Valley Sports ReportWAVERLY — Top-seeded Waverly controlled the action throughout, and advanced to the Section IV, Class B Championship game, with a 2-0 win over fourth-seeded Lansing here Friday evening at Memorial Stadium.
The Wolverines, now 12-4, will square off with third-seeded Chenango Forks (9-6-1), which edged seventh-seeded Union Springs, 2-1, in the other semi-final game, on Nov. 2 at the Wright National Soccer Complex in Oneonta.
Waverly's last three appearances (2016-18) in the Class B finals were all losses to Chenango Forks.
The Wolverines started the game strong, and had the Lansing keeper diving for saves three times in the first five minutes, then kept the pressure on for the vast majority of the first half.
"We had the strongest first half I’ve seen us have in a few games," said Waverly coach Tara Hogan. "The girls focused on fixing the errors we made last game and really cleaned things up. We practiced a few select things these last couple days and they translated them into the game.
"It wasn’t our cleanest game defensively, but offensively, the girls put things together very well tonight.
"We had a lot of offensive opportunities this game because we were focused more on possession, instead of just going up and down the field," added Hogan.
With 11:38 remaining in the first half, sophomore Ryleigh Judson rifled a bouncing ball over the keeper's head from 21 yards out to give the Wolverines a 1-0 lead.
"Kiley Stillman, Kaylin Twedt, Gianna Soprano, and Loralye Anthony all had legitimate opportunities tonight," said Hogan.
"Addison Westbrook was up and down the field with such great speed and confidence," added Hogan. "Even with pressure, Addison made great efforts to support."
Waverly added an insurance goal in the second half when junior Kaitlyn Sutton chased down a pass from senior Brinn Cooney, beating a sliding Lansing keeper to the ball and chipping it past her and into the goal to make it 2-0.
Waverly had a 23-6 advantage in shots-on-goal, and a 5-1 edge in corner kicks.
Junior Claire Clonch recorded seven saves in net for the Wolverines.
The Wolverines, now 12-4, will square off with third-seeded Chenango Forks (9-6-1), which edged seventh-seeded Union Springs, 2-1, in the other semi-final game, on Nov. 2 at the Wright National Soccer Complex in Oneonta.
Waverly's last three appearances (2016-18) in the Class B finals were all losses to Chenango Forks. All three games were played at Norwich.
"It's been a few years since this program has made it to the sectional finals," said Hogan. "We played Chenango Forks a few years in a row in sectional finals, and each game was played at Norwich.
"So I find it peculiar that many years later, we’re playing the same opponent but at a different location," she added. "But, we are very excited for this opportunity."
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IN PHOTO 1: Waverly's Kiley Stillman. IN TOP PHOTO: Waverly's Ryleigh Judson. ... PHOTOS BY TIM BIRNEY.
