SECTION IV GIRLS SOCCER: TIOGA'S COMEBACK FALLS SHY IN 6-4 LOSS TO T-BURG IN CLASS C QUARTERFINALS (24 PHOTOS) (2023-10-21)
Valley Sports ReportTRUMANSBURG — Tioga dug itself a deep hole, and its comeback efforts fell shy in a 6-4 loss to top-seeded Trumansburg here Saturday afternoon in the quarterfinals of the Section IV, Class C girls soccer playoffs.
Junior Erica Bradley put Tioga, the eighth seed, on the board with an unassisted goal just 89 seconds in, but Trumansburg responded with three goals in a 4 1/2-minutes span to take a 3-1 lead 11 minutes into the contest.
The Blue Raiders scored two more goals in the first 2 1/2 minutes of the second half to extend its lead to 5-1.
"The third big comeback of the year was not to be this time around," said Tioga coach Jim Walsh, who is stepping down as coach after 10 years.
"We came out firing on all cylinders in the first five minutes of the game, moving the ball well and attacking, and it looked promising," noted Walsh. "But T-burg scored three unanswered goals and put an immediate halt to our quick start.
"The rest of the game we found ourselves in a hole we just couldn't dig ourselves out of, but not for the lack of trying," he added.
Trumansburg also beat Tioga, 3-1 during the regular season on Sept. 22.
"The Blue Raiders showed some very explosive and quick offense, which we didn't see in our first contest," said Walsh.
"They are known for their impenetrable defense, led by MVP central defender Lucy Ouckama," noted Walsh. "Like the first game she was all over the field making play after play, but it was her sister, freshman forward Eleanor Ouckama along with sophomore Lenora Reed that made defending a difficult chore for our defense."
Lenora Reed netted a hat trick, and Eleanor Ouckama added two goals for the Blue Raiders.
Trailing 5-1, Tioga stormed back to make it a game.
Sophia Haney scored, off a feed from 7th-grader Grace Howey with 28:41 remaining in the contest to close the gap to 5-2.
About 3 1/2 minutes later, Howey scored off a feed from Bradley to trim the deficit to 5-3 with 25:10 left in the game.
Trumansburg fended off Tioga’s efforts to make it a one-goal game, then scored a key insurance goal with 12:47 remaining to make it 6-3.
Howey, off a feed from Haney, scored with 3:24 left to provide the final margin.
Trumansburg had a 19-16 edge in shots-on-goal, while Tioga had a 4-1 advantage in corner kicks.
Junior Taliah Speer recorded nine saves in net for the Tigers, who finish the season with a 9-6 record.
It was the last game for six Tioga seniors — Elyse Haney, Emma Jaye, Jenna Miner, Kaylee Noyes, Sadie Parker, Kaitlyn Vasey-Hunt, and Walsh said they will be missed.
"It will be a sad goodbye for our six seniors, but next year looks very promising with the return of several key starters," said Walsh.
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IN PHOTO 1: Tioga’s Grace Howey. … PHOTOS COURTESY OF JESSIE SMOLINSKY.
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