Jordan DiLapo

Jordan DiLapo
OPHS, Class of 2012
OPHS varsity and FC Buffalo soccer

Dream job: Professional athlete
Favorite goalie jersey color: Black
Looking forward to:
Going to college
Favorite movie: Dodgeball
Favorite OP athlete: Matt Mulvaney
I want to visit:
Manchester, England
I am currently:
Driving home from Ohio
Favorite part of FC Buffalo: High level of soccer and crazy road trips

Marybeth Cordier

Marybeth Cordier
OPHS, Class of 2012
Orchard Park Soccer Club

I am currently:
On my way to a tournament
Dream job:
State medical examiner
I want to visit: Singapore
Favorite OP athlete:
“Mullet” Sarah Moore
I want to have dinner with: Taylor Swift
Hidden talent: Singing
I am looking forward to: This summer, fall, and college
Favorite thing about OP:
There’s always something to do
This actor would play me in a movie:
Tina Fey or maybe Zach Galifianakis
If I owned a thoroughbred, I would name it: Lola

Chelsea Lepore

Chelsea Lepore
Sophomore, Orchard Park
Soccer, Basketball, Lacrosse

Dream job: Professional Athlete
Favorite Orchard Park athlete:
Emily Fleetwood
I want to visit: Australia
Favorite sports team: Buffalo Sabres
I am currently looking forward to:
Spring Break
Favorite musical artist: Lady Gaga
Favorite OP hangout: Panera
Hobbies other than sports: Snowboarding
Favorite thing about Spring:
Warm weather
Fondest sports memory: Making it to the semifinals for varsity soccer

Sarah Moore

According to a press release from the University at Buffalo, Orchard Park senior Sarah Moore will be joining the school’s soccer program this fall.

From the release:

Goalkeeper Sarah Moore is the third local player to join the Bulls, coming from Orchard Park high school and the Niagara Premier Soccer Club. During her time competing for the Quakers, Sarah has been named first team ECIC, named the team MVP and helped lead the team to a top 20 state ranking. She will leave high school after leading the ECIC in shutouts.
“Sarah is a solid goalkeeper who has shown that she loves to play and wants to improve,” head coach Michael Thomas said. “We look forward to getting her into the program and putting her into the mix.”

Check out photos from the boys soccer season this fall.

Ryan Lindquist

Brian Arcara

Brian Arcara
Sophomore, Orchard Park HS
Soccer, Indoor Track, Outdoor Track

Dream job:
To start a landscaping business
Favorite Orchard Park athlete: Jordan DiLapo
Favorite sports team:
Chelsea FC
I am currently looking forward to: Trying out for the Olympic Development Program (Soccer)
Favorite meal:
Chicken Parmesan from Tina’s Italian Kitchen
Favorite movie character:
Carl (Jim Carrey) in Yes Man
Favorite school subject:
Physical Education
Hobbies other than sports: Biking and snowboarding
Talent I’d like to have: To be invisible
Favorite quote: “For us, there is surely no other alternative. We have to win.” – Gianluigi Buffon

Tyler Williams

Ryan O'Donnell

Ryan O’Donnell, a 2006 Orchard Park High School graduate, finished his senior season at the State University of New York at Fredonia as the leading scorer on the men’s soccer team this fall.

O’Donnell’s 7 goals and 4 assists helped the Blue Devils to an overall record of 10 wins and 9 losses.

Teammate Tyler Williams, a 2009 Orchard Park grad, led the team with five assists.

Sarah Moore

Laura Lukowski

Amanda Reusch

Kayla Hartnett

Sarah Moore, Laura Lukowski, Amanda Reusch and Kayla Hartnett were selected to play in the Exceptional Senior All-star soccer game at Pioneer High School on Sunday, Nov. 7.

The game featured top senior players from Section VI.

Moore, Lukowski, Reusch and Hartnett helped Orchard Park to a 13-2-2 record this fall season.

Jake Welch and the Quakers battled Clarence in the Class AA sectional championship at Hamburg Saturday evening.

Orchard Park scored first, but only once in its 2-1 loss to Clarence during the Section VI Class AA soccer championship at Hamburg Saturday evening.

Alex Pollack put the Quakers on the board midway through the first half, but Clarence answered back to tie the game before halftime.

Clarence then scored on a header by Tyler Funk off a corner kick with 21:58 left in the game.

Orchard Park finished the season with 14 wins and 5 losses.

