Local Sports

Plenty of talent

Several OBSERVER/Post-Journal Soccer All-Stars return next week

While more than half of the 2025 OBSERVER/Post-Journal Boys Soccer All-Stars graduated leaving big holes in their teams, there are five athletes returning to their respective schools poised for another great season.

Conversely, for the girls, with just five seniors leaving, there is plenty of elite talent returning for the season, which starts next week.

Boys Player of the Year Cooper Freeman headlines the list of 2026 graduates, but his soccer career is not over as he joins Ohio Northern University in NCAA Division III competing in the Ohio Athletic Conference. Freeman finished his career at Randolph as the program's top scorer with a finishing mark of 107 goals, netting 48 in his final season along with 26 assists.

Randolph also graduated fellow all-stars Cody Slade (12 goals and 13 assists) and defender Parker Patterson, who helped the Cardinals to a 15-2-1 record and the Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Association Division II championship.

As one division champion lost some big pieces, both Westfield/Brocton all-stars Nolan Anderson and Braylon Swanson return for their senior and junior seniors respectively.

Anderson held down the net for the Wolverines as they kept seven clean sheets and claimed the CCAA Division III title. Swanson tilted the other side of the field for Westfield/Brocton, leading the offense with 28 goals and eight assists in a 14-4-0 campaign.

Jamestown's Beckett Lumia returns to the Red & Green midfield for his junior season after scoring 16 goals and collecting 12 assists.

Maple Grove's Ty Oste and Ellicottville/Franklinville's Tosh Klein return to the midfield for one last year. Oste scored 25 goals and distributed nine assists for the Red Dragons and also earned an All-WNY Small School selection as Maple Grove captured the Section VI Class D title. Klein netted 14 goals and eight assists for the Eagles who reached the Section VI Class C quarterfinals.

Dunkirk graduated the reigning CCAA Division I Offensive Player of the Year Victor Millan, who netted 17 goals and three assists, while defender Anthony Bautista also departed the Marauders after providing six goals and four assists with an appearance in the Section VI Class A2 semifinals.

Westfield/Brocton brings back Anderson and Swanson, but has big shoes to fill from Anthony Gatto's graduation. On defense, Gatto scored five goals and had nine assists and earned an All-WNY Small School selection.

Silver Creek/Forestville graduated CCAA Division III Player of the Year Nate Mays, who scored 18 goals and four assists; Ryan Koopman leaves Fredonia after providing 17 goals and 10 assists in his senior season with an All-WNY Small School nod; and Southwestern's defense graduated all-star Ryan Ohl.

Just five OBSERVER/Post-Journal Girls Soccer All-Stars graduated last season. Returning are a great crop, headlined by Player-of-the-Year Julianna Roth, who led Falconer/Cassadaga Valley/Maple Grove to its second straight Section VI Class B title.

Playing a box-to-box role, Roth still led the Golden Cougars in scoring with 14 goals and six assists, while also earning All-WNY Small School recognition. Falconer/Cassadaga Valley/Maple Grove also brings back Kylie Kress who would have led the team in scoring if she played every game. She finished with 11 goals and four assists in just 15 contests.

While the Golden Cougars bring back their star midfielder and dynamic striker, the graduation of Mary Lundmark and Madilyn Seastrum will sting. Lundmark scored nine goals and six assists on the wing, while Seastrum held down the back line for 10 clean sheets and an All-WNY Small School selection.

Frewsburg brings back a pair of All-WNY Small School selections in Audrey Eckwahl and Elysse Gruber. Eckwahl was one of the top scorers in Section VI as a junior with 35 goals and five assists on the way to CCAA Division III Offensive Player of the Year honors while Gruber made 120 saves in net and kept nine clean sheets as a sophomore.

The Bears will have to replace defender Lyla Salvaggio, who led the back line ahead of Gruber, en route to the Class C semifinals and a 15-3-1 record.

Southwestern returns both OBSERVER/Post-Journal All-Stars as midfielders Marlana Cresanti and Mckenzie Rogers enter their senior seasons. Cresanti, often playing forward, scored 15 goals and 10 assists for the Trojans, while the more defensive Rogers still provided six goals and three assists.

Randolph retained an all-star and graduated another with Kyler Patterson coming back to the reigning CCAA Division II champions, and league Player of the Year Gianna Bowles graduated after scoring 37 goals and dishing out 12 assists.

Fredonia brings back All-WNY Small School selection Cece Tonelli, who scored 34 goals and nine assists as a sophomore and Westfield/Brocton has CCAA Division III Defensive Player of the Year Makayley Nelson coming back for her senior season.

Cattaraugus-Little Valley graduated forward Talon Bramer, who provided 19 goals and three assists, factoring in on 77% of the Timberwolves offense.

Section VI soccer begins next week with the first games on Tuesday. The first local boys game is Ellicottville/Franklinville at Southwestern, while the Southwestern girls travel to Frewsburg, Chautauqua Lake hosts Ellicottville and Salamanca hosts Eden.