WILLIAMSVILLE — The game between Niagara Wheatfield/Niagara Falls and Lancaster pitted two teams with completely different levels of postseason experience and success against each other.
Niagara Wheatfield/Niagara Falls was making its first appearance at the Section VI title game while in search of its first-ever sectional title victory. Lancaster was looking for its 19th-ever Section VI title.
In the end, experience won out in a big way with Lancaster winning 24-3 in the Section VI Class A Tournament on Wednesday at Williamsville South High School.
In the first season of the Niagara Wheatfield/Niagara Falls combined team, the squad finished with an 8-10 record.
“They’re really, really good,” Niagara Wheatfield/Niagara Falls co-head coach Cory Turner said. “It’s hard to match their pace of play for 48 minutes. You can do all the prep you want but … Lancaster is going to Lancaster. They’re top notch. They’re what all the programs in the area try to emulate and they’re just top notch, all the respect to coach Julie (Buccieri) and coach Jeff Buccieri for what they do year in and year out. They’ve been at it for 20-plus years.”
The opening 16 minutes saw the Falcons fight their way back into the contest with three goals in approximately a minute of game time to turn an 8-0 deficit into 8-3. However, the Legends responded with a 6-0 run during which the Falcons’ energy dropped heading into the intermission.
During the Falcons’ 3-0 run, their goals came from Makenna Doyle and Lily Pieczonka.
The second half was all about Lancaster, which scored moments into the frame and added 10 more goals on its way to the win.
As a returner, the Wolverines’ Doyle knows this run can be used as fuel for her and the 17 other returners moving forward.
“I think it’ll give us something that almost to fuel our fire knowing we came this far before,” Doyle said. “So we could definitely do it again. But I think it’ll be helpful.”
BOYS LACROSSE
Lew-Port/Niagara Falls 15 Lancaster 12
Third-seeded Lewiston-Porter/Niagara Falls is heading back to a place the squad became familiar with last year, the Section VI Class A title game. This year, the team is hoping for a different result, though.
But before it got there, they had to beat Lancaster and the team did just that with a 15-12 win, Wednesday, at Lancaster High School in the Section VI Class A tournament semifinals.
Offensively, Liam Farnham’s eight goals and three assists led the team. He was joined in the goal column by a pair of hat tricks from Trevor Ingham and Joshua Steimer, who each had an assist.
Lew-Port/Falls goalie Jeffrey Tornabene was up to the task when his team needed him to make seven saves.
Now the team returns to the field at 3 p.m. Saturday when they take on No. 1 Kenmore at All High Stadium.
Kenmore 16 Lockport 4
No. 4 Lockport had a big hill to climb heading to the top-seed Kenmore in the Section VI Class A tournament and unfortunately for them, they were unable to climb that mountain, losing 16-4 on Wednesday.
Lockport’s four goals came from Ayden Johnston, Ryan Currie and Ayden Currie. The loss means Lockport’s season ended with a 6-11 record.
SOFTBALL
Lancaster 12 Niagara Falls 0
For the second consecutive year, Niagara Falls matched up with Lancaster and for the second consecutive year, it is Lancaster who is moving on out of the Section VI Class AAA tournament.
For the second year in a row, Niagara Falls needed to win game two in order to continue its season and they were unable to do so. This year, Niagara Falls lost 12-0 to Lancaster in game two of the Class AAA championship series, Wednesday, at Lancaster High School.
The Wolverines gave up multiple runs in three of the innings, with Lancaster’s largest inning coming in the second inning when they scored five runs on four hits and a walk.
Niagara Falls was held to two hits in the loss, with Alainna Magaddino and Julia Dolce collecting the base knocks. On the mound, the Wolverines’ Danielle Syruws got the start and went 4 2/3 innings, giving up nine earned runs on 13 hits while striking out two hitters and walking three hitters.
Niagara Falls finished the season with a 10-8 overall record.
Lew-Port boys tennis wins NYS Regional
The Lewiston-Porter boys tennis team headed into the New York State Regional Tournament trying to make history. They had won the Section VI title before, but never the regional tournament. That has now changed after a 4-1 win over Honeoye Falls Lima, Wednesday, at Orchard Park High School.
The Lancers had wins spread through its lineup with Andrew Jowdy recording a three-set win in the singles competition while his teammates Jamie Townsend and Carmelo Raimondi picked up a three-set win of their own in doubles play. The team also looked to the doubles teams of Paul Orsi and Rhett Lammers and Evan French and Dylan Scipione for straight-set doubles wins.
The Lancers will be moving on to the sub-regional tournament on Saturday, against either Jamesville Dewitt or Oneonta, with the time still to be determined.