By HUNTER O. LYLE
OLEAN, NY – Since the start of the season, the Allegany-Limestone/Hinsdale boy’s soccer team has played nearly flawlessly. Seeing a red hot offense anchored by an iron clad defense, virtually every opponent has gone down quietly, drowned out by an overwhelming ability to put the ball in the net while keeping their untouched.
“The whole team has come together. We knew at the beginning of the season that it wasn’t going to be one or two players making a difference, it had to be the whole team as a collection,” said Allegany-Limestone/Hinsdale head coach Jon Luce, whose team entered Wednesday night at 5-1 and on a 4-0 win streak. “Right now we seem to be on a roll. The kids are playing well together and we have a lot of guys contributing, not just with goals but building up to them.”
Taking the Green and White show five miles to the South, the Gators defended their spot atop the Chautauqua Cattaraugus Athletic Association Division I standings, handing a shutout loss to Olean at 3-0.
Through the early moments of the game, the Huskies initially held their own, pushing A-L out of their territory and striking deep drives down field. However, they were swiftly pointed in the other direction as the Gators’ backline imposed the breaks. Then, A-L turned to their star to open the flood gates.
Following five minutes of back-and-forth action, the refs blew the whistle on a handball in Olean’s box, setting Collin Coleman up with a penalty kick. As the Gators’ leading scorer on the season with six goals, five of which came during their latest win streak, Coleman was used to being the one to pull the trigger. Lining up the shot, as poised as ever, he drilled one to the left of Olean’s goal keeper Dutton Murphy, breaking the ice and putting A-L on the scoreboard.
“We’re going to have to rely on (Coleman.) He’s always been the compliment over the last couple years of the other players on the team and this year he has to be man in the middle,” said Luce on his junior standout. “We don’t want to put too much pressure on him, but he’s got the knowledge and the skill to be that go-to guy.”
Holding an early lead, the Gators’ confidence grew and with their fundamental and technical advantages on full display, they tightened their grip around the game.
Continuing to dominate possession and maintain real estate in the Huskies’ side of the pitch, A-L continued to pester and probe past defenders. Constantly building pressure, the Gators began to wear down on Olean’s defense and late in the half, another crack in the armor appeared.
Looking to clear the ball out of the zone, a Huskie defender sent a pass up the middle, which was intercepted by Dylan Rhoades. With one touch, he found Owen Gustason who then rocketed another shot into the back of the net, putting A-L up by a pair with 12 minutes remaining in the half.
In the final moments before the break, Olean managed to break through midfield and find lone drives towards the net. However, their trips up the pitch failed to yield results, as final passes went awry and shots came up short. Struggling to capitalize on opportunities, they entered halftime still down by two.
“We wanted to keep playing our game. Keep fighting for possession, trying to switch the field,” said Olean head coach TJ Magro. “We wanted to attack by exploiting the weaker side of the field and go up the lanes, but we just weren’t able to capitalize on that.”
Despite their intentions, the Huskies’ efforts to change the tide were quickly cooled entering the second half. From the first touch, A-L continued to set up shop in their side of the field, coming away with glimpses and glances of the net. Forced onto their heels, Olean’s offense went cold, failing to break through midfield once in the opening ten minutes of play.
Their defense, on the other hand, held steadfast. Weathering the storm for large swaths of clock at a time, Olean white knuckled their way to rapid fire stops and stalls. Even when A-L punched in a third and final goal midway through the period, it was after the Huskies’ exhausted all the gas in the tank, coming away with two point-blank stops before one last successive Gator shot snuck past.
As the game rolled on and the physicality mounted, Olean saw their best shot at staving off a shutout in the 70th minute. Coming away from a collision with a penalty shot, Connor Hogle stepped to the mark and fired one down range. However, the Gators’ goalkeeper, Donovan Booker, shut it down immediately, coming away with his second PK block in as many games.
“(Booker) used to be the young guy on the team, so we had a chat at the beginning of the season and said he now has to be the guy to push the younger kids on the team and also has to be the leader that they look to,” said Luce. “He has to be our calming force in the back and he’s come up big in the last couple games.”
With the Gators electrified by the stop, they cruised to the finish line, picking up their fifth league win of the season while handing Olean their third CCAA Division I loss.
“We’re not out of it. Any given chance that this team has to fight or wants to put their heart into it,” said Magro, “they can make a win happen”
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