Picture taken by: Mary Laing / Photo Editor
CURTIS HENRY
Special to The Leader
After a forgettable 2013 campaign, the Blue Devils men’s soccer team is off to a 4-1 start in 2014. Fredonia has posted wins this season against Hampden-Sydney, Dickinson, Houghton and Geneva College.
The lone loss came in a game against Mount Saint Mary in a 1-0 game that was called early due to weather conditions. Had that game not been called, the Blue Devils could still be undefeated.
“We’ve had a good offseason. We’ve made some great additions, bringing in six players who have seen large amounts of playing time,” Head coach P.J. Gondek said. “We finally have the depth we need to be really successful. This is probably the deepest class of recruits we’ve had.”
Senior captain Chase Lipshie also pointed to depth as a key reason for the Blue Devils’ success.
“Depth is definitely key for us. We’re capable of putting out a strong starting 11 and, as games progress, we can sub guys in freely without a drop-off in talent from our starters to subs.”
This is Gondek’s 15th season coaching here. With the win in this past Saturday’s game against Geneva, coach Gondek earned his 150th win with Fredonia soccer.
“I honestly didn’t know until now,” he replied with a smirk on his face when he found out of the milestone. “It speaks to the talent I’ve had the privilege to work with and the great tradition here at Fredonia.”
But how good does Gondek think this year’s team is?
“We’ve been good defensively. We’ve only given up three goals in four games and two of those were on free kicks,” he said. “We’ve got to improve our offense. Creating chances is important. Right now we’re getting 8-10 shots a game. I’d like to see that improve to 12-15.”
When it comes to his goals for this season, he keeps it simple.
“We’re much better than we’ve been in the past couple of seasons,” Gondek said. “Right now our goal is just to get back to SUNYACs. Obviously we’d like to do more, but after missing the playoffs in recent years, that’s our priority. Once we’re there, anything can happen.”
Lipshie is a little less conservative with his season goals.
“We could go to the NCAA tournament, definitely,” Lipshie said with confidence. “These next two games are important. We need to keep building confidence and continue to progress as a team.”
The next two games he alluded to are crucial in order for Fredonia to keep up momentum. After this Saturday’s game, it handed a formerly-undefeated Geneva squad their first loss of the season. The team then headed to Nazareth College yesterday.
“They’re important games,” Gondek reiterated. “We’re at 4-1 right now. Our main focus is to take that 4-1 and turn it into 6-1 with the next two games. Geneva was undefeated, and then playing Nazareth on the road is always a tough game. We’ve got to win moving forward to maintain momentum going into [SUNYAC] competition.”
This year’s roster is young and full of potential. Only 12 of the 29 that are on the roster are upperclassmen. Only three members of the squad are seniors. This is a team that could make a serious splash in D-III soccer this year and for seasons to come.