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Byron-Bergen girls soccer remains undefeated

By: Joseph Keyser


The Byron-Bergen Bees beat the Holley Hawks 3-0 in girls soccer to remain undefeated as they improve to 11-0-1 this season. The game was a defensive battle that saw junior midfielder Mia Gray score twice.

 

“We’re always looking to score," Byron-Bergen head coach Wayne Hill said. "That’s our main goal. Holley played a fantastic tactical game on defense. They shut off our forwards.”


Byron-Bergen recorded 14 total shots with nine of them being on goal. As for Holley, they were only able to get off four shots with two of them being on goal.

 

The first half had a very heavy focus on defense from both teams, with Byron-Bergen taking four shots and Holley taking just one. The Bees controlled the pace of the first half, having lots of success passing and settling the ball. The Hawks had five freshmen in their starting lineup, and their youth showed through with their high-energy plays and repeated high passes.

 

Coming out of halftime, Holley quickly took the game up-tempo as they pushed into the Bees territory. The Hawks kept up that sprinting pace for the first eight minutes of the second half until Byron-Bergen was able to regain control of the ball and slow the game back to the speed they wanted.

 

“We had to make a little bit of an adjustment at halftime just to cover ourselves,” Hill said. “But hats off to Holley. They played very well. We just got lucky and found a couple breakthroughs in the second half.”

 

Once the Bees controlled the ball again, they made several methodical pushes into Hawks territory. Eventually, Byron-Bergen junior forward Grace DiQuattro leading to a goal from Gray with 21:54 remaining in the game.

 

“They know I can shoot,” Gray said. “So, they backed off a little bit. And the more they backed off the more time I had to shoot.”

 

Now leading 1-0, Byron-Bergen was able to quickly gain control of the ball again. Gray took a shot from around 35 yards and put it in the top-left corner with 19:30 left on the clock.

 

After going down 2-0 the Hawks’ defense began double-teaming the ball handler with tight coverage.

 

“Our teamwork and connection are great,” Byron-Bergen junior midfielder Libby Starowitz said. “They know that we can play the ball together very well. So, they figured if they can man-mark us and double us then we can’t do that.”

 

The Bees continued to put pressure on the Hawks’ defense, but Holley’s midfielders were able to steal the ball and take fast breaks deep into Byron-Bergen territory. Those fast breaks were shut down by the back four of the Bees.

 

“The back four plays smart [on fast breaks],” Hill said. “No matter who we have in, they play it very well. They understand where the threat is. So, one stops the threat, and one gets into cover position. Then it’s usually nullified.”

 

After several more drives by both teams, sophomore midfielder Riley Shallenberger passed the ball to Starowitz, who arced it just over junior goalie Jayda Shampine to bring the Bees' lead to 3-0.

 

With very little time left, Byron-Bergen switched gears and played on the defensive, putting a heavy focus on not allowing any goals in the 5:56 that remained. The Hawks were unable to cut the deficit, securing the shutout win for the Bees.


Holley drops to 8-4-1 with the loss. The Hawks will see action again on the road Monday against Lyndonville/Barker at 5 p.m.


The Bees' will host Pembroke on Saturday at 1 p.m as they look to keep their undefeated season alive.

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