“There’s always motivation when you come into a game such as this,” said Westfield/Brocton coach Neil Huber. “We were working hard toward that perfect season, but losing that gave us a little more motivation coming into these games. We expect to win.”

“We were just nervous that game. We didn’t play as one,” said Westfield/Brocton goalkeeper Angel Busch of the last matchup between the two teams in Friday’s game. “This game, coming back from two losses near the end of the season, it’s incredible, because this showed if we play as one, we’re at the top (of Class C).”

Westfield/Brocton (14-2, 3-seed) rebounded from its late-season struggles in a big way on Friday. The Lady Wolverines played from behind for a large portion of the game the first time the two teams met in Brocton, then trailed again for most of the last game of the season, a 2-0 loss to Maple Grove. Friday, Westfield/Brocton changed that trend in a hurry. Brocton junior Juli Smith drilled a shot from the wing into the high right corner of the net less than five minutes into the game to put the Lady Wolverines ahead 1-0.

“Juli’s got that rocket shot and she nailed it,” said Huber. “Any keeper — I don’t care who it is — would struggle to stop that. It was just a phenomenal shot. … That just gave us the confidence right away.”

Westfield/Brocton’s Katie Bodenmiller (1) looks to play the ball upfield during Friday’s Section VI, Class C girls soccer quarterfinal playoff game against the Silver Creek/Forestville Black Knights, at the NorthLake Soccer Complex, in Westfield. OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen.

Silver Creek/Forestville was just unable to create the kind of opportunities Westfield/Brocton had on Friday.

“Their first touch was just enough better than ours, certainly in the first half,” said Silver Creek/Forestville coach Kevin Rice. “I thought our energy level was good. We battled hard and created some opportunities. … Ultimately, it came down to touches.”

The Lady Wolverines kept consistent pressure the rest of the first half. Silver Creek/Forestville (10-8, 6-seed) survived a pair of opportunities by Westfield/Brocton, the first a free kick by Katie Bodenmiller that bounced around in the box and went off the foot of Haleigh Dellow and just missed the net; the second a shot from the top of the box through traffic by Bodenmiller that hit off the goalpost. Finally, with less than a minute left in the first half, the Lady Wolverines found the back of the net, as Sheala Barresi capitalized with a goal off an assist by Bodenmiller.

“We’d been pushing all half to put another one in. I knew getting a second one, even against a team as good as Silver Creek, that slows everything down,” said Huber. “My girls played great after that. It was very nice to see.”

After the goal, Westfield/Brocton carried a two-goal lead into the break, which made the entire mindset of the Black Knights change moving forward.

Westfield/Brocton goalkeeper Angel Busch directs her teammates during Friday’s Section VI, Class C quarterfinal playoff game against Silver Creek/Forestville, in Westfield. OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen.

“That drastically changed things,” said Rice. “I told my girls before the game, if we’re up 1-0, we’re tied, or we’re down 1-0, I’m okay with any of those scenarios. … If I could have a minute and a half of my life back, that last minute and a half would be it. That was definitely a killer. … Against a lot of teams, we’re still okay, but not against Westfield.”

For the Lady Wolverines, though Busch has been nearly flawless this season, the extra cushion after the second goal helped ease any nerves that might have arose the later the game went.

“The ideal situation for me is to have a shutout in a playoff game, but that’s really hard to do,” said Busch. “As soon as we got that second goal, all of that pressure was off.”

The rest of the way, the Westfield/Brocton defense kept Silver Creek/Forestville scoreless. Limiting opportunities for the opposition has been something the Lady Wolverines have excelled at all season long.

“My defense has been stellar this year. Heather and Laura Johnston, Mary Conklin and Makartnee Mortimer, I can’t say enough about how well those girls are playing,” said Huber. “Angel steps up when she needs to. She makes the saves when she needs to.”

Westfield/Brocton now moves forward in the Class C bracket to the semifinals.

“I wish Westfield luck. Katie Bodenmiller is a class act. As an opposing coach, I like watching her. She plays the game the right way,” said Rice. “I wish her and the rest of her team luck moving forward.”

The Lady Wolverines take on 2-seed Portville, who passed Westfield/Brocton in the Class C standings during the final week of the regular season, on Monday at 5 p.m. at Eden High School. Portville defeated 10-seed Randolph 2-1 on Friday in Portville.

“Portville came to watch our game, they videotaped our game,” said Huber. ” Even though we are the higher seed and we’ve been favored all season, we don’t carry ourselves like that. We just want to go and play our game. … If we play our game, good things happen. I’m excited.”

Huber’s confidence is shared by his All-Star goalkeeper.

“As long as we play our game, not someone else’s game, we’ve got it,” said Busch.

Win or lose, the Lady Wolverines have been on a ride this season that has impressed many throughout the Western New York soccer landscape. Now, the Lady Wolverines are just one more win away from a berth in the Section VI, Class C championship game.

“We’ve just been playing together as a family. That’s always been really important to us,” said Busch. “When we work together as a family, we can do anything.”

Twitter: @bradencarmen