Local Sports

Bears fall in Class C final

HAMBURG -- Frewsburg won six straight Section VI Class C girls soccer titles from 2019-24.

Now it appears Wilson is attempting to catch up to the Bears.

The top-seeded Lakewomen won their second straight championship and third in the last four years with a 3-1 victory over the second-seeded Bears in the Class C title game Friday at Hamburg High School.

"That's an extremely talented team. We had Ryleigh (Eckman), our freshman, getting her first start following (junior 28-goal scorer Addison) Elia around," Frewsburg head coach Scott Stone said. "When you do that and take other girls out of position, it is hard for us."

The victory sends Wilson into next Friday's 7:30 p.m. Far West Regional against Section V's champion at Williamsville East High School.

Frewsburg had little time of possession against the Lakewomen on Friday night at Howe Field. The Bears' best offense came early as senior Audrey Eckwahl had a pair of long free kicks in the opening 12 minutes when Frewsburg also had a pair of corner kicks on which it did not capitalize.

"We felt really good in the first half. We didn't feel like we were outmatched. We were creating opportunities," Stone said. "Part of our gameplan was to create a bunch of corners. We feel like we have an advantage in the air over any team. They did a very good job of not letting us get any goals."

Wilson broke through in the 25th minute when Lilly Gurski's left-footed shot from about 25 yards out glanced off the Bears' keeper's hands and into the goal for a 1-0 lead.

Just over four minutes later, the Lakewomen made it 2-0 when Gurski started a scoring play to the left of the Frewsburg goal, passing to Lucy Madan in front, who deflected the ball to a goal-scoring Addison Elia just off the touch line.

The Bears answered the second goal quickly as just about 20 seconds later, Jaden Jimerson's pass off a Wilson defender found the foot of Eckwahl, who dribbled in for a mini breakaway goal to make it 2-1.

"That was just a huge goal. We talked about it before the game that no matter what we can't give up until the clock hits zero," Stone said. "It would've been really easy for us to pack it in, but that's not who we are, especially Jaden and Audrey. For them to come through was absolutely huge for us. They are the heart and soul of our team and we needed them to make a play. They did."

But the Lakewomen quickly extinguished any push from Frewsburg and then dominated the second half.

Four corner kicks in the opening 14 minutes of the second half came up empty for the Lakewomen, but the ball remained in the Frewsburg end of the field. Eventually, Madan was taken down inside the Bears' 18-yard box with just less than 16 minutes remaining and Gurski scored her 14th goal of the season.

"They just controlled the ball. I think we were a little gassed," Stone said. "They passed the ball well and it was hard for us to get the ball and possess it for any period of time in the second half."

While Wilson's unblemished 18-0-0 season will roll on next week, the Bears' 15-4 mark means the end of the storied career of Eckwahl -- the program's all-time leading scorer with 114 goals and 276 points -- as well as Ava Krofka, Calynn Sigular, Sebryna Rivera and Jadyn Trocki.

"It hurts when you lose a senior class every year," Stone said. "We build relationships with these kids. It's not just about wins and losses.

"We lost quality players, but we have quality players coming up too. We're never rebuilding, we’re just retooling," the nine-year head coach added. "We got good experience for players who hadn't been in a final. We'll take this as a learning experience. Our goal will not change. We'll get back to work and do whatever we need to do to get back to the sectional finals and hopefully get our patch back."