North Collins and Franklinville squared off on Monday afternoon from Dunkirk High School for a chance to play in the Section VI Class D championship game.

The Lady Eagles served as the home team, given their superior record of 8-6-1, and on Monday, they certainly played like the superior team.

The Eagles scored in a flurry, finding the back of the net four times in the first half en route to a 5-1 semifinal victory.

“We wanted to get an early start,” said North Collins coach Vince Fininzio. “It gets us settled and takes the franticness out of the game. We play better when we’re relaxed, I’m sure everyone does.”

It was evident early that North Collins would dictate the pace of play. Just four minutes into the action, it forced Franklinville keeper Cheznea Rivera to make a great jumping save to keep the game scoreless. However, if would not stay that way for long. Just five minutes after that, North Collins’ Lina Young knocked down a Rivera goal kick and, through a couple Lady Eagles defenders, ripped a shot from 25 yards out that found the far side of the net for the early 1-0 lead.

But the scoring didn’t stop there. Just four minutes after Young found the back of the net in the ninth minute, Hailey Jasinski joined Young in the scoring party. Young found Jasinski on a corner kick, who knocked it down and beat Rivera to the near side, extending the lead to 2-0.

Though the Lady Eagles consistently found the back of the net, Rivera was the strongest player for the Lady Panthers. She was forced to make save after save, including some good ones. On top of her early save to keep it scoreless for a time, Rivera kept the game at just 2-0 on a wonderful save made at point-blank range. Rivera is the team’s normal backup goalie, who had to fill in on Monday night, and the senior’s play was a huge bright spot for Coach Tim Wangelin.

“She did a great job filling in,” Wangelin said. “She has played a little bit in the past, but nothing in the starting position. She did a great job holding us in it and keeping us close. You can tell her confidence grew as time went on.”

But the game didn’t stay 2-0 for long after that save by Rivera. In the 17th minute, Rivera and a teammate collided making a play on the ball, leaving Lady Eagles’ midfielder Autumn Awald with a wide-open net and she did not miss, extending the score to 3-0.

In the 33rd minute, Young would add her second of the half, using her speed to blaze through the Franklinville defense, finding herself all alone with Rivera and making no mistake. With her 18 goals she scored this season, Young is a consistent threat to put the ball in the net at any time.

“Bar none, she’s the best player on the team,” Fininzio said. “She’s one of the best players I’ve coached in six years. She works hard at it. Today, seeing her with a couple assists was fantastic. When you’re scoring, most teams try to shut you down, so the team rallying around that was great.”

In the 55th minute, Jaelyn Benjamin-Watson got Franklinville on the board, when the play broke down in front of the net. The Lady Panthers began to get more pressure for all of that half, but it was too little, too late. Rivera made three more quality saves, including a jumping punch on a bender from Young to keep the score as is, followed by grabbing the ensuing corner kick from Young. North Collins would add one more goal in the 63rd minute, when Young sent a ball out front to Emily Gerdau.

North Collins now gets a chance to compete for the Section VI Class D title against Ellicottville, while Franklinville’s season comes to a close. Wangelin said that though his team struggled, he’s got a young bunch to work with.

“We are young and learning and still growing,” Wangelin said. “We only had three seniors and you could tell at times we were inexperienced, but that’ll pay off down the road.”

And though Young provides a large portion of the North Collins’ offense, the team is successful in part because Fininzio believes in every girl on his team.

“I use everybody on my team every game,” Fininzio said. “Everyone I put in is successful. It helps the kids stay involved in the game and I can trust anybody I put in.”