Pioneer Weekly Update: September 23rd

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Men's Cross Country: 14th at Roberts Wesleyan

Gavin Bathgate (East Rochester) led the way as the men's cross country team finished 14th out of 21 teams at the highly competitive Harry Anderson Invitational hosted by Roberts Wesleyan. Bathgate finished 52nd out of 252 runners. He crossed the finish line of the 8k course in 27:53.6. Matt Connolly (Elmira Notre Dame) was 112th (29:32.2), Jacob Drew (Corning Painted Post) was 114th (29:33.9), Cooper Buckley (Wellsville) was 127th (30:02.0), and Austin Miller (Hornell) was 183rd (32:02.0).

Women's Cross Country: 14th at Roberts Wesleyan

The women's cross country team continued their season with a 14th place finish at the Roberts Wesleyan Harry Anderson Invitational on Saturday. Caitlin Caltagirone (Holland) led the team with a 93rd place finish in the 5k course that featured 19 teams and 221 finishers. She crossed the finish line in 21:55.6. Katie Watkins (Addison) was 130th (23:01.3), Molly Heaphy (Long Island Lutheran) was 139th (23:22.3), Kate Frascella (Franklinville) was 163rd (24:45.4), and Betsy Butlak (Lake Shore) was 158th (25:29.3).

Football: 1-2

The Pioneer defense sealed the victory with a goal line stand in the final minute as the Pioneers defeated the University of Rochester 27-21 on Saturday. 

Rochester started their final possession with 2:42 remaining in the game. They picked up a pair of 1st downs including a 62-yard pass play from Ryan Eamer to Dan Diaz that put the ball on the Alfred State 2-yard line with 1:03 remaining. After a Yellowjacket timeout, the Pioneer defense forced a pair of incompletions and Elijah Rimpel (Queens/Bayside) stopped a run for a one-yard loss setting up a 4th and Goal situation. Rochester went to the air trying to tie the game but Andrew Pierre-Paul (Brooklyn/Erasmus Hall) was able to defend the pass and seal the victory.

The Pioneers started fast as they scored on their first possession. Trevor Carson (Bronx/Harry Truman) scored from three-yards out on the first drive of the game to cap a 82-yard, 9-play drive. On the ensuing kickoff, Martyrs Johnson (Staten Island/Curtis) forced a fumble that was recovered by Joery Barthold (Brooklyn/Midwood). One play later, Nick Wynter (Brooklyn/Fort Hamilton) rushed in from 49-yards out to make it 13-0 just 4:52 into the game. With 23 seconds left in the 1st quarter, Kyle Campbell (Brooklyn/Erasmus Hall) returned an interception 23 yards for a score to make it 20-0.

Rochester got on the board early in the 2nd quarter when Eamer connected with Noah Shinaman on a 42-yard score but Carson and the Pioneers answered right back on their next possession. Carson scored his second touchdown of the game when he capped a 12-play drive with a five-yard run to make it 27-7. Eamer and Shinaman connected on a 31-yard scoring play on the Yellowjackets next possession and connected with Robert Kollmer on a 1-yard scoring pass on the final play of the 1st half to make it 27-21.

Neither team could put points on the board in the 2nd half.

Dashown Wilson (Bronx/DeWitt Clinton) rushed for 108 yards on 19 carries and was 8 for 15 with 102 yards passing. Wynter finished with 65 yards rushing and Andrew Thomas (Bronx/Erasmus Hall) had four catches for 56 yards. Pierre-Paul led the Pioneer defense with nine solo tackles and a pair of pass break-ups. Rimpel also finished with nine tackles, Brian Williams (Fort Washington, MD) had eight tackles and an interception. Key to the field position battle in the game was the punting of Michael Zimmerman (Canandaigua). He sent four of his five punts inside the 20 and averaged 47 yards (long of 55) per punt.

Men's Soccer: 0-6 

The men's soccer team lost two hard fought battles this week. They fell 3-2 to SUNY Poly on Wednesday and fell 2-0 in their AMCC opener vs. Franciscan.

Anthony Smith (Colden/Springville) scored early in the contest vs. Poly on a goal set up by Austin Hubert (Hamburg) and David Benson (Clifton Park/Shenendowa). Chris Balys (Holley) made it 2-0 when he was a piece of a corner kick by Zack Linderman (Olean) in the 28th minute. The Wildcats fought back with an early goal in the 2nd and tied it up with just 3:06 remaining in regulation. Richard Morris scored the game winner in the 108th minute for Poly.

On Saturday, Franciscan scored a pair of 1st half goals to earn the victory in the AMCC opener for both teams. Nico Coria (Honeoye Falls) made nine saves vs. the Barons after making seven vs. SUNY Poly.

Women's Soccer: 0-4-1

The women's soccer team fell in a tight 1-0 battle to Franciscan as they played their first AMCC contest. The Barons scored in the 28th minute when Bella Rubino was able to flick a shot into the net after getting a pass from Claire Dawyot. Gretchen Hendrickson (Canisteo Greenwood) made 12 saves in net in her first collegiate start.

Volleyball: 5-5

The volleyball team ran their winning streak to three matches with a 25-12, 25-17, 22-25, 25-22 victory over Penn College in their 2019 home opener.

The Pioneers collected 13 aces and hit .236 in the contest. Kiara Perkins (Coudersport, PA) led the way with 13 kills (.400 hitting percentage). She added four service aces and five digs. Alyssa Fox (Letchworth) finished with 10 kills and seven digs, Jordan McCooey (Horseheads) passed out 39 assists, and Allysa Martin (Portville) chipped in eight kills. Christa Ealy (Sharpsville, PA) finished with six kills in one set while Maggie Shepard (Hornell) had three aces in one set.

Western Equestrian: Hi Point Team in AM Show, Reserve Hi Point team in PM show

The Western Equestrian team had a big opening day as they opened up the 2019-20 season at Alfred University. The team was the Hi Point team in the AM Show and the Reserve Hi Point team in the PM show.

Alyssa Beardsley (Letchworth) was the Hi Point Rider at the AM show after winning the open reining competition and finishing 2nd in open horsemanship. Sydnee Ganoung (Allegany Limestone) was 1st in Beginner while Ashley Herbert (Spencerport) and Kary Lampman (Horseheads) were 1st in their rides at Rookie A. Joseph Canna (Starpoint), Jennifer Cirigliano (Brewster), Megan Delianne (West Islip), Emily Kearon (Islip), and Brianna Lasecki (Newark) all earned 2nd in their respective classes. With her performance, Delianne qualified for the IHSA Regionals.

In the PM show, Cirigliano won at Rookie A, Kearon won at Rookie B, and Paige Skinner (Campbell Savona) won at Level 1. Beardsley, Canna, Jinean Erickson (Holden, MA), Ganoung, and Herbert all earned 2nd place honors.