Williamsville North Knocks Off Section V Fairport; Earns Home Field Advantage For State Tournament

Saturday saw the Williamsville North Field Hockey team knock off the defending regional champions from 2017, Fairport, with a 3-1 win.

Fairport had gotten the best of them in 2017, but with the State Tournament being played, not in their backyard, but on their home turf, Will North had a little bit extra to play for.

Lauren Rabinowitz kicked off the scoring for Williamsville North; drawing first blood and gaining some early momentum.

Within minutes, Fairport was swarming the Will North goal and peppering Senior Goalie Sam Mallare, who turned away each shot to make sure her team entered the half with a 1-0 lead.

“Sam Mallare had some amazing saves and stepped up when we needed her to,” said Williamsville North Coach Jessica Rys.

The offensive pressure didn’t subside at halftime; Fairport stormed out of the break and netted the equalizer less than a minute into the second half.

That quick goal could have been a turning point in Fairport’s favor, but instead it served as the catalyst for Williamsville North to put an end to their control of midfield.

Bre Shannon, Ryleigh Bies and Paige Timby settled into a groove on the defensive end; continually turning away any Fairport pressure that was closing in on Mallare before it became a threat.

With a little over 17 minutes to go, Erin Roland scored the Lady Spartans’ 2nd goal. Another Roland, Emma, tacked on the 3rd and final goal with 5:54 remaining to eliminate any chance of a Fairport comeback.

“Overall, we are excited to move on to state play and will continue to work hard in achieving our goal of winning the state championship.”

The next step of that journey will get underway on Saturday, November 10th @ 10am when they take on Sachem East, who won their game earlier this evening with a 1-0 decision over Massapequa.