OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen Fredonia’s Hannah Sellari sends the ball upfield during Saturday’s Class B2 sectional final against Allegany-Limestone.

WILLIAMSVILLE — The Fredonia Lady ‘Billies saw their season end on Saturday night, with a 6-0 loss to the Allegany-Limestone Lady Gators in the Class B2 girls soccer sectional final.

The final score, however, did not tell the whole story.

“Standing on this field on this night, playing this way, I hope that years from now, they look back and go ‘I remember when…,” said Fredonia coach Brett Gould. “When you see tears at the end, the tears will convert to joy in the morning. They shouldn’t be tears for a loss tonight.”

In the first half of the game, Fredonia (10-7-2, 4-seed) held Allegany-Limestone (16-2, 2-seed) — the defending Class C state champions — to only one goal. Through the first 20 minutes, the game was scoreless.

That was not the case in either of the last two matchups between the two teams.

OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen Fredonia’s Paige Supkoski battles with an Allegany-Limestone forward for the ball near midfield during Saturday’s Class B2 final at Williamsville East High School.

In the first matchup of the season, Fredonia trailed Allegany-Limestone 5-0 after 20 minutes. In the second meeting, Fredonia trailed 2-0 before the first ten minutes of the game had passed.

But Saturday was a different story.

Fredonia’s defense — especially goalkeeper Kelly Gullo — kept the Lady ‘Billies in the game. At the half, Fredonia only trailed the Lady Gators by one goal.

“I was ecstatic,” said Gould. “I was extremely impressed with how we played,” said Gould. “How disciplined we were, Kelly (Gullo) made five or six saves in the first half that were great saves. … That was everything you could hope for.”

In the second half, Allegany-Limestone came out quickly and put the game out of reach with two quick goals in the first seven minutes. Over the final 33 minutes of the game, the result was never in question. The Lady Gators added three more goals after that point to pad the stat sheet. For Fredonia, the stat that stands out most is that every player on the team took the field, one last time this season, in a sectional final.

The final score was not indicative of the growth the Lady ‘Billies showed this season. The fact that they played in the game was more than Fredonia could have imagined after a 1-4 start to the season.

“When we came off the field after the game, I said the first time we played them, they had goals on us in the first five minutes. Tonight, we held them 1-0 that whole time. That’s growth, to last that long against a defending state champ,” said Gould.

Coach Gould said coming into the game that Fredonia is not who they were. Though the final score looked that way, the playoff run that Fredonia made proves Gould’s point.

For Fredonia’s seniors, including co-captains Hannah Sellari and Laural Erick, Saturday was the last time they will play in the Fredonia uniform. Gould did not take that fact lightly.

“They led us well,” said Gould. “Watching what Hannah and Laural have done for us over the years, their leadership, their character, their integrity, it’s a gift.”

Fredonia’s final half of play did not define its season — the five halves of playoff soccer prior to it tell a much more favorable story.

“We’ve had a great season. That’s just the icing on the cake,” said Gould. “Our girls go home with a red patch in their hand. That’s fantastic.”

On a 36-degree night, with rain pouring the entirety of the game, the Fredonia Lady ‘Billies earned a plaque as the runners-up for the Class B2 title. That will be the lasting memory of Saturday night.

Twitter: @bradencarmen