OBSERVER Photo by Jason Bower Fredonia's Rylee Beers heads the ball into the goal for the Hillbillies' first goal in a 2-0 Section VI Class B2 championship game win over Allegany-Limestone on Saturday evening at Sweet Home High School.

AMHERST — Rylee Beers jokingly voiced her displeasure that Annie Gondek was being interviewed Wednesday instead of her after Gondek scored both goals in Fredonia’s Section VI Class B2 semifinal victory over Akron.

So on Saturday evening, Beers stole the spotlight.

The Hillbillies senior midfielder scored twice in the first half as No. 3 Fredonia beat No. 5 Allegany-Limestone 2-0 for its second straight Class B2 title at Sweet Home High School.

“She was huge. We’ve had a little bug going around lately on the team. … Rylee got sick, so for her to come out and not be feeling 100% but play the way she did, it’s just the way she is,” Fredonia head coach Dan Tomaszewski said postgame. “She’s gritty and tough, and she came up huge today.”

Last season, the Hillbillies lost a penalty-kick shootout to Royalton-Hartland for the right to advance to the Class B crossover game. This time, it will be Tomaszewsi’s team representing Class B2 when the Hillbillies take on Class B1 champion Lewiston-Porter in Tuesday’s 7:30 p.m. overall Class B title game back at Sweet Home.

OBSERVER Photo by Matt Spielman Fredonia's captains are pictured with assistant coach Eric Johengen, back left, and head coach Dan Tomaszewski, back right, after winning the Section VI Class B2 girls soccer championship Saturday at Sweet Home High School.

“Last year we won and it was fantastic, but we were always thinking we could do better because we were co-champions,” Beers said. “This is just ours, we did this by ourselves. We’re not sharing this one with anybody else.”

Fredonia failed to capitalize on any of its four corner kicks in the game’s opening 10 minutes. Its fifth proved to be one too many for the Gators to defend.

Junior Emma Patterson sent a low drive toward the near-post that Beers headed into the goal for a 1-0 lead in the 11th minute.

“We have so many different corner plays. We are always working on different ones. That one is something we haven’t run that much,” Beers said. “We saw how they were playing against us on the corners. We thought we could stay behind them. I happened to get my head on one.”

“In certain looks, we try to drive it low instead of lobbing it high. She was just able to flick it in,” Tomaszewski said. “She’s just a ‘heady’ player — no pun intended. She knew what to do with that one.”

The Hillbillies nearly made it 2-0 in the 13th minute when Gondek sent a drive off the crossbar.

In the 32nd minute, Beers did make it 2-0. Senior Gigi Ferro executed one of her patented flip throw-ins from the sideline and after a few bounces, the ball found Beers just outside the top of the 18-yard box. Beers’ drive made it through the Allegany-Limestone defense and found the corner of the goal for an all-important two-goal lead.

“We don’t have girls who can throw it all the way into the box from out there. For her to be able to do the flip throw and get depth, it allows us to be able to play it right on goal instead of having to trap it, turn and then try and connect from there,” Tomaszewski said of Ferro’s throw-in. “It’s a really big asset. She was tremendous tonight.”

“I was expecting it to go to Sophia Gullo, but I had to be ready when it rolled right past her,” Beers added. “Gigi is always dangerous with those throws.”

The Gators, who have been offensively challenged for most of the season, nearly broke through in the closing seconds of the first half when a cross through the 18-yard box eluded Fredonia senior keeper Sarah Davis, but the closest Allegany-Limestone attacker was tied up by a Hillbillies defender before the ball was cleared to safety.

Fredonia had two more good chances early in the second half. Beers sent Gondek clear into the 18-yard box in the 42nd minute before the Hillbillies’ leading scorer shot high of the goal.

Then, in the 44th minute, Ella Koopman, Gondek and Gullo worked a precise passing play, but Gullo’s point-blank shot was secured by Gators keeper Chloe Baker.

Allegany-Limestone nearly got on the scoreboard in the 64th minute when Olivia Paterniti got behind the Fredonia defense, but her shot toward the near-post was gobbled up by Davis, who earned her eighth clean sheet of the season and fifth in a row.

“I really wanted to be a part of this team and share the joy of winning the blue patch,” Davis said of playing soccer this year after previously being a volleyball player. “Once that first shot comes at me and I save it or it misses the net, it gives me confidence.”

The shutout string will be put to the test Tuesday against the high-powered Lancers, who scored three goals in a 13-minute span of the second half Saturday against City Honors to break open a 4-0 victory.

“We’ve got our work cut out for us. Lew-Port is a great program,” Tomaszewski said. ” … We just have to make sure were disciplined down the middle of the field, make sure we take care of the ball and have clean touches. We have to challenge every 50-50 ball.”

Lewiston-Porter represented Section VI and the Far West Region in the New York State Public High School Athletic Association final four a season ago.

“We understand what lies ahead if we want to keep playing. We just have to be better every game than we were the last game,” Tomaszewski added. “All of our girls understand what we have ahead of us with Lew-Port on Tuesday night.”