Section VI Girls Soccer FWR Preview

The six sectional champions have been crowned in Section VI - and now they will advance to Far West Regionals for a chance to advance to Cortland for a shot at a state championship.

Class AAA - Lancaster (VI) vs Fairport (V)

For the third straight season since the Class AAA classification was added, Lancaster and Fairport will face off in Far Wests on Friday at 5:00PM at Spencerport High School. Fairport won the 2024 edition 4-0, and the 2023 edition 2-1.

Lancaster finished out the Section VI portion of their schedule with a 10-7-0 overall record, going 5-5-0 in ECIC I play prior to sectionals. They shut out West Seneca 3-0 in the sectional semifinal, then blanked Niagara Falls 7-0 to clinch their third consecutive sectional crown. Freshman Reese Booker leads the way for the Legends this season - recording 14 goals and 7 assists to this point, and sophomore Laila Sengbrusch led the team with 12 assists. Senior Emma Schulmeister has a 2.69 GAA and .794 save percentage through sectionals in net.

For the Section V champions in Fairport, they knocked off Rush-Henrietta 2-0 to claim the blue patch. Senior forward Savanna Biehler leads the way with 26 goals and 3 assists, and is aided by her younger sister, sophomore Eliana Biehler, who has 6 goals and 8 assists. Senior Addison Tally is the goalkeeper for Fairport, posting a 1.27 GAA to this point in the season.

Livestream: NFHS Network

Class AA - Frontier (VI) vs Churchville-Chili (V)

The Class AA final will look a bit different this year, as the 7:30PM nightcap on Friday at Spencerport High School will feature Frontier and Churchville-Chili in a battle of, to some, an unexpected matchup.

Frontier was a pre-season dark horse pick for Class AA - and they affirmed that by capturing their first sectional championship since 1990. Their road to the blue patch included 2-1 victories over North Tonawanda and Lockport, before securing the sectional crown with a 1-0 win over first seed Clarence, who had claimed 10 of the last 12 Class AA championships. Senior Reese Downey leads the way with 15 goals, joined by 8th grader Kennedy Amodeo with 12 goals. Julia Ford has a .74 GAA and .896 save percentage in her time in net this season.

Churchville-Chili pulled off a thrilling victory over perennial powerhouse Spencerport, who had won nine consecutive sectional crowns - winning 2-1 in penalties to claim the Section V Class AA crown. Along the way, they defeated Gates-Chili and Victor each by a 1-0 score, and then defeated Penfield 2-0 in the sectional final. Freshman Elise Faix leads the Saints with 14 goals and 6 assists, with senior Jillyan Ewing adding 8 goals as well. Sophomore Tessa Wood holds down the fort in goal - posting a 0.95 GAA to this point in the season. 

Livestream: NFHS Network

Class A - Starpoint (VI) vs Aquinas V)

Class A also finds a new challenger emerging from Section VI, as Starpoint captured the blue patch for the first time in program history, and will now face Aquinas on Saturday in the 7PM nightcap at Geneseo High School.

Starpoint’s road to their first sectional championship included a 9-0 rout of Dunkirk, a 3-1 win over Amherst, and a 3-0 win over East Aurora before knocking off powerhouse Lewiston-Porter 2-0 in the sectional championship. They wrapped up an unblemished overall record in sectional play, led by junior Grace Crissman with 43 goals and 25 assists - leading the section in both categories. Sophomore Ashley Mainstone added 16 goals and 6 assists as well. Senior Arianna Hamilton holds down the fort in goal - with a 0.58 GAA and 0.910 save percentage. 

Aquinas captured the blue patch in Section V’s tournament - posting a 6-0 win over Bishop Kearny/Chesterton/HAC, a 6-1 win over Batavia, and rounding out with a 1-0 clean sheet over Pittsford-Sutherland in the sectional championship game. The Little Irish are led by Dartmouth commit Sienna Fallone, who has 31 goals and 17 assists on the season. Three other players have double digit goal totals - Jaden Deming with 15, Savannah Sweet with 14, and Julianna Shannon with 13. Sophomore Briar Hinds is the goalkeeper for Aquinas - posting a 0.37 GAA through sectionals.

Livestream: NFHS Network

Class B - Falconer/Cass Valley/Maple Grove (VI) vs Livonia (V)

Falconer/Cassadaga Valley/Maple Grove returns to the Far West Regional for the second consecutive season - and will have a new challenger as they will face Livonia on Saturday at 4:30PM at Geneseo High School.