Amanda Reusch

Amanda Reusch
Senior, Orchard Park High School
Soccer

Dream job: A doctor helping people in Africa
My heroes are: Mia Hamm, my mother, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Favorite sports team: Manchester United, Buffalo Sabres, and the Buffalo Blizzard back when they were around
My hidden talent is: Black belt in karate
Favorite Orchard Park athlete:
Sarah “Mullet” Moore
Favorite number and why: 7, because I was born on August 7th and it’s been my soccer number since I was 7
Favorite musical artist: Taylor Swift
I want to travel to: Greece
I wish I could have dinner with:
Barack Obama

This past Friday, Oct. 29, OP went 3 for 3 in playoff contests at Orchard Park High School.

Junior Kelly Hornbarger

The field hockey team started off the first of three games played at the OP stadium field with a 3-2 overtime win over visiting West Seneca West.

The Lady Quakers trailed at half, 2-0, and scored two second-half goals to send the game into the extra period.

Sam Sarles scored the game-winning goal with 3:52 left in overtime.

The Lady Quakers (9-5-3) move into the sectional semi-finals against Clarence on Thursday, Nov. 4 at 4 p.m. The game will be played at Amherst High School. The two teams tied, 1-1, when they met during the regular season back on Oct. 14.

Senior Ryan Farrell

The boys soccer team took the field after the field hockey win and scored five first-half goals to defeat West Seneca West, 5-0. Matt Hamister scored three goals while Ryan Lindquist and Ben Gordon each scored one goal.

The Quakers have won six straight games and nine of their last ten.

Orchard Park (13-4) will play Lockport in the sectional semi-final contest scheduled to be played at Hamburg on Wednesday, Nov. 3 at 5 p.m.

Jimmy Fitzgerald (left) congratulates Mike Fischer after grabbing an interception.

The Orchard Park football team defeated Jamestown, 26-0, in the triple-header night cap.

Quarterback Kyle Witkowski tossed touchdown passes to Ben Johnson, James Schneider and Connor Hicks while Okoya Anderson ran 24 times for 125 yards.

On the defensive side, Richie Moore earned two sacks and a forced fumble. Paul Leavell made 13 tackles and Cody Hallick made eleven.

The win puts the Quakers into the sectional championship to be played Friday night at Ralph Wilson Stadium against Clarence. The contest will be played at 9 p.m. and will be a re-match of the Week 2 regular season game that the Red Devils won, 37-28.

Senior goalie Sarah Moore

The Orchard Park girls soccer team trailed early in its quarterfinal contest of the Class AA playoff tournament, but managed to come from behind to defeat visiting Niagara Wheatfield Thursday evening, 2-1.

The first half goal scored by the Falcons was out of the ordinary for an Orchard Park team that has allowed only four goals during the entire regular season.

“I was (surprised),” sophomore Cassidy Kozub said of Niagara Wheatfield’s go-ahead goal in the first half, “but you have to expect tougher games during playoffs and we just got caught up in the heat of the moment.”

Niagara Wheatfield nearly went up by two goals when OP was whistled for a handball and Niagara Wheatfield was awarded a penalty kick.

“They had a corner kick and I saved it, but there was a handball in the box,” senior goalie Sarah Moore recalled. “They signaled a penalty kick. I just went with my instinct and saved it.”

Midfielder Kayla Hartnett evened the score later in the first half.

“It was a big motivator for the team,” Moore said of Hartnett’s score.

Kiley Ransbury added a second half goal to give the Lady Quakers the eventual victory.

Orchard Park will play Kenmore West on Tuesday evening at Depew.

Junior Maddie Nowakowski

The Quaker football team started off Orchard Park’s post-season with an impressive win over Williamsville North last Friday night, 51-7.

Three more teams will begin post-season play before the end of the week starting with the girls soccer team, who will host Niagara Wheatfield Thursday night at 6 p.m.

The field hockey team will host West Seneca West Friday afternoon at 3 p.m. while the boys soccer team will host West Seneca West the same day at 3:30 p.m.

The football will play Jamestown at home Friday night starting at 7 p.m.

The volleyball teams begin their post-season next week on Wednesday, Nov. 3.

Jake Welch

Jake Welch
Senior, Orchard Park High School
Soccer

Dream job: Fishing Guide
My heroes are: Chris “Open Campus” Kerr
Favorite sports team: Buffalo Bandits
Favorite teacher: Mr. Hitchings
Favorite school subject: Physical Education
Favorite Orchard Park athlete: Ross “the Boss” DeLisle
Favorite OP hangout: The Ridge
Favorite movie character: Mr. Miyagi
Hobbies other than sports: Hunting, Fishing, Snowboarding, Wakeboarding
Favorite quote: “A lot of people are afraid of heights. Not me, I’m afraid of widths.” – Steven Wright

Senior Ben Gordon

An exhilarating finish to its win over Lancaster Thursday night has the Orchard Park boys soccer team winners in five of its last six contests.

