By SPENCER BATES
OLEAN — The Allegany-Limestone girls soccer team was firing on all cylinders as it cruised past cross-town rivals Olean 5-0 in the first CCAA Div. I game of the season for both.
After falling to Frewsburg in their first game of the new campaign, the Gators held no punches as they looked to notch their first tally in the win column. They controlled the game from start to stop, maintained possession, built attacks through the midfield, and, in front of goal, were clinical.
All of which was a big step in the right direction according to A-L coach Dale MacArthur.
“I saw them playing the ball back instead of trying to go forward all the time, which is something that we worked on, and they were a little bit better with defensive positioning than maybe we had been in the first game (of the season),” MacArthur said. “It was much improved all the way around. We have so many new people, and they’re learning. Each game is a learning experience.”
The Gators wasted no time imposing their will either. They had the Huskies’ defense pinned back in their own half early and jumped ahead to 1-0 advantage after just six minutes of game time thanks to a Kai Wojewoda-Ko goal assisted by Kendall Lemon.
The chances continued to come for A-L through the remainder of the first half, but it was not until the 26th minute when it doubled up its lead. In those 20 minutes between the first and second goals for the visitors were plenty of chances, but unfortunately all ended up fizzling out while in search of the perfect shooting opportunity. A habit that MacArthur eventually wants to see left behind.
“The best shot you’re going to get is the shot that you have,” MacArthur said. “If you try to make it better, it’s probably going to disappear. Kids have to be willing to miss. Many of them, they don’t want to make a mistake. Well, the game is rife with mistakes. … You didn’t shoot, so you didn’t miss, but you didn’t score either.”
The shots did inevitably start coming with regularity for the visitors in the latter minutes of the opening half. Kennedy Honeck netted the brace for the Gators, with the assist coming from Madison Honeck, the latter of whom added a third goal to her team’s tally seven minutes before the break.
The Honeck sisters left their mark on the game against Olean. Madison commanded the team as the midfield general while Kennedy led the lines up front. They are a duo that not only provide goal and assist numbers, but lead the rest of their teammates by example, according to MacArthur.
“They’re both very good players, and they’re both very team-oriented players, and I think as they go, we’ll go, but we can’t do it just with them,” MacArthur said. “Everybody has to be a key when you have to be a key. But I think if you have … good leadership, it’s infectious, as opposed to somebody that just stands around and waits to be served. That doesn’t really inspire anybody. They’re certainly willing to work very hard to get to the goals that they’d like to achieve.”
Allegany-Limestone’s Kennedy Honeck (12) looks to maintain possession while being defended by Olean’s Lilah Armstrong (12). Kennedy Honeck scored and assisted on a goal for the Gators in their 5-0 win over the Huskies on Sept. 3. (Spencer Bates)
The Honecks continued to establish their presence in the second half, as Madison put her team up by four on an assist from Kennedy just five minutes after the intermission. Nine minutes later, the final goal of the affair would be scored by Wojewoda-Ko, her second on the evening, on an assist from Madison Honeck.
However, the fixture was not over after the fifth Gator goal as Olean was able to conjure up some offensive opportunities late. None of which ended up in goals, but for coach Dan Freeman, who has another young team on his hands this year, it was a big positive sign.
“Some of these girls, they’re JV-level … we’re trying to train them real quick and trying to get them ready for varsity, but we’re really struggling this year,” Freeman said. “But we’ve been working. These girls have been focused, and they’ve been improving, and we’re doing everything we can. … Our touch isn’t quite as good, but I did see some moments there.”
Following the conclusion of last season, the Gators saw their leading scorer in Cait Kellogg graduate. With 28 goals and nine assists to her name, Kellogg established herself as one of the biggest threats in front of goal in all of Section 6. This year, A-L will have to find goals without her. MacArthur admitted it will take a full-team effort to complete such a task, but so long as his team can keep up the type of offense it displayed against the Huskies, he likes their chances.
“There are some things that we could do with Cait that, right now, we can’t do,” MacArthur said. “She had some unique gifts, but we have to rely on everybody else to shoot when you have a shot and get in a position to shoot and get in a position to take a decent shot, and so far, we’ve taken good shots. If we can continue to do that, then I think it increases our opportunity of being successful.”
As for Olean, Freeman remained positive on his outlook for the future with this team. He knows it will take a lot of work to get to where he wants them to be, but the bright side is that he sees the desire to improve in his players’ eyes.
“I think we definitely have a future, it’s just, it’s just going to be a lot of work,” Freeman said. “But we definitely have some girls that are putting their heart and soul into it. We’re just going to keep working at it.”
Next up for Allegany-Limestone is its first game at home this season, a non-league game against Pioneer on Sept. 4 set to kick off at 5:30 p.m.
Olean will travel to Cuba-Rushford/Hinsdale on Sept. 4 for its next game, set to begin at 7 p.m.
