QUINTIN JAMES
Staff Writer
The Fredonia men’s soccer team, coming off of a thrilling home win against Buffalo State, was looking to continue their conference success and keep playing at a high level this week.
This year has been very different for the Blue Devils, as they’ve been playing well and finding themselves in a good position as the season soon comes to a close. Senior midfielder Bryan Sibble credited the team’s unselfish attitude this year.
“We are more of a team now,” said Sibble. “Last year, we were too focused on the individual, but this year we’ve realized we can’t be successful without one another.”
The Blue Devils had a three game road trip to Alfred, Cortland and Oswego, which had a lot of implications for playoff standings, and it was an important trip for Fredonia, with with the season being this far along.
The first game on this road trip was against Alfred State. Freshman Matt Casey scored his first collegiate goal in the 31th minute to tie the game at one after Alfred scored in the third minute of the game. In the 60th minute, however, Alfred State would take the lead and hang on for the non-conference win.
Fredonia was outshot 15-6, and coach PJ Gondek said the team got off to a slow start but battled back to make it close. “In the second half, we tried to press to get the tying goal. We had one cleared off the line and another off the side [of the net].”
The Blue Devils were put to the test the next game, as they had to travel to face the number four ranked team in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America East Region polls, rival SUNY Cortland.
Fredonia again got off to a slow start as Cortland scored in the third minute on a two on one opportunity. They would score again the 29th minute to double their lead on the Blue Devils. Fredonia would get a goal back in the 35th minute, but the comeback attempt failed as they would fall to Cortland 2-1.
Assistant coach Kendell McFayden said he wasn’t worried about the two game losing streak.
“First and foremost, we have to leave those losses in the rear view and concentrate on our next match,” said McFayden. “We have to know that we can’t give up a two goal head start and expect to come back every game.”
Bryan Sibble also mentioned the fact that they need to play with more energy in the beginning of the game.
“We need to stay focused throughout the entire game and come out strong early. In our past two loses, we came out slow and gave up early goals. We have the ability to comeback, but we can’t rely on it,” Sibble said.
The last game on the road trip was an important game against Oswego State. The Blue Devils wanted to come out and get at least one win on this trip.Before the game, Coach McFayden talked about what they needed to do to execute the game plan. “We have to do what we do best, which is put the other team under pressure early and not allow them to play. We have to dictate the tempo of each game,” he said.
They certainly knew the game plan and came out a different team than the previous two games. Freshman goalkeeper Ty Bentham made four saves for his second collegiate shutout. Fredonia opened the scoring in the 22th minute off a corner kick by Sibble that was finished by junior David Trabold. The assist was Sibble’s team leading sixth assist.
Fredonia added another goal in the 65th minute by junior Ryan Ross and they walked out of Oswego with a 2-0 victory. That victory improved Fredonia’s record to 9-4-1 and 3-2 in conference play.
The Blue Devils returned home to play their last two home games of the year against SUNY Potsdam and Plattsburgh State. Coach McFayden said they have to treat these games like the playoffs.
“The next three weeks are very crucial for us. If we want to accomplish our goal of making the playoffs, we have to make sure we approach each game as if they are a playoff match,” said McFayden.
The players are excited for the stretch run and look to clinch a playoff berth soon.
“SUNYACs are everything to us. We’re in a good spot right now, but we have some work to do to secure our spot in playoffs. Also, we would like a home playoff game, so every match is being treated as a must-win,” said Sibble.