The Quakers led at halftime, 1-0, and increased the lead to 2-0 in the second half on a goal by senior Ryan Roder, his first of the season. Lancaster scored once then again with about 30 seconds left. Ben Gordon responded with just 11 seconds left in the game to win, 3-2.

“It was a must-win game for us and we’re all happy with the results,” said Roder.

Wednesday’s thrilling victory comes just two days after Ryan Farrell scored in overtime against Williamsville North to win, 2-1.

Sophomore Kiley Ransbury battles a Williamsville North opponent in Wednesday night's contest on senior night at Orchard Park.

On senior night Wednesday, the Orchard Park girls soccer team attempted to avenge its only loss of the season, but was only able to force a tie against Williamsville North, who previously defeated the Lady Quakers back on Sept. 24, 2-1.

Orchard Park came off a 6-1 win over Jamestown on Tuesday after scoring five first-half goals while Williamsville North had not played for six days after a 6-0 win against Lancaster on Oct. 7.

Despite scoring opportunities on both sides, the teams remained scoreless after 100 minutes of play that included two overtime periods.

“I wish this result would have been in our favor, but zero-zero to the team that’s supposed to win the section, we’re pretty happy with that,” said senior goalie Sarah Moore, who made eight saves.

The will and endurance shown by Orchard Park were quite impressive considering the team was forced to follow up the previous night’s performance with a double overtime effort.

It will not be the last time the team will be asked to exhibit those same characteristics since the players expect a similar effort when sectional playoffs begin.

“It gives us a good run for our money,” senior forward Laura Lukowski said after the tie. “That’s definitely what the teams are going to be like – fast-paced and high competition. It’s good practice to get us ready for playoffs.”

With a mark of 9 wins, 1 loss and 2 ties, the Lady Quakers continue to improve, despite just the one defeat.

“I think we showed improvement considering we lost the first game two to one,” Moore added. “This time was zero-zero. It was more back and forth. The first time they were in our half (of the field) the whole time.”

Much of the improvement by Orchard Park can be attributed to making quicker decisions with the ball. The fast-paced style of Wednesday night’s contest forced Orchard Park to utilize the one and two-touch approach preached by Coach Mike Graffeo.

“We’re used to this turf and how fast the ball moves,” said Lukowski. “I think we know to play one and two-touch. We did a good job with that. We were good with the passes. We just couldn’t finish our shots.”

Orchard Park will play a pair of road games against Lancaster (Friday, Oct. 15) and Frontier (Monday, Oct. 18) before hosting its regular season finale against West Seneca West on Thursday, Oct. 21 at 7 p.m.

–
Congratulations to seniors Kayla Hartnett, Laura Lukowski, Sarah Moore, Amanda Reusch and Charlotte Sanfilippo.

Sarah Moore

Sarah Moore
Senior, Orchard Park High School
Soccer

Favorite teacher: Mr. Lexner
Favorite tunes: Eminem, Sam Adams, All Time Low
Favorite OP hangout: Mighty Taco
Favorite book: Nineteen Minutes
Favorite actor/actress: Will Ferrell/Amanda Bynes
Talent I’d like to have: The ability to sing well
Favorite sport other than what I play: Basketball
Favorite Orchard Park athlete: Ashley “Gryffindor” Griffin
Favorite sports team: The Ohio State University Buckeyes
Favorite quote: “No sacrifice, no victory.”

Freshman defender Tia Saunders

The Orchard Park girls soccer team will host a spaghetti dinner at the OPHS cafeteria Wednesday from 4pm -8pm.

The price is $8 for adults and $5 for kids ages 5 to 12. Children under 5 are free. The event is in cooperation with Cappelli’s.

I will be presenting a slideshow of photos I have taken of the team and will have an order form for anyone who is interested in purchasing photos.

Hope to see you there.

Senior forward Ben Gordon

The Orchard Park boys soccer team fell to a record of 4 wins and three losses after suffering its third one goal loss of the season in a defeat to Lancaster Tuesday afternoon, 3-2.

The teams played to a 2-1 halftime score in favor of the home team Redskins. Lancaster scored a third goal midway through the second half, but Ben Gordon responded thirty seconds later to bring the Quakers back to within a goal.

A last chance effort to tie the game on a corner kick was cleared by the Lancaster defense.

Orchard Park will travel to Frontier to cap off a string of five straight road games of which the Quakers are currently 2-2.