QUINTIN JAMES
Staff Writer
The Blue Devils had two more games until conference play started. The team looked to come out strong and get wins before the schedule got tougher.
But after finishing off the weekend with just one win and a draw, the team is looking to string together more wins to get them back in playoff position.
Before the Nazareth game senior Paul Reinis and sophomore Hunter Critchlow were both confident in the team’s ability to win games.
“It’s important that we buy into the system and execute when we need to,” said Reinis. “We need to close out games better and when we’re up, we need to stop letting teams hang around for too long. We need to work on closing the game out as soon as possible.”
“It’s all about coming together as a team,” said Critchlow. “We need to work hard, but remember to have fun while doing it. Being mentally tough is key, and I think we are starting to become more mentally tough as the season goes on.”
The Blue Devils needed to come out on fire to avoid starting conference play with no wins. The key to winning more games is to have more confidence and start playing more freely.
The Blue Devils started the road to SUNYAC conference play with a strong 3-0 win over winless Nazareth. This was the best game the Blue Devils played all year. In front of a packed house at University Stadium the Blue Devils controlled the whole game from the start. The scoring came early and often. In the second minute junior James Ritchie headed the ball into the net from a rebound off-the-post shot from junior Bryan Sibble.
The scoring continued as Sibble scored in the third minute off a beautiful cross by Ritchie. Up two in the first five minutes, you would think the Blue Devils would let up, but they finished the scoring in the 11th minute as Ritchie scored again; this time off a penalty kick. The Blue Devils outshot Nazareth 25-5 and had an 11-2 advantage on corner kicks. Nazareth didn’t record a shot on net and the Blue Devils defense looked strong throughout.
Assistant Coach Kendall McFayden said the team has started to step it up and play to the standards they set at the beginning of the season.
“Getting the first win on the season helped. Scoring early really got our confidence up and it stayed up for the rest of the game,” said McFayden.
He says the team has tons of potential; the problem early on was they had to find the right lineup with the right players for the team to click.
“The ceiling is very high for this team,” said McFayden. “We are trying to win more games than in years past.”
The Blue Devils had a short preseason and started off very slow. Now they are starting to click, and the results are evident. In reference to what worked last game, McFayden said “It was the first time all year we were the aggressors. We pushed the pace and put pressure on them [Nazareth] early and often.”
McFayden knows about the five-year playoff drought and looks to break it this year with strong conference play.
“We want to change the atmosphere here at Fredonia,” said McFayden. “We want to create a winning culture sooner rather than later.”
For their next game, the Blue Devils came from being down against Geneva to tie them in a double overtime thriller.
The Blue Devils started off slow, down 2-0, in the second half. It looked like they were about to raise the white flag, but in the 74th minute, sophomore Ryan Ross scored off a cross to cut the lead to one. Five minutes later, junior Parker Healy scored and tied the game. He gave the Blue Devils the lead with another goal in the 84th minute.
Geneva would tie it up in the 89th minute with a header from a throw-in.
When the game went into double overtime, the Blue Devils had plenty of opportunities to score and outshot Geneva in overtime 8-2. Overall, the Blue Devils controlled the game in the second half and outshot Geneva 29-16.
The next test the Blue Devils have to face is the conference. SUNYAC play is always competitive and tough.
“The SUNYACs are a war zone and if you don’t play tough early game, you will get blown out,” said Reinis.
The team needs to win many games to have any hope for the playoffs this year.
“Six wins in conference play would be nice for playoffs,” said Critchlow, “but we want to win all nine.”
It’s now or never for the Blue Devils. They sit at 1-5-1 and need wins fast if they want to break the five-year playoff drought. It will be tough, but they have been playing well in the last week. If they can continue conference play, the rest of the season will be exciting to watch.
The next game will be at Geneseo on Friday at 3 p.m. The next home game will be against Alfred State on Oct. 6 at 7 p.m.