Rams trip up Wellsville, head to regional finals
BY SHAWN VARGO THE LEADER

JASON COX/THE LEADER Bath teammates Lucas Wales and Bryce Cody congratulate each other after Wednesday's game.

ROCHESTER - Bath Haverling got two first-half goals from Lucas Wales and needed both of them as the Rams upset Wellsville 2-1 Wednesday, Nov. 7, in the Section V, Class B play-in game at PAETEC Park.

The Rams (17-4-1) entered the game as Section V, Class BB champions and were ranked 11th in the state, while Wellsville (18-2-2) was the Class B champion and held the No. 2 spot in the state rankings.

Bath didn't waste any time with its aggressive play, needing just nine minutes to get on to the scoreboard. Justin Brown worked the ball down the right side of the field, before feeding Wales - who bounced his shot off the left post and into the net.

"Brown beat a couple of guys down the sideline, dragged some people over and he saw me. All I had to do was finish it," Wales said.

With the wind at their backs, the Rams continued to press the Lions, out-shooting them 12-3 in the opening 45 minutes.

"In the first half, I thought we passed the ball well and the guys played hard. Thankfully we played with the wind the first half," said Bath coach Matt Hill.

The pressure paid off with less than 11 minutes remaining in the half as Wales headed in a cross from Jason Carpenter.

"It was like coach told us to- fundamentals- go for the header," Wales said. "I saw the goalie was out of place, so I put it in the top corner- it was great."

"The first half, they had

the wind and we left (Lucas Wales) wide open twice in the middle of the field and he just put it away," Wellsville coach Denny Miles said. "We've got three kids that are supposed to be shadowing him and not one of them shadowed him - so it was their own fault."

Wellsville goalkeeper James Braunscheidel stopped seven shots in the first half, compared to one save for Bath keeper Mike Rossi as the Rams took a 2-0 lead into the intermission.

After changing sides, the teams exchanged momentum, as well. Wellsville brought the offensive pressure to Bath's net and pulled within one goal of the Rams when Josh Cornell banged in a rebound with 28:45 left in regulation.

"When they got their goal, our momentum went right down the tubes and it stayed that way for the rest of the game," Hill said. "Thesecond half was a completely different story. We weren't all on the same page in the second half."

But Bath's defense, led by the back line of Reid Gustin, Sam Robbins and Dylan Wales, kept Rossi from having to face any more unmanageable shots. Although the Lions took nine shots with the wind, Rossi tallied just four saves in the second half to postthe win.

"In the second half when we scored our one goal, the momentum seemed to shift a little bit, but we couldn't put in the equalizer," Miles said. "I really think we just dug ourselves too big a hole and couldn't dig back out of it. Bath has given up just 10 goals all year, so you're not going to score a lot of goals against them."

With the win, Bath moved onto face Section VI champion Akron- who happens to be the No. 1 ranked team in the state- at 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 11, at Caledonia- Mumford.

"I've got to get on the phone and try to get some info. on Akron," Hill said. "They haven't played for about a week and a half, so they've had a chance to probably watch us play a couple of times. I've got to do some research."