Photo taken by: Mary Laing / Photo Editor
TORIN O’BRIEN
Special to The Leader
After a disappointing loss to Mount Saint Mary on Friday night, Fredonia was able to bounce back against Houghton on Saturday with a 2-1 victory.
Friday’s matchup versus Mount Saint-Mary was gritty and physical, to say the least. Fredonia looked in control of the ball, but in spite of that, seemed off in terms of execution and finding chances to score.
After a scoreless first half, the goose-egg tie was broken on a free kick from Mount Saint-Mary Junior midfielder Ivan Dorador (70:50). The goal was a rocket from 25 yards out that was able to sneak into the bottom right corner and past sophomore goalkeeper Sammy Torrelli.
On Fredonia’s next possession, referees called for a lightning delay, which lasted for an hour before the game was finally ruled a win for Mount Saint-Mary.
The game stood because it was called after the 70 minute mark, and the Blue Devils never got a chance to make things interesting, even though there were still over 18 minutes left to play when the game was called.
Mount Saint-Mary Coach Kevin Longacre thought Friday’s match was “The game we’ve been looking for.” And when asked about the goal said “It was just a great hit, a great free kick.”
Coach Gondek said after the game that he thought his team was “Outworked” and played with a “simplistic” style. All in all, it was an unlucky night, and a tough way for any team to tally their first loss of the season.
Saturday’s game against Houghton was a different story, with the Devils able to pull off a 2-1 win, despite being outshot 7-3. The only thing that stayed the same from the night before was the physical mentality brought to the game by Fredonia.
While the first half was again scoreless, the first goal came early in the second, for Fredonia, on a shot from freshman forward/defenseman Ryan Ross. After a throw in from the right side of the field, Ross was able to bury it from about 18 yards out, after maneuvering out of the crowd with the ball to free himself up for a shot.
Fredonia fans breathed a collective sigh of relief when they finally saw a home team goal after three halves of waiting, including Friday night’s game.
Less than 10 minutes later, however, the Highlanders were able to knot the game at one after a header goal from Houghton midfielder Landon Sheaffer (56:54).
The score came off a corner kick from the left side of the goal, sent in by junior midfielder Tyler Inch.
Unlike their previous game, Fredonia showed some resolve — or maybe it was the fact that the weather allowed them to show it this time.
Less than five minutes after the Houghton goal, fans were treated to some soccer eye candy.
After a nice play by sophomore midfielder Ryan Keller to keep it on Houghton’s side of the field, he passed the rock to Pat Schuber, who dished a perfect touch pass back to a cutting Keller.
After that, it was “off to the races” as they say. Keller was able to beat one defender, while in control of the ball, and then beat the opposing goalkeeper one on one, by sending in the tie breaking goal.
When asked about the play after the game, the sophomore from East Aurora said, “I knew I had one man to beat, and I wasn’t going to lose that chance. It was nice to get it.”
The Blue Devils were able to fight their way to the finish after that, through smart play and tough defense.
The only scare came on a breakaway from Houghton midfielder Jared Toth, but his shot attempt came off his foot wrong, and the ball was sent wide of the net.
Coach Gondek attributed Saturday’s win to “pure will.” And went on to call Friday’s fiasco an “anomaly that he never expects to experience again in his career.” Overall, he was happy with his team’s turnaround between the two games.
Mount Saint-Mary went on to win the Clarion Classic by defeating Buffalo State in their game on Saturday. Ivan Dorador, the goal scorer against Fredonia, was named tournament MVP.
The Blue Devils’ next game will be this Saturday, when they will host Geneva (PA) at 1:00 p.m. at University Stadium.