By SPENCER BATES
ALLEGANY — While on paper, the storied rivalry between the Allegany-Limestone and Southwestern boys soccer team seemed to be set for a lopsided chapter in favor of the former, the affair was closer than even the final scoreline suggests.
Both sides entered their first meeting of the campaign having lost significant players from last season, but it was the Trojans that seemed to be worse for wear, posting a 1-5-1 record prior to the contest. The Gators, on the other hand, had racked up a 5-1 record.
But when these two sides clash, throw everything out the window. That was certainly the mindset of Southwestern as they held on for a significant amount of time before A-L eventually pulled away late for a 3-0 victory.
It was the Gators on the front for the grand majority of the affair. Repeatedly, they sent searching long balls forward in hopes that their forwards would be able to latch onto a pass in space and slot home, a recipe that had been successful many times this season. However, with the Trojans’ defensive shape, they were able to snuff out any chances before they developed.
This led to a 0-0 score at halftime that A-L coach Jon Luce warned his players could be far more dangerous than they may want to believe.
“If they’re going to play a high press, we’re going to try to play the through ball and try to beat their defense,” Luce said. “But if they’re going to play back, … we got to play more possession. It’s just about figuring out what the team is going to play against us and then just adapting to it. We rely on the through ball a bit too much. … We were talking to them (at halftime) about how Southwestern was right in this game. We can’t let that happen because, in the game of soccer, you can dominate a game, give up a cheap goal, and come out the loser.”
Luckily for him, the message was taken to heart by his players as they came out and immediately scored their first goal of the night through none other than their talisman Cooper Wilczewski.
The Gators made their initial attack of the second half a composed one, building through the midfield and ending it with a low, curled effort by Wilczewski after some nifty footwork put him in space.
The resilience of the Trojans kicked back in after the early second half goal and for a good period of time, that was all that split the sides. It was not until there was nine minutes left in the game when A-L eventually put the game to bed with a second goal, this time clambered in by Owen Buzzard after a great effort by Noah Hatch found him in enough space to play a dangerous ball across the face of goal.
A penalty, converted by Collin Coleman, officially put the game on ice.
“We were attacking their outside defender and trying to get the ball into dangerous places,” Luce said of his team’s second-half tactics. “If we’re not going to send the through ball, that’s typically how we’re going to score goals, by putting pressure on defenses and making them make a mistake. The last goal, we got it in the box, we put pressure on the defense, and they fouled us. We’re just trying to put the other team in uncomfortable situations, and hopefully we can capitalize on those.”
Allegany-Limestone’s Mat Burnett (9) rifles off a shot on goal against Southwestern. (Derek Gumtow)
Allegany-Limestone moved to 6-1 with the victory and, again, on paper it seems they are rolling past opponents, but their most recent wins have had their moments where the result was very much in the balance. But instead of this being something he is concerned about, Luce noted this is a good trend, as it shows his team’s ability to hang in a close contest and still come away with a positive result.
“We’ve had teams where we’re blowing teams out every single game of the year, and then it comes to a time when we are in this close, tight game and we don’t know how to react,” Luce said. “So maybe this will help us down the line, playing all these tight games and having that composure to say, ‘OK, it’s close, we can still finish this out. We’re not down, we’re not behind.’ It’s just about taking little bits from each game.”
Of course, there is still plenty of the season ahead of Luce and his team. Meaning there is time for wrinkles to be ironed out, for tactics to be put to memory and for even more chemistry to be developed between players.
“It’s a work in progress, “ Luce said. “We’re working through the season, game-by-game.”
Up next for Allegany-Limestone is an away game at Dunkirk, the only other team in the CCAA Div. I that has yet to taste defeat in league play. That fixture is set for Sept. 25 at 7 p.m.
