The drought in Maple Grove had lasted for six years.

Cassadaga Valley had never won a championship.

On Saturday, girls from all three schools came together to accomplish the feat at Hamburg High School.

Kylie Kress scored the game-winner in the 70th minute as Falconer/Cassadaga Valley/Maple Grove captured the Section VI Class B title with a 2-1 victory over Allegany-Limestone.

OBSERVER Photo by Matt Spielman Falconer/Cassadaga Valley/Maple Grove celebrates Mary Lundmark’s goal.

“Once we found out we were merging and we started to see from the first week of practice what kind of talent we would have and what we were capable of,” Golden Cougars head coach Brett Johnson said: “That thought was always in the back of our minds.”

The teams played a 1-1 first half, but the second-seeded Golden Cougars began to get more offensive hits as the game progressed.

Finally, with just over 10 minutes to go, Julianna Roth found some space to work. The sophomore took the opportunity to send a ball into the 18-yard box that Kress took possession of. After a throw-in, the Maple Grove sophomore beat Gators senior goalkeeper Chloe Baker with the shot to make it 2-1.

“They pressed pretty quickly, but I knew I had to capitalize on every opportunity that presented itself. I saw the opportunity and I took it. said Roth, who plays in the offseason with Kress on the WNY Flash club team.

Roth added: “She’s a good player. We have good chemistry. Being on the same team really helped us this season.

“I saw defenders coming towards me” Kress added, “and I just hit it to the bottom right.”

The Falconer/Cassadaga Valley/Maple Grove back line of Natalie Dossey, Madilyn Seastrum, Giada Schauman and Khloe Livengood made sure the lead held, keeping Allegany-Limestone senior scorer Cait Kellogg in their line of sight for the final 10 minutes as time ran out.

“They have a lot of speed and they are very physical,” » said Dossey. “We all made sure to stay connected to stop them.”

The top-seeded Gators, whose only two losses this season were to the Golden Cougars, struck first on a chilly Saturday morning at Howe Field.

Less than five minutes into the game, Kellogg received a long pass from Kennedy Honeck and broke free behind the Falconer/Cassadaga Valley/Maple Grove backline before scoring to the left of Golden Cougars goalie Ellyson Baglia to a 1-0 lead.

“We were ready to hold our heads high, no matter what” » said Dossey. “We knew they were a tough team and they were probably going to score, but we kept our heads high and kept going.”

Less than 10 minutes later, Falconer/Cassadaga Valley/Maple Grove responded when a Kress shot in the box found the diving foot of Mary Lundmark, who sent it into the goal to tie the game.

“Mary has speed and she is fast”, » Johnson said. “It doesn’t matter how the ball goes in, it doesn’t have to be pretty, you just have to put the ball in the net. She is one of the best in this field.

Soon after, Allegany-Limestone won three corners in a row, but failed to get one by Baglia.

“Seeing their record and knowing that we were this defeat gave us that confidence,” » Johnson said. “We always had to worry about them being an 18-1 team and playing like that.”

Later in the first half, Kress hit the bottom of the crossbar and the ball did not cross the goal line as the score remained 1-1 after 40 minutes.

Midway through the second half, Kellogg broke away for her second breakaway of the day, but Baglia tried to dive to deflect the ball away from the far post.

“Those saves are literally what makes you win and lose you the game. His decision-making has been great these past few weeks. Johnson said of Baglia. “She continues to grow as a goalkeeper.”

That save proved to be key when Kress buried what turned out to be the winner.

“You give a player like Jules that little bit of space to make a pass, and it was a perfect pass,” » Johnson said. “Luckily we had Kylie there to finish it.”

Next up for the Golden Cougars is a New York State Public High School Athletic Association Far West Regional meet with Section V champion Hornell at 7:45 p.m. Friday at Williamsville North High School. The Red Raiders topped Bath-Haverling 2-1 in the Rochester Area championship game Friday night.

“We’re going to work on some things in practice, watch some film and see if we can adapt to it,” » Johnson said.