Girls Soccer Plays Saturday After Playoff Win
As reported in the Observer, Mady Polhamus scored from Callie Draggett in the 54th minute and No. 9 Fredonia held off No. 8 Springville 2-0 in the Class B prequarterfinals.
Cece Tonelli added an insurance goal for Fredonia in the 68th minute, while Naomi Muck earned the shutout for the Hillbillies.
Fredonia (11-5-1) will play at top-seeded Alden (12-2-2) on Saturday at 2 p.m. Go Billies!
As reported in the Observer, after surviving early pressure from the two-time defending Section VI Class B2 champion Southwestern, Fredonia received an inspired run from Ryan Koopman in the 14th minute, which changed the game.
Coming on the counterattack, Koopman dribbled past defenders until losing possession as he entered the box, but Brayden Korzeniewski collected the loose ball and slotted it home to give the Hillbillies the lead and the momentum en route to a 2-0 victory in the Class B prequarterfinals on Tuesday at Fredonia State University.
“I think, especially given our last game was a 2-0 loss to this team, it was important to have a positive tone setter in the beginning,” Fredonia head coach Mason Redmond said. “From there, we were a lot calmer and were able to possess a little bit more than on Thursday.”
Shortly after No. 5 Fredonia got on the board, the Hillbillies were right back at it and it was Koopman driving home a loose ball among the chaos in the box during the 22nd minute.
“Both of them have been really solid offensive weapons this year,” Redmond said about his top scorers. “As far as overlapping with each other or just kind of winning 50-50 balls, they’re both good out of the air. They’re our two leading scorers for a reason. Where it would be nice to play possession sometimes, it is nice to have those direct attack options, too.”
Southwestern came close to getting a goal back just a few minutes later after Ryan Ohl made a great run down the right wing and delivered a cross to a sliding Wilson Genareo, but the shot was deflected high.
“It was a pretty equally battled game, for the most part,” Southwestern head coach Jason Deering said. “We really wanted to win that. We showed up today. We wanted to battle through and that’s really what we wanted to do. We got the win on Thursday against them and we knew from our earlier contest that we were just as good as them. … It was well played. It was what I could ask for from one of our Southwestern teams.”
The Fredonia defense kept Southwestern off the board in the first half, despite several scares that were near misses or turned aside by Luka Paoletta who finished with six saves in the clean sheet.
“Our game plan every game is to come out flying,” Deering stated. “We always set out to set the tone of the game, fly around. It worked well for most of the game.”
Both Koopman and Korzeniewski nearly added to the Fredonia lead in the 49th and then 57th minute respectively, but Cooper Charles was there to turn them away. Charles made 13 stops as he worked to keep the 12-seeded Trojans within striking distance the whole game.
In the face of desperate pressure from Southwestern with its season on the line, the Fredonia defense stood tall as it worked to flip the script from a 2-0 league loss last week to a 2-0 playoff victory.
“It’s definitely very satisfying getting this win,” Redmond said, “especially since we had a really good regular season. I wanted to kind of run into form at the right moment. I’m excited to go up to whoever we’re playing on Friday.”
The Hillbillies travel to No. 4 Medina (15-2-0) for a quarterfinal matchup at 3:30 p.m. Friday.
“I haven’t watched a ton of them yet,” Redmond said about Medina. “I watched their game against Newfane, but at this point I was saying to our players that every game in the playoffs is going to be a good team. We’re not sleeping on them, but we’re certainly ready for them and will get back at it tomorrow.”
Southwestern finished its season with a 4-12-1 record, but the young group is already eager to get back to the quality of play the Trojans have grown accustomed to.
“It was a tough season for us. We always have high expectations,” Deering said about his group. “Even coming in with a young team, we just try to keep the expectations high, something to battle for. A tough season like this season and having the success that we’ve had over the last couple years with this program it can only be motivation. They have to use it. The talk already through the younger players is that they’re already figuring out what they’re doing to get on the field and to be working. That’s what we push and really how we keep our program going.”
