Raptors Fall in Quarter Finals

Lauren Wehling (#0)

The Albion Raptors opened up their tournament season in Batavia today, competing in the GCC Varsity Indoor Tournament. The Raptors varsity group was made up of Aly Knaak, Jasmine Mercando, Quinn McCue, Abby Scanlan, Logan Shirley, Maddy Snook, Brittany Spies-Hunt, Claire Squicciarini, and Lauren Wehling.

The Raptors faced Genesee United in their opening game, ultimately coming to a 1-1 tie. Albion ended up going down 1-0 early after Genesee capitalized on a breakaway. The Raptors battled back for the tie however, after Abby Scanlan scored off an assist from Claire Squicciarini. In Albion's next pool play game, they fell 2-0 to the Addison, the eventual #1 seed. Addison too advantage of a turnover at the top of the box for a 2v0 against goalkeeper, Lauren Wehling. They were able to double their lead after splitting Albion's defense for an uncontested shot. The Raptors would get their first win of the day against the Arkport Angels 1, winning by a score of 3-0. Scanlan opened up the scoring with a great shot from the right side of the court, with an assist to Aly Knaak. Jasmine Mercando doubled the Raptors' lead after getting in on a breakaway off a through ball from Scanlan. Scanlan would get her second of the game for the insurance goal. She was able to pick off a pass attempted by Arkport's defense and put the shot away in the far post. The Albion defense, along with Wehling, were able to limit the Angels' shots to earn the shutout. The Raptors finished off pool ply with a 1-1 tie against Northwest White. Albion was able to take the 1-0 lead with a goal from Quinn McCue. It started with a ball up the sideline from Knaak to Scanlan, when Scanlan was able to cut inside and play McCue back out wide. Northwest fought back, though, after splitting the midfield and defense to a free shot and tie it in the last two minutes.

Albion finished with 5 points, putting them as the #3 seed in their bracket. In playoffs, they were set to face off against the other bracket's #2 seed, Holley. The Raptors weren't able to get many opportunities, and Holley took the 1-0 lead about halfway through the game. The Raptors best chance came in the final five minutes. Squicciarini followed up a rebound off a shot from Scanlan, and was able to fight off two defenders to pop a pass out to Brittany Spies-Hunt at the top of the box. Spies-Hunt took a quick one-time shot, but Holley's goalie was able to get up off the ground in time to make the catch.

The Raptors next tournament will be the GCC JV Indoor Tournament on January 26. Albion will have two teams competing.