout the playoffs. Whatever happens (today), I’m very proud of them. They have worked very hard this season and, hopefully, we can pull it out.”

For live results follow along on X.com @Chris__Storms, beginning at 4:30 p.m.