Pickin' Splinters

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Hagen’s hatty sends Byron-Bergen back to state semis

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By PAUL GOTHAM

SANBORN, N.Y. — Mackenzie Hagen didn’t experience her customary game-day jitters prior to Saturday’s New York State Class C Far West Regional matchup.

The Byron-Bergen junior didn’t need them. Hagen netted three goals and added an assist as the Bees advanced to the state semis with a 6-2 win over Frewsburg (VI).

”I was really excited for this game,” she said. ”Usually, I’m nervous, but I was ready. I still had a little bit of nerves running through me, but I was really excited to play with my team.”

Hagen found the back of the net twice during the opening half to lead the Bees to a 3-1 lead heading into the break.

Her third goal of the game came right on time for Byron-Bergen.

Five minutes after Frewsburg made it a one-goal game, Hagen took advantage of a giveaway at midfield and rushed 40 yards along the left side before finishing far post her 36th goal of the year.

“There was a deflection, and I just tried to push to the goal,” she said.

Hagen’s speed was the difference in the game. Her ability to win balls and separate from Frewsburg’s backline led to two goals in the first half. She won a ball along the right flank and set up teammate Emma Starowitz for a 2-1 Byron-Bergen lead with 25:42 remaining in the opening stanza.

Hagen pressured the defense into another giveaway and scored for a 3-1 lead heading into halftime.

“The defense was spread apart,” Hagen explained. “They made windows, and I was able to make a run through them.”

The win was the second in as many for Byron-Bergen over Frewsburg. The two teams also met in last year’s regional. Wayne Hill and his Bees approached this game as if last year’s outcome was a loss.

“You know what, it’s a little bit of …I don’t want to say redemption, but I’m not going to lie they were the better team last year,” Hill said of the 1-0 outcome from 2021. “We got a penalty kick and snuck out a win. They ‘out-physicaled’ us. They ‘out-passed’ us last year. The emphasis this year, we have the opportunity let’s play our style of ball. It worked. I guess we were a little more relaxed and it allowed us to play a little more free. It gave us some more scoring opportunities.”

Wind played a factor in Saturday’s game. Byron-Bergen’s Bees scored their three first-half goals with the wind at their backs.

It appeared Frewsburg might turn the tables in the second 40 minutes. Kaydan Bush scored in the 62nd minute to make it a 3-2 game. Moments earlier, the Bears hit the post.

“It worked to our favor in the first half,” Hill said of the wind. “We thought it was going to be more of a benefit for us in the second half because we were playing through balls,and they were running all the way through with the wind. We thought, okay, the wind will hold those up. Trouble is we didn’t get many through balls opportunities. Their midfield did a great job of preventing it. When we got one through, we got that.”

Hagen’s goal changed the momentum. Byron-Bergen scored three times in less than seven minutes.

Starowitz connected for her second goal of the game, and Mia Gray finished the scoring with an unassisted effort.

“She’s fast as lightning,” Hill said of Hagen and her ability to impact the game. “She doesn’t give up on the ball. A lot of times you see a defender say ‘okay I’m just going to let it ride out.’ She’ll stay on it and beat them around the corner. All of sudden something that wasn’t anything is now a goal-scoring opportunity. She’s dynamic.”

Byron-Bergen will face the winner of Saquoit Valley (III) and Watkins Glen (IV) next Saturday.

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