BOXSCORE FREDONIA, N.Y. --- Fredonia State Men's Soccer team hosted Medaille University, in a Wednesday night game under the lights. The Blue Devils tried to battle back against a three goal deficit, but ultimetly fell 4-3 to the Mavericks. The Devils fall to 1-3-1 on the year.
Medaille was able to get onto the board after an early goal by Charlie Stewart, only 3:40 into the contest. This gave the Mavericks a 1-0 lead.
After a miscommunication between goaltender,
Kyle Pezzulo and his defender, Medaille was able to get onto the board for the second time. As a crossing ball came into the box, Pezzulo called out for goaltender control, but his defender went for the clearing header. This caused for a collision, where Rodrigo Fernandez found the loose ball and put it into the open net.
The Mavericks offense was not finished as Ander Castillo netted a third goal at the 16th minute mark of the first. This gave Medaille a 3-0 lead.
With 18:52 left in the first half, Fredonia State was able to get onto the board with a corner kick from
Jacob Gennaro that was headed into the top left corner by
Huddy Kwiatkowski. This goal closed the Mavericks lead to 3-1.
In the first half, the Blue Devils outshot Medaille 6-4 and had a 4-3 advantage in shots on goal.
Fredonia State came out of halftime with a second burst of energy as they netted a goal, only 5 minutes into the second.
Markus Johansson was able to clear the ball out of the Devils defensive zone, where
Michael Ranieri was able to out run the defender and find
Chance LaCroix for the tap in goal.
Nine minutes after the Devils second goal, Fredonia state was able to tie the game, 3-3. The Blue Devils were given a corner kick opportunity at the 59th minute mark, where Gennaro crossed a pass to the back post and found Kwiatkowski for a header pass to Ranieri's foot. Ranieri was able to find the bottom left corner of the net, underneath the diving glove of the goaltender. This was the Blue Devils third unanswered goal in a row, getting back a large majority of the momentum that they lost.
Medaille was able to answer back four minutes later with a goal of their own. This gave the Mavericks a 4-3 lead and stopped the Devils offensive pressure.
At the 65:40 mark of the contest, a foul was committed by Samuel Wickins in the Blue Devils box. This gave Fredonia State a chance to tie the game at four, with a penalty kick opportunity. LaCroix stepped up to the PK line, where he was unable to fake the goaltender to the left and was stopped by an excellent diving save to the right.
The Mavericks were able to hold onto their one goal lead for the remainder of the game. The Devils outshot Medaille 12-10, with a 10-7 advantage in shots on goal.
Pezzulo tallied three saves in 68 minutes of action, while
Tanner Stutzman did not see a shot on goal for his 22 minutes of play.
Coach P.J. Gondek had some words to say after the game, "After an absolutely horrific start, we responded and settled down. The second half was an effort that I have not witnessed many times in my career. We are hopeful that it will carry us into the weekend with SUNYAC play beginning."
Fredonia State look to bounce back in their first SUNYAC contest against SUNY Oswego, on Saturday evening.
