Photo by Scott Reagle Silver Creek’s Jaeleigh Cruz winds up for a free kick during Wednesday’s varsity girls soccer match against the Maple Grove Red Dragons at Maple Grove. The Red Dragons came away with a 4-2 win in overtime.

It took more time than head coach Mike Burr would have liked, but with all said and done after 100 minutes of play Wednesday evening on Dutch Hollow Road, Maple Grove’s girls soccer team came away with a 4-2 Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Association Central Division win over Silver Creek.

The Lady Red Dragons (3-1, 2-1) did so after dropping their first regular season game since Oct. 14, 2015, on Monday, when Frewsburg earned a narrow 1-0 victory.

After earning a 2-0 lead through the first 60 minutes, Maple Grove gave back a pair of goals with time winding down in the second half Wednesday, but a deep roster and veteran leadership were enough to carry the hosts through the extra period.

Senior Chloe Kibbe buried both of her opportunities in extra time to lead the charge for the Lady Red Dragons.

“We were ready to play. … We have to learn from the mistakes we make. We have an interesting chemistry in the team where we’ve got a bunch of older girls and a bunch of younger girls and trying to find that chemistry is a little tricky at the beginning of the season,” said Burr. “We knew Silver Creek was one of the best teams in our league so we knew we had to bring it today and it was a heck of a game. Both teams gave it everything they have,” he said.

The day’s action offered fans plenty to enjoy, as Silver Creek (5-1, 2-1) goalkeeper Alina Beadle turned away 14 shots while Maple Grove’s Addie Tanner fended off 13 strikes of her own.

Things got off to a difficult start for the Black Knights, who suffered a defensive miscue in the opening minute of the game.

Maple Grove’s Sydney Greiner was able to feed Morgan Plymel on a rush, bringing Beadle out of the net for a challenge. The Silver Creek netminder could not corral that ball, giving Plymel an open finish for the 1-0 lead.

The Red Dragons returned fire in the minutes after taking the lead, as Clare Crossley struck back-to-back shots from 30 yards out, both of which turned just past the left goalpost.

With nine minutes remaining in the first period, Silver Creek earned an opportunity to score on a corner kick that was pinballed around in the 6-yard box before being cleared by the Maple Grove defense.

The Black Knights earned a second corner following that chance, to no avail.

As the seconds wound down, Crossley let another hard-hit ball go from long range that was blocked.

While the senior had difficulty getting her tries on net in the first half, Crossley broke that streak with 18:43 remaining when Britta Johnson forced a turnover and then picked up an assist on an easy through-ball.

“That’s the plan is you keep knocking on the door eventually one of those is going to go in,” Burr said of Crossley’s blocked shots. “We had quality chances so it was a matter of making sure that eventually those are going to stick and fortunately we came out on top today.”

Firing back for Silver Creek was Jaylah Cossin less than a minute later, picking off a missed clearing attempt and shoveling that loose ball past the right side of Tanner.

The Black Knights carried that momentum into the next series, as Cossin was able to feed Carly Barrett with a picture-perfect ball that was handled with defense in pursuit.

Barrett controlled that pass, shouldered past her defender and finished off the tying goal.

“I thought our effort overall was good,” Silver Creek coach Kevin Rice said. “Going down 2-0 with maybe 25 minutes left in the game, it certainly is easy especially when you’re on the road to kind of pack it up and call it a day. We didn’t, and we did fight back and brought it back to overtime. I have to play girls longer minutes … his bench is a little deeper.”

Rice, who is down three starters due to injury, would have preferred more roster options when it came time for his team to play in extra time.

While it was the upperclassmen who shined the brightest for Maple Grove on the scoresheet, the day’s win was thanks in large part to the play of freshman defender Jackie Nickerson.

Playing just her first season with the varsity, Nickerson drove off charges by from the likes of Cossin and Kianna Brown time and time again in key situations.

“It’s hard to imagine that she’s only a freshman because every game she only gets better and better … and she’s tougher than nails,” Burr said. “A couple of times her will took over. She was battling a bad back and she just said, ‘not this time.’ I was delighted, she played a great game all the way around and she fought hard. She saved us a bunch of times with her toughness.”