Thanks to Christian Storms for the story and photos.
Students in Mrs. Noody's Painting class took their talents out into the community last week to paint a fall window display at Basil Chevrolet. Check out more photos on the Art Department's Facebook page!
The Board of Education will hold a regular meeting on Tuesday, October 21st, at 6:00 p.m. in the High School Library.
Winter sports registration is open!
Students interested in Basketball, Wrestling, Bowling, Indoor Track, and Cheer can sign up via the link on our Athletics page:
As reported in the Observer, Izzie Czekanski (21:02) of Fredonia/Westfield placed second this past Tuesday in Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Association cross country action, while teammate Meredith Lendt (21:20) placed third.
The Fredonia/Westfield boys secured a team victory with the first four runners crossing the finish line, which included Trent Krenzer (17:57), Pietro Cabitza (18:32), Jimmy Fagan (18:50), and Alex Cramer (18:52).
Thanks to Christian Storms for the photos.
Official results included:
GIRLS
1. Emma Lewis (S); 2. Izzie Czekanski (F/W); 3. Meredith Lendt (F/W); 4. Lillian Weikel (S); 5. May Eaton (O); 6. Kinley Belleisle (O); 7. Kenzi Swafford (S); 8. Rachael Dulmus (O); 9. Tryniti Card (S); 10. Elorna Barnett (S). T–18:44, D–3.1
BOYS
1. Trent Krenzer (F/W); 2. Pietro Cabitza (F/W); 3. Jimmy Fagan (F/W); 4. Alex Cramer (F/W); 5. Anson Miller (F/CV); 6. Ethan Lohnes (S); 7. Cruz Clark (O); 8. Soloman McKnatt (F/W); 9. Kellan Brown (S); 10. Nathan Keefe (F/W). T–17:57, D–3.1
One Day Only - During Lunches
October 28th!
Join us in honoring our nation's heroes at our Veterans Day Parade! We welcome ALL veterans and their families to this special celebration on Friday, November 7th, 2025.
Schedule of Events:
• 8:30 AM: Breakfast in the High School Cafeteria
• 9:15 AM: Parade through our Main Campus
• 9:30 AM: Travel to Wheelock School, where our youngest learners will say “Thank You” to our veterans.
We look forward to celebrating and showing our gratitude together!
Please RSVP by November 1st to ktomaszewski@fcsd.wnyric.org or call our district office at 716-679-1581.
Hello from FCSD Family Support Services: If you have Medicaid and are in need of support, you may qualify for a new program. Please see this flyer for info regarding the 115 Waiver program, and reach out to a school social worker to learn more.
FHS STUDENTS LEARN MORE ABOUT BULLYING
Many thanks to UB's Alberti Center for Bullying Prevention for their presentation to our HS students today. We appreciate their knowledge and insights as we seek to both understand and eliminate these kinds of behaviors from our school community. Please remember to report any kind of bullying activity to our teachers and/or administrators as soon as possible. Thanks in advance for your help and assistance.
Thanks to Ashleigh Brown for the fantastic photos.
As reported in the Observer, Brayden Korzeniewski’s goal from Sam Pietro in the 65th minute proved to be the winner as Fredonia beat Dunkirk 2-1 in Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Association Division I boys soccer at SUNY Fredonia.
Ryan Koopman opened the scoring in the second minute of the game for the Hillbillies (10-2-2, 4-2-2).
Alex Biscaro tied the game from Naisaih Rodriguez in the 60th minute for the Marauders (8-5-1, 4-3-1).
We have been made aware of calls being made to parents of Juniors, saying their student has requested PSAT exam resources. The caller states they will be mailing a flash drive with the resources; they just need a credit card in case the flash drive isn't returned within 30 days.
If you receive a call similar to this, please hang up immediately.
Attention parents and guardians of a member of the class of 2026!
Make their senior yearbook even more special! Recognize your student’s milestones and successes with a custom ad.
Create and purchase your student’s ad today: 2026 FHS Yearbook Store
