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QUINTIN JAMES
Staff Writer
Coming into the week, the Blue Devils controlled their own destiny with four games remaining on the schedule. With playoff dreams looking more like a reality, only a total collapse would deny them a chance at a SUNYAC playoff berth. Sitting in the middle of the pack, the Blue Devils were in good position but were looking for a few more to clinch a playoff berth. Players and coaches alike both feel very confident heading into the final stretch. Senior Bryan Sibble is one of many players on the team who feels that way. “We have shown we can compete against any team. We’re confident that if we come ready to play (and have a little luck in our favor) we can beat anyone.
Although they are really confident heading into these final two games, assistant coach Kendell McFayden knows they haven’t clinched yet. “The way the standings are right now it is not a guarantee that we will be make the playoffs so we just have to approach both of the games this weekend as if they are playoff games,” McFayden said.
McFayden also added that they need to not worry about the playoffs and focus on these last two games. “Well we are looking at one game at a time. If we take care of business Friday, we can have a better view on what we will do on Saturday,” he added.
Their mindset going into these last two games is to finish what they started in the beginning of the year. “Our mindset is to finish what we started. No one, except our own team, believed we would be in the position we are in. We all have a point to prove and this gives us a little extra motivation. Also, at this point in the season it helps to have a large senior class to get everyone focused and bring to light the opportunities ahead of us,” McFayden said,
After a disappointing end to last season, the Blue Devils have exceeded expectations. They have found themselves in a position to get back to the playoffs where anything could happen. If the Blue Devils want to make it far in the playoffs, they will have to step it up on the defensive end and limit the opponent’s scoring chances. “We need to work on preventing the other team from scoring. We have scored every game this season and we’re tied for the most goals scored in the SUNYACS. On the contrary, we have let in the second most amount of goals. Hopefully, Butts will be back this weekend and we can get our defensive issues figured out,” said Sibble as he discussed what it will take for the Blue Devils to make a run in the playoffs.
The first game of the week was against Potsdam, who was just behind Fredonia in the standings coming into the contest. This game would get away from the Blue Devils following a first half goal from senior Sam Greco. Greco scored off a great through ball from fellow senior Ryan Keller, beating the defender to the ball and putting it into the back of the net.
Potsdam would respond with a goal of their own in the 37th minute off a header from the far right corner that was beautifully executed. They would take the lead in the 58th minute with another goal and Fredonia couldn’t complete the comeback.
Fredonia had plenty of chances to equalize, even after Potsdam was down a man due to a red card, but failed to capitalize and they dropped a crucial game in the hunt for the playoffs.
Fredonia outshot Potsdam 18-17, but were outshot on net 9-7. They had a lot of chances to tie the game late and being up a man. The loss put the Blue Devils at .500 in conference play and made their last three days more important to their playoff chances.
The Blue Devils couldn’t dwell on the tough loss, as they had to prepare to face Plattsburgh State in their final home game of the 2016 season. It was senior day at University Stadium, and senior Jimmy Ritchie made sure his last regular season home game was a special one.
Before the game, eight other Fredonia seniors were recognized during a pre-game ceremony: Keller, Keith Braun, Parker Healy, Bryan Sibble, Brian Theuerkauf, Brandon Butts, Sammy DeFranks and Greco were all recognized on this senior day.
Ritchie had a hat trick, scoring in the 15th, 42nd and 54th minute to lead the way for the Blue Devils in a much-needed and emotional win on senior day. On a day for the seniors, freshman goalie Ty Bentham had 5 saves. He tallied four in the second half, including one game-saving stop with the score tied to keep the Blue Devils in the game.
Ritchie started off the scoring in the 15th minute on an assist from Keller as he ran up to the ball and crossed it to Ritchie who rocketed it into the back of the net for his 5th goal of the season. His second goal came on a penalty kick in the 41st minute after Plattsburgh equalized two minutes before that.
His final goal came in the 54th minute off a rebound in the box after a save and a shot by Keller that rang off the crossbar. It was Ritchie’s 7th goal of the season, which leads the team.
On paper, Fredonia looked like they were outmatched as they were outshot by Plattsburgh 32-14 and didn’t have the majority of the possession. When they had the ball, however, they knew what to do with it. With that win, the Blue Devils have all but clinched a SUNYAC playoff berth.