By PAUL GOTHAM
LE ROY, N.Y. — Molly Chase and Allie Vallese scored a goal apiece, and Le Roy girls’ soccer held off a late push to defeat Geneseo, 2-1 in Livingston County Division II action, Friday from Hartwood Park.
Chase connected on her fourth goal of the season less than two minutes into the match.
“Very important,” Le Roy head coach Beth Luckey said of the early goal. “When you can look up at the clock and there’s 38 minutes left, and we’ve already scored, it’s key.”
Zoey Humphrey set up the early goal to give the Oatkan Knights a lead they did not surrender.
Vallese stayed far post on a cross from the right wing and redirected a Bailey Caton pass for a 2-nil advantage with 17:04 left in the first half.
23’ Allie Vallese, running far post, takes advantage of a rebound to give @LeRoy_CSD a 2-nil lead. @secvgirlssoccer pic.twitter.com/NhkyWnLr85
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) October 4, 2024
The win was the fourth straight and gives Le Roy (8-3-0/6-0-0) a two-game advantage at the top of the division.
“I knew honestly in August that this team could do it,” Luckey said. “I’ve seen them. I know what they can do. I knew if we could put all of it together, we would be successful.”
Geneseo’s Madi LaDelpha cut the deficit to one with 10:34 remaining in the match. The goal came after the Blue Devils built momentum with a pair of corner kicks.
Luckey commended her squad for being able to withstand Geneseo’s late surge.
“I tell the girls we play from the start to the end,” Luckey said. “It doesn’t matter if there are 10 minutes left or if there are 20 minutes left, we play the game. They already knew what we needed to do.”
Madison Paddock made 12 saves for the win.
Geneseo (9-2-0) came into the game ranked No. 10 NYSSWA Class C. Both of the Blue Devils’ setbacks this season have been to Le Roy.
“This was a tough loss,” said Geneseo head coach Nick Drollette. “We worked very hard to make adjustments from the first game and we made two mistakes tonight that burned us. A lot of girls stepped up to play new or expanded roles because of the sudden injury bug that has bitten our lineup. Everyone was sort of displaced but they are a resilient bunch and, as I told them, they’ll be stronger because of this short term adversity.”
Lili Pritchard collected an assist on LaDelpha’s goal.
Taryn Rossborough made five saves for Geneseo.
The Blue Devils host Avon for 6:30 p.m. start on Tuesday.
Le Roy has a quick turnaround and travels for a rematch with Batavia, Saturday night. A 7:30 p.m. kick off is scheduled at VanDetta Stadium.
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