Coley continues to produce as Greece Arcadia takes fifth straight decision

By PAUL GOTHAM

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Amaya Coley logged plenty of minutes at center back earlier this season.

Lately, Greece Arcadia girls’ soccer coach Rick Trabold has put Coley on the front line.

And the eighth-grader delivered with three goals and an assist in four games.

That trend continued Monday night.

Coley finished with a goal and an assist as the Titans (9-6-0) topped Gates Chili (3-12-0), 3-nil.

“She’s a talent, and she’s just a really good kid,” Trabold said. “That’s the best part of it. She’s not an arrogant kid or anything like that. She’s just a really good kid.”

Coley used her speed to get behind the Gates Chili defense and start the scoring less than two minutes into the game

Then she won a ball along the right wing and served a cross that teammate Isabella Escobar finished at the far post.

She leads Arcadia with seven goals on the season.

“She does a lot of good stuff up top,” Trabold said. “She’s just aggressive, and to be that good as an eighth grader. She’s a, like, a unicorn.”

With a two-goal lead, Trabold moved Coley back to center mid for the final 30 minutes of the game.

“She’s wicked fast and does a lot of good stuff at a center back too. It really depends on the team (we’re playing), and then we’ll switch up our formation a little bit. But she’s good wherever we put her.”

Kamryn DeFranco scored in the 66th minute to put the game out of reach. The junior wing took advantage of a rebound to give Arcadia a three-goal advantage.

Alizabeth Martinez-Steger picked up an assist on the play. The senior beat a defender at the top of the 18-yard box and created separation for a shot that was originally stopped. DeFranco stayed with the play and was in the right spot to score into an empty net.

Lily Tracy made three saves for the shutout – the Titans’ sixth clean sheet of the season.

The win was the fifth straight for Arcadia.

“I’m happy with the progress we’ve made,” Trabold said. “Soccer as well as any team sport is a journey, right? You got to go through it. You have your ups and downs. When we play the bigs (top teams in Class AA) it’s a little different. Maybe we’re not to that tier yet, but hopefully we’re getting there.”

Arcadia will close the regular season on Wednesday a Pittsford Sutherland. A 7 PM kickoff is scheduled.

Gates host RCSD United on Wednesday for 6:00 PM game.