Valley Sports ReportTIOGA CENTER — Tioga played Moravia even for more than 48 minutes, but the Lady Blue Devils wore them down in the second half en route to a 5-2 win in the Lady Tigers’ season-finale here Tuesday night at Haggerty Field.
“Historically, we have played some of our best soccer on Senior Night, and tonight was no exception,” said Tioga coach Jim Walsh. “Perhaps it's the aura of Haggerty Field, coupled with the motivation to send the seniors off on a high note.
“The four seniors (Haley Champlin, Rachel Feeko, Abagail Foley, Gabrielle Foley) especially picked up their game,” noted Walsh. “Gabby again showed her goalie prowess with some phenomenal saves and a lot of them
“Abagail finished her stellar career with our second goal of the night, and Rachel Feeko moving the best she has all season with some nice lefty shots on goal,” added Walsh. “And, Haley worked the hardest she has ever worked in a game with some nice touches.”
Malala Raymond put Moravia on the scoreboard in the 18th minute, but Tioga’s Kaylee Noyes, off a feed from Abby Foley, tied the game about 7 1/2 minutes later.
The game remained tied at 1-1 until the 48th minute when Kayleigh Utter, off an assist from Raymond, scored to make it 2-1.
Lynne Russell scored 80 seconds later, again off an assist from Raymond, to extend the lead to 3-1. Russell scored again in the 66th minute to make it 4-1.
Abby Foley scored with 10:41 remaining in the game to trim the deficit to 4-2, but Raymond added an insurance goal for Moravia 4 1/2 minutes later.
“We followed our typical pattern of holding tight through the first half, then in the second half, the deeper, stronger team starts to wear their opponent down,” said Walsh. “Moravia had a full supply of subs to our 11 and they have a junior, senior-laden team this year — the first year in their history they are making sectionals.”
Moravia had a 27-7 advantage in shots-on-goal, and a 5-1 edge in shots on goal..
Gabby Foley recorded 22 saves in net for the Lady Tigers.
Tioga wraps up its season with a 1-10-1 record.
“That completes our unfortunate injury-riddled season,” said Walsh. “The girls never gave up, played with full effort, and displayed great team spirit throughout, despite the circumstances.”
——————
IN PHOTO 1: Tioga’s seniors, from left: Gabby Foley, Rachel Feeko, Haley Champlin, and Abby Foley. … PHOTOS COURTESY OF ELLEN FEEKO.
