High-Powered Flames get past Ken West in Class A1 Quarterfinals

The Williamsville East High School girls soccer team scored 62 goals in 16 regular season games this season. So entering a Class A-1 Section VI quarterfinal, the Flames weren’t too surprised to see first-round opponent Kenmore West came in with a defensive-minded game-plan.

The Blue Devils executed well but Williamsville East was simply too powerful. The second-seeded Flames found their opportunities and advanced in the playoffs with a 3-0 win over Kenmore West in a quarterfinal match-up.

“We knew that Williamsville East is a strong team so we came in with a defensive mindset and tried to pop the ball out to our forwards the best we could to try to connect,” Kenmore West coach Ken Belote said. “My girls didn’t back down at all they came ready to play. We weren’t just outplayed by a better team.”

Kenmore West’s defensive approach worked for a little while, keeping the high-powered Flames off the board for the game’s first 25 minutes. But Williamsville East eventually found a way with first-half goals from Alyssa Fabozzi and Scalione. Gretchen Beyer added a second-half goal for the Flames, who again found a way to overcome an opponent’s defensive-minded attack.

“We’ve had some teams do similar stuff to us this year,” Williamsville East coach Chris Durr said. “We’re kind of a little it used to it. It took us a little bit to get used to it but once we got used to it, we were good to go.”

Williamsville East advances to the sectional semifinals to face rival Hamburg at 6 pm Wednesday at Williamsville North High School. The Bulldogs rolled to a 9-0 win over Hutch-Tech in another quarterfinal on Wednesday.

The Flames (16-1) also get a chance to avenge their lone loss of 2017. After starting the season with 11 straight victories, Williamsville East suffered a 1-0 loss at Hamburg on Oct. 3.

“We’re really excited to get another chance at them after losing earlier,” Scalione said. “We’re excited to get another chance to try to get a win.”

The Flames played Hamburg twice this year in ECIC I action, also posting a 1-0 win in Williamsville on Sept. 27. A loss less than a week later may have been unwanted for Williamsville East but the Flames have turned it into a lesson learned.

“It was a good wakeup call for us to get that loss out of the way,” Durr said. “We’ve got another chance at them and it should be another real good match with them on Wednesday.”

Kenmore West’s season ended with a record of 4-12.

“They came to play,” Belote said of his kids. “They’re very satisfied with their effort. They all left it all on the field for me and each other. We knew it was going to be a tough battle coming in. We were ready to play. We didn’t back down, we we’re just outplayed by a better team.”