By HUNTER O. LYLE
ALLEGANY, NY – Since being called up to the varsity level, Owen Buzzard has taken his job as a starting forward in stride. Helping lead the Allegany-Limestone boy’s soccer team to a nearly unblemished record, being a contributor to the offense came naturally, goals and assists alike.
However, playing in front of the Gator Nation for the last time in the regular season, Buzzard was the offense. Tallying scores in both halves, including being the main factor in uncorking the offense late, Buzzard pushed the Gators ahead of Olean, completing the season sweep with a 4-1 victory.
“(Buzzard) got pulled up from junior varsity partway through last season, so this year he knew going in that he would have to be our starting forward,” said Allegany-Limestone head coach John Luce. “He comes with a background of playing strong, physical soccer because of his hockey background. Tonight that showed, he was getting bumped and bruised but he just had to hold his own and he kept consistent and found a couple in the back of the net.”
While the lead man in the win was a sophomore, the Gators opened the night looking towards their seasoned veterans. Ahead of the rematch with the Huskies, A-L recognized their four seniors, Donovan Booker (goal keeper), Michael Questa (midfielder), Colton Reska (defenseman) and Dylan Rhodes (defenseman).
“It’s a diverse group of kids. They all come from all different backgrounds of soccer,” said Luce. “Whether they’ve played it since they were little kids or started it late, they gave us 100 percent effort every time they came out on the field and that’s all I could have asked for.”
While A-L was celebrating on one side of the pitch, on the other Olean was focused on the task at hand: earning revenge. Being shutout in the initial meeting back on Wednesday, Sept. 23, the Huskies were eager to return the favor three weeks later. The way to do so would come solely on effort and intensity.
Despite seeing the Gators track down the field on their initial touch, Olean quickly began shutting off the valve. Holding their own by circling defenders at midfield, the Huskies trapped ball handlers and stunted their approach. When A-L managed to break through, Olean hunted them down, forcing them to the outside and staving off shots on goal.
“We just wanted to win 50/50 balls in the air, put a body on every challenge, give (Allegany-Limestone) no room to breathe and find passes to connect up the field,” said Olean head coach Ty Magro. “We did well with that and we thought we had Allegany on their heels.”
While the A-L continued to find ways to clear the midfield, ultimately relying on long lofting passes down range, the Huskies’ kept them off the scoreboard with footspeed, as well as a a few clutch stops from goal keeper Josiah Ramadhan, before flipping the field for sporadic strikes into hostile territory.
As the first half waged on, the stalemate lingered until the final few moments. With just over five minutes remaining, a Gator corner kick found the foot of Frank Hastings, who settled it and sent a quick pass into the crowd. Collecting the dish was Buzzard, who booted it in for his sixth goal of the season, putting A-L up 1-0 heading into the break.
“We weren’t out of it. Their one goal was just a total mistake,” said Magro. “It was definitely a momentum changer but the message at the break was that we were not out of it at all.”
The Huskies’ demeanor burned through halftime and into the second period of play. Although A-L came out with the first shot of the period, seeing it ricochet off the crossbar, Olean responded with their own near-miss less than 20 seconds later. But the Huskies’ wouldn’t have to wait long to see their persistence pay off.
Just two-and-a-half minutes into the second half, Connor Hogle took a pass from midfield, drove down the left sideline and into the box before firing a shot into the top right pocket, nabbing his 18th goal of his senior season.
With the game brought back to even, the momentum continued to swap hands. For large portions of clock, both teams dominated possession, each finding ways to crack through defenders and find looks at the net before finally being stopped by the opposing net tender. But as the wear and tear began to show, the dam finally broke.
Drawing into the final ten minutes, A-L began peppering the net, constantly plotting ways into the box before being rerouted in the other direction. However, with just under six minutes to go, a scramble in front of the net drew Olean’s goalkeeper one stride too far from his post, allowing Ryan Richards to seize the opportunity and chip in the go-ahead score. Smelling blood in the water, the Gators then immediately stripped an Olean back pass, seeing Buzzard rip off a rocket shot towards the net, one that slipped through the goal keepers gloves for a 3-1 lead.
Suddenly on their heels, the Huskies were void of any momentum. Unable to recover, their effort and intensity disappeared. While the offense failed to muster any significant drives, the defense failed to hold, allowing Buzzard to settle a long ball before turning and scoring his third of the day, completing the hat trick and putting a final touch on the Gators’ eleventh win of the season.
With just one game left on their respective schedules, the road ahead for the Gators and Huskies may look different at the start, however they ultimately lead to the same place. A-L will travel to Hornell on Friday for their final contest, the same night Olean sees Ellicottville/Franklinville for their own Senior Night, each seeing one final opponent before the opening rounds of the Section VI postseasons.
“Playoffs is everyone’s game. We can go out and make a whole different run. We can change our game style in the next three days,” said Magro. “That’s the beauty of all of this. You literally have so many things to change and so many ways to change it, and you never know what will work. Hopefully it does and makes you successful.”
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