WILLIAMSVILLE — Casey Fetzner sprawled to knock away the first shot. But Jaelyn Rodi was waiting to pounce on the rebound.
Rodi watched the ball squirt under Fetzner’s right arm and roll into the corner of the Lewiston-Porter net. One quick kick was the difference in Lew-Port’s season coming to an end and Pittsford Mendon celebrating a trip to states.
The Lancers entered their fourth consecutive Far West Regional game winners of 15 straight contests. They were seasoned for the moment, expected to be there and knew what it took to win.
But after finding different ways to generate offense all season, Section VI’s Class A champions couldn’t crack the Section V representatives and one goal proved to be the difference between a third trip to states in four years and a 30-mile ride home that seemed like an eternity.
Rodi’s goal in the 53rd minute led Mendon to a 1-0 win Saturday at Williamsville East High School. Disappointment was splattered across the faces of Lew-Port players after the game, but their coach was quick to remind them just how successful their journey was.
“We knew it was going to be a tough game,” Lew-Port head coach Emily Brook said. “They’re a well-disciplined team. … We thought we matched up evenly and I would say we did. We just couldn’t get a ball on the net. It’s just been a great run for these girls.”
Lew-Port was used to being the aggressor and the team dictating play all season. The Lancers surrendered 15 goals all season and four in three postseason games entering Saturday, but it was Mendon (17-1-1) that controlled possession.
The Vikings weren’t a high-volume scoring team, tallying 42 goals in 18 games, but their midfielders and forwards kept play at Lew-Port’s end of the field. Fetzner, like she has been for most of her career — she made nine saves to beat Aquinas in the Far West Regional last year — was up to the task.
Fetzner stopped four shots, including a Rodi penalty kick from 15 yards. But the pressure Mendon put on Lew-Port’s defense was too intense to keep off the scoreboard entirely.
“Every single one of their forwards was always in my box and on my players and trying to find the space to shoot,” Fetzner said. “… They kept really wide and that spread my defense a little bit more than what they’re used to, especially on the right wing. They got really wide and they really capitalized on their opportunity.”
Offensively, Lew-Port had outscored its opponents 61-11 during its 15-game winning streak. But the Lancers aren’t used to experiencing shutout losses, as the Vikings loss was their first since a 1-0 defeat against North Tonawanda on Sept. 11.
But after going through the postseason, with goals contributed by leading scorer Emily Stefik, with a team-high 23 goals, Ireland O’Connor and Gianna Casale, the Lancers had six shots on goal that were all saved by Pittsford Mendon’s Kate Crowley.
“They’re a very powerful team, very aggressive and they had really great awareness on the field,” Lew-Port senior Emily Stefik said. “That’s kind of how we get the ball back is that the other team has either a bad chance and we’re just there. But unfortunately, we didn’t have that many chances … They just kind of dominated it, especially the midfield and that’s usually our strength.”
Lew-Port finished 18-3.