Weekend Recap: A Championship on Saturday and a Win on Sunday

Brittany Spies-Hunt (#8)

A long weekend of soccer for the Raptors ended with one championship on Saturday in the Ben Kirby Memorial Tournament, and another win in their Glacier Ridge Soccer League on Sunday.

The Raptors JV group started off the weekend, competing with two teams in the Ben Kirby Memorial Tournament. Albion Raptors 1 consisted of Elisa Bropst, Bonnie DiCureia, Megan Gates, Charley London, Leah Pritchard, KJ Rodas, and Aurora Serafin. Playing on Albion Raptors 2 was Alezya Brown, Julie Coble, Nikki Creasey, Kenzi Hapeman, Emily Harling, and Abby Scanlan. Goalkeeper, Kailie Regan, played in net for both teams.

Raptors 2 started off play, facing off in the opening game against Attica 3. Albion started strong, defeating them by a score for 4-0. Kenzi Hapeman would open up the scoring to earn the game winner, also tallying the third goal of the match. Abby Scanlan and Alezya Brown would also add goals. In their second match, they defeated Roy-Hart, 1-0. Brown would score the lone goal, with an assist coming from Scanlan. To wrap up pool play, they would face YMCA White, who they were able to defeat 2-0. Scanlan would get the go-ahead goal, off a through ball from Brown. Next was Brown's turn, with a great individual effort to pick off the YMCA defender's first touch and get by her for the insurance goal. Albion Raptors 2 finished pool play with 16.5 points, just barely behind Northwest with 17, to earn 2nd in their bracket.

Albion Raptors 1 opened their tournament play against the eventual number 1 seed in their bracket, Attica 2, falling to them by a score of 2-1. The Raptors would get on the board first, with a goal from Charley London. KJ Rodas would start the rush, taking a shot from center court, London was quick to follow up the rebound and put it in. Attica was able to fight back for two goals, though. The first one coming off a cross to find and Attica defender open at the back post. Attica earned their second goal after putting away their own rebound. The Raptors had a quick turnaround though, winning their next game against BB Sting, 1-0. Albion dominated most of the game, and got on the board with a goal from Rodas. The official called the goal back, however, after being told by the opposing team that the ball didn't cross the line. The Raptors kept their momentum and were quick to respond. Megan Gates would get the eventual game-winner, after putting a shot through the BB Sting goalkeeper's legs, off an assist from Rodas. In their final pool play game, Albion was set to face off against Holley. Needing a win, the Raptors were pushing forward trying to score. Holley's defense was able to limit their shots however, and Holley would score the lone goal of the game in the final five minutes of the game off a shot from the outside. The Albion Raptors 1 finished with 5.5 points, coming in fourth in their bracket, just missing playoffs by 2.5 points.

The Albion Raptors 2 would start their push in playoffs against YMCA Blue, who finished third in their bracket with 7.5 points. YMCA would score the first goal of the game after a kick in managed to slip by goalkeeper, Kailie Regan. Albion responded well with a goal from Scanlan. Scanlan put a well struck shot right on frame, going between the YMCA goalkeeper's legs. The game would finished tied, so it would have to be finished in overtime. Scanlan would get her second of the game to win it for Albion, after ripping a shot from out wide into the back post. In the semi-finals, they were set to face Attica 2, who finished first in their bracket. This time, it would be Albion to find the back of the net first, with a goal from Scanlan. She was able to read the Attica defender to pick off a kick in and get in for the breakaway and an easy finish. Attica fought back to tie it not long after though, with a partial breakaway and a quick shot. The Raptors kept the pressure high though, scoring the game-winner in the last two minutes of the match. Nikki Creasey was battling in front of the goal, she took a shot towards goal, her shot was off target but Scanlan was there to pick up the rebound and put it in.

In the championship, Albion would be battling against Holley. Holley got on the board first, their goal coming off a kick-in. Scanlan would tie the game with her fifth goal of the playoffs. She picked the ball off the Holley defender and put a missile into the back of the net. 15 minutes was not enough to come out with a winner, so it would be onto another overtime period. After the first two OT periods remained scoreless, the final period began with two players on the floor. Brown and Regan started for the Raptors, playing a great defensive game to keep the game tied. Scanlan subbed out Brown and her and Regan went on the offensive. Catching the Holley player and goalkeeper in transition, Scanlan passed a ball into Regan, who put her shot in from about half court to win the tournament.

Following up the JV tournament was the Varsity group. The Raptors Varsity team was made up of Aly Knaak, Jasmine Mercando, Kelly Mickey, Quinn McCue, Maddy Snook, Brittany Spies-Hunt, Claire Squicciarini, and goalkeeper, Lauren Wehling.

In their opening game, they defeated YMCA Pink by a score of 2-1. The Raptors got on the scoreboard first, with a goal from Jasmine Mercando. Kelly Mickey won the ball near the corner of the court and put a cross in where Mercando was able to run in and get a knee on it. YMCA was able to tie it up, however, getting their equalizer from just outside the box. Albion continued to battle and it would be another goal from Mercando for the win. Mickey won the ball at half court, and played Mercando in for the breakaway. In their second game, they faced the eventual tournament champion, Northwest. While the game was pretty back and forth, the Raptors had the early advantage, just couldn't put away any shots. Northwest continued to press, and scored two goals in the final five minutes, including one at the buzzer. Going into their final game, Albion needed a win to advance to play offs. Facing Roy-Hart, they eventually came to a 1-1 tie. Roy-Hart got an early goal, after they capitalized on a turnover in front of the goal. Claire Squicciarini would keep their playoff chances alive, with a great individual effort to tie the game. Squicciarini got possession of the ball in the Raptors defensive third, and drove up the sideline and cut in towards goal before putting her shot away near post. The Raptors continued to put pressure on in the final minutes, but were unable to convert. They finished third in their bracket, missing the playoffs by just a point.

Next up was the turf team to face off against the Rochester Lancers 04 on Sunday afternoon. Without any subs available, Albion dropped in to a defensive game to conserve their energy. The game was looking very even throughout, Albion was doing a good job keeping possession and forcing the Lancer's attack wide. It wasn't until the second half when the Raptors finally found the back of the net. Continuing their great passing game, Albion was able to knock the pass around to get through a tough Lancers defense. Scanlan was able to bring a high driven ball down for Squicciarini to run onto. Squicciarini played a quick pass in to Mack Harmon, who gave it right back to her behind her defender. Squicciarini took on her next defender, touched outside of her for a great left-footed finish from the top of the box. With the fatigue of a long weekend and no subs starting to wear on the Raptors, their main focus now was to preserve the lead. Albion's back line of T'Mia Kitchings, Emily Harling, Julie Coble, and Aurora Serafin, did a great job limiting the Lancers' chances. Their est opportunity came not too long after the Raptors goal, with a well-struck shot from the top of the box, but Wehling was there to get fingertips on it to tip it away from goal, keeping the shutout.

The Raptors are back in action on March 8, facing off against the Syracuse DA. Kickoff is set for 3:00 PM.