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Randolph girls knock off Holland in ‘C’

HOLLAND — The Randolph girls soccer team again found itself trailing in the Section VI Class C playoffs Tuesday, however this time it was at top-seed Holland.

After setting up an equalizing goal in the first half, Randolph leading-scorer Gianna Bowles found the net herself in the 58th minute on a direct kick to lift the Cardinals into the championship game with a 2-1 victory.

“Gianna Bowles really showed why she’s a top player in the area,” Randolph head coach Alexa Troutman stated. “Quinn (Pence) was really big in the middle for us, we really feel that having her there.”

No. 1 Holland (11-5-0) used its speed in the first half, scoring the game’s first goal on the counterattack with a cross into the box that made it through a mess of players. That deficit did not faze the Cardinals as Pence and Bowles got right to work looking for an answer and it came in the 32nd minute, just seven after Holland’s tally, with Pence scoring from Bowles.

“I’m really proud of them for their hard work this year,” Troutman said. “Their fight to come back from down a goal. We had to fight until the last minute against Portville, they’ve really come together as a team this year.”

The first half was fairly even between both sides, but as the game wore on the fifth-seeded Cardinals began to take control. Stella Smith made eight saves to help Randolph secure the victory, setting up a matchup with five-time defending champion Frewsburg on Friday.

If Randolph (13-3-2) hopes to break the Bears (16-1-0) streak and continue its run in the playoffs there will be little margin for error.

“Frewsburg is historically a top team in our area,” Troutman added. “We can’t get off to a slow start with them, we have to play 80 minutes of the best soccer we can play.”

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