Blue Devils complete season of home games with high rankings

Men's soccer team denies Oswego and Cortland, gains confidence for SUNYACs

CALEE PRINDLE
Special to The Leader

In their last home games of the season, the men's soccer team added impressive wins to raise their standings in the SUNYACs and NCAA.

The Blue Devils first took on the Oswego Lakers, coming out with a strong first half. Three consecutive goals were tallied within the first 13 minutes, crediting freshman forward Peter Dagel with the first goal of the game. Senior forward Trevor Ianni had the assist.

Junior midfielder Sam Stewart was Fredonia's big scorer, as he added two goals within four minutes of each other. Stewart's first goal was assisted by sophomore forward Ryan O'Donnell and his second was assisted by senior forward Andy Sharman.

"The forwards on the team have faced similar challenges throughout the season," said Sharman. "Finding each other on the field and working together as a unit came slow to us but has definitely been apparent in recent games."

Freshman defender Stephen Ahern then scored a goal, putting the Blue Devils ahead of the Lakers 4-0.

Later in the game, senior goalkeeper Scott Bergen tallied nine saves after 79 minutes of play for the Blue Devils. Sophomore goalkeeper Tom Cavanaugh saw enough net action to allow for one goal as the game came to a halt. The Lakers suffered a tough defeat with a final score of 4-1.

There was no time for rest as the Blue Devils were back to take on Cortland during Saturday's game. The visiting team scored the first goal of the game, getting past senior goalkeeper Scott Bergen.

Into the second half, Fredonia gained confidence as freshman midfielder Eli Lubberts tapped the ball in after a set up by sophomore forward Ryan O'Donnell, marking Fredonia's first goal of the game.

"The freshmen and sophomores have really made a huge impact on our season," said senior midfielder Rob Esposito. "If they continue to progress, the team has a bright future ahead of them."

The winning goal involved three Blue Devils. Cortland's junior goalkeeper Jack Carillo first blocked Ianni. The loose rebound landed right to O'Donnell, as a quick pass allowed junior midfielder, Chris Huber, to score the winning goal for the Blue Devils.

The final second of the game shut down any hope for a win from the Dragons as one of their senior midfielders, Dan Dunn, blasted a shot that was saved by Bergen. Fredonia walked away with another win, with a final score of 2-1.

"Any win gives us a great deal of added confidence as a team," said Huber. "That is something that we definitely lacked at the beginning of the season. It is a great feeling knowing that we have learned to consistently improve certain aspects of our game."

The result of their weekend games allowed resulted in Fredonia's fourth straight win. They broke a five-way tie for second place behind Oneonta in the standings.

The Blue Devils are the second highest ranked team among SUNYAC schools with a record of 7-1-1 and an overall record of 9-5-1. They are now ranked number nine in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III Northeast poll.