After falling to Hornell 2-1 in last season’s Far West Regional, the Golden Cougars look to learn from that experience to accomplish a feat they have not done in program history - advance to the state tournament in Cortland. Falconer’s sectional road included home wins against Medina and Akron, before going on the road and stunning 2-seeded Southwestern 4-1 in the semifinal, before shutting out Allegany-Limestone 1-0 in a rematch of 2024’s Class B Sectional Final - becoming the first school in class B to repeat as champions since Lewiston-Porter accomplished that feat in the 2021 and 2022 seasons. This year’s team returned leading scorers Julianna Roth and Kylie Kress - who have combined for 25 goals and 10 assists. Ellyson Baglia has held down the fort in net - posting a 1.14 GAA and .793 save percentage. Falconer/CV/MG re-entered the NYSSWA rankings at #11 following their sectional final win, after falling out of the rankings midway through the season.

Livonia posted a dominant 3-0 victory over Williamson in the Section V Class B Crossover, and the #4 team in the state will put their 18-1-0 record on the line on Saturday. Reghan (16 goals, 5 assists) and Blair Maxwell (11 goals, 13 assists), along with Sunny Quinn (14 goals, 4 assists), lead the offensive attack for the Bulldogs.  

Livestream: NFHS Network

Class C - Wilson (VI) vs Byron-Bergen (V)

The Wilson Lakewomen broke through for their first regional appearance since 2015 - a season in which they also advanced to the Class B State Championship ,but lost to Section II’s Schalmont. Their opponent - Byron-Bergen - went through a gauntlet of a Class C tournament in Section V to set up a 1:30PM battle on Saturday at Geneseo High School. This game will showcase two of the region’s top players - USYNT camp invitee Addison Elia (Wilson) and D1 commit Mia Gray (Byron-Bergen).

After falling to Frewsburg in the last four postseasons, head coach Jeff Hart’s Lakewomen shut out the six time defending champion Bears 1-0 to capture the elusive blue patch they had been seeking. Their postseason didn’t come without a flair of the dramatic - as they made the final after a thrilling 3-2 overtime victory against Portville in the semifinal - where they tied the game with just 2 seconds remaining in regulation. Sophomore Addison Elia leads the way for the Lakewomen - posting 38 goals and 9 assists on the season, with classmate Lily Gurski adding 11 goals and 25 assists. Junior Brooke Urban continues to prove her case as one of the top goalies in the section - posting a 0.59 GAA and 0.870 save percentage through the sectional tournament. 

As for Byron-Bergen (17-2-0), they avenged their 2023 Sectional Crossover defeat to Holley by defeating their rival in Tuesday’s crossover game by a score of 4-0. This year marks their fourth sectional crossover victory in the last five seasons. The Bees are also looking to defend their Class C State Championship, the program’s first, was a 1-0 overtime victory over Section II’s Stillwater. University of Florida commit Mia Gray leads the offense for Byron-Bergen, and paces Section V with 43 goals and 23 assists. Grace DiQuattro is another offensive threat for Byron-Bergen, adding 29 goals and 24 assists. Rylee Burch is the keeper for Byron-Bergen, posting a 0.95 GAA in just over 1200 minutes played.

Livestream: NFHS Network

Class D - Franklinville Panthers (VI) vs Fillmore Eagles (V)

Franklinville had clinched the blue patch before the season began - as the Panthers were the lone Section VI team in Class D this season. With no sectional tournament, this Far West Regional game, scheduled for Saturday at 11AM at Geneseo High School, will be Franklinville’s first game since October 15th.

The Panthers posted 3 wins this season - 2 of those in CCAA II play. Those included a 6-0 non-league road win against CSAT, along with a pair of 2-0 wins over Pine Valley/Gowanda. Sophomore Mya Sullivan led the way for Franklinville with 9 goals and an assist for the season. Senior Keirra Knobloch got a majority of the starts in goal - posting a 3.25 GAA and 0.750 save percentage.

Fillmore continues their reign of dominance in Class D in Section V, and will look to make another run to Cortland this fall as they chase the program’s first state championship. The Eagles have just one loss to this point, a 7-4 loss at the 9th NYS High School Girls Soccer Hall of Fame Tournament to Section II’s Northville. Fillmore knocked off Notre Dame-Batavia 2-1 and Avoca-Prattsburgh 5-0, before a 2-0 clean sheet over Northstar Christian Academy in the sectional final. Five players have double digit goals for Fillmore - led by Morghyn Ross with 19 goals, followed by Tenlee Miller with 16, Kallie Pastorious with 14, Abby Earley with 12, and Mylee Miller with 11. Junior Kelsie Songster tends the goal for the Lady Eagles, with a 0.75 GAA through sectionals.

Livestream: NFHS Network

Feature Image/Alex Kolstee

Matthew Tsitso contributed to this report