CURTIS HENRY
Assistant Sports Editor
The men’s soccer team pulled off a 2-1 victory over visiting Geneva on Saturday, a game that was cut 15 minutes short due to rolling thunderstorms in the area.
The game winner was scored in the 41st minute of play. A broken free kick turned into gold for Fredonia, as the set piece bounced around the box before finding the foot of senior Ryan Keller. Keller connected and found the back of the net from about 10 yards out, the goal marking his third of the season.
“This year, we know that we can score, and that’s certainly an advantage for us,” said Head Coach PJ Gondek. “Not every team can do that, but we’ve had a lead in every game to this point. We have a lot of guys that can score, and it provides us a lot of opportunity.”
The other goal came from senior Jimmy Ritchie, with assists being credited to senior Sam Greco and sophomore Jeremy Bari. Bari, who opened the season as a goalie for the team, may have found his niche on the opposite end of the field.
As for Greco, the assist marked his first on the season and the third in his career at Fredonia. From Greco’s perspective, it’s obvious that this team understands what it takes to win.
“I think the core of this team knows what to expect game-in and game-out, and we understand the competition level needed in every game,” said Greco. “We could be the most talented team in the world, but if you’re not competing at this level and get outworked, you can easily lose to anyone. We seem to understand that.”
Gondek reiterated Greco’s sentiment about the team’s work ethic.
“If I had to sum up this year’s team in two words, it’s about maturity and leadership,” said Gondek. “Leadership isn’t even about one guy leading the team, it’s collectively. We have nine seniors, and with all that experience comes the understanding of what it takes to win. I also think we’re more mentally committed to winning than we have been in the past.”
It wasn’t far into the second half when the thunder came, accompanied by a stop-and-start rain. A 30-minute rain delay took place with about 19 minutes remaining in the game. After the initial delay, play resumed for a couple minutes prior to more sounds of thunder in the distance.
At that point, the match was called in full. NCAA rules state that after 70 minutes of playing time a soccer game can be called official. The officials ruled that this was the appropriate course of action given the stop-and-start nature of thunderstorm patterns experienced on Saturday.
“We kind of know that there was some imminent weather in the area,” said Gondek. “When we hit the 70 minute mark, we knew we had to be in the lead. Fortunately we were, and it worked out for us this time.”
The victory moved the Blue Devils to 4-1-1 on the season. Action resumes this weekend when the team will take on Brockport and Geneseo at University Stadium.