The Fredonia State Men's Soccer team (6-6-0, 1-3-0 SUNYAC) picked up its first conference win on Friday afternoon. The 1-0 victory came on the road at Potsdam (2-8-2, 0-5-0 SUNYAC).
For the third-straight game, Fredonia was involved in a first half stalemate. It was a busy half for keeper William Richardson (Penfield) with Potsdam controlling much of the possession. The Bears were able to send six shots the junior's way, with two being on goal.
Coach P.J. Gondek stated, "to be fair we were outplayed in the first half". With second half adjustments necessary, Gondek challenged his squad to increase their intensity and stressed the importance of a win to stay alive in the playoff race.
Early in the second half, the Blue Devils earned a corner kick that would prove to be the game-winner. Jackson Retzer (Bowmansville) set up the goal for Fredonia, playing the corner kick down the goal line. Imani Paluku (Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium) made a play on the ball forcing the Bears' keeper to step in.
Nick Aufiero (East Northport) was able to collect the ball from Paluku and send it home for the team's lone goal.
The Bears did not go away quietly. For the remainder of the half, the home team took seven shots with two on goal and earned six corner quicks. The Blue Devils were up to the challenge, preserving a 1-0 lead.
Gondek credits Richardson as a key component to maintaining the lead. In the 87th minute, the netminder made a save that Gondek called "one of the best saves I have ever seen in college". He went on to say the save "saved the season".
Richardson finished with four total saves over 90 minutes.
To sum it up best Gondek expressed, "it feels good to get our first SUNYAC win."
