A successful penalty kick by junior Jakob Seidlitz, who was named Defensive Player of the tournament, tied the score, 1-1, in the second half. Hannah Bazarian, Photo Editor
Bobby McGinnis, the talented SUNY Fredonia goalie, seemed to be everywhere at once.
The defensive efforts of his Blue Devils were withering under a relentless rain of UR shots. Yet McGinnis’ pair of gloved hands — that final line of defense for a team on the run — always seemed to be in the right place at the right time at this past weekend’s Flower City Championship game.
In the game’s opening few minutes, UR junior Jacob Findlay lofted a ball to center, in between McGinnis and two UR attackers charging for the goal. McGinnis turned away the threat with ease, palming the ball and hurling it to an open teammate downfield.
The Yellowjackets tried to fool McGinnis again in the 16th minute, as junior Jacob Seidlitz dribbled to the top of the box and winded up to fire. With nothing to obstruct his vision, however, McGinnis read Seidlitz’s body language and instinctively made the save.
Sophomores Max Fan and J.C. Billone also made considerable assaults on goal, only to be denied by McGinnis again and again. Though UR dominated possession throughout the first half, McGinnis succeeded in shutting out the Yellowjackets during that time, and the two teams entered the half tied 0-0.
The Blue Devils’ Cory Paine, a dangerous attacker who was later awarded for his efforts by being named the top offensive player of the tournament, tried to jump start the visitors’ offense early in the second half by sending a rocket toward the net. UR goalkeeper and sophomore Mike Moranz, however, was not prepared to hand over the lead, leaping for and deflecting away Paine’s shot.
The home crowd came to life at this point, and so did both teams’ offenses.
Fredonia struck first, as Paine managed to deflect the ball off a UR defenseman to a waiting Blue Devils attacker, who headed the ball into the net for a 1-0 lead.
The Yellowjackets were quick to respond. Freshman Jarvis D’Souza relayed the ball down the right sideline to sophomore Alex Wenger, who got behind the Fredonia defense and was promptly fouled inside the penalty box. Seidlitz got another chance at McGinnis by taking the penalty kick, and this time he capitalized, tying the score at 1-1.
The newcomer D’Souza was not done for the day, as he notched his first goal as a collegiate soccer player by sending a quick ground ball into the left corner of the net, just beyond the reach of a diving McGinnis.
Moranz shut down the Blue Devils from there on out. Though Paine and Fredonia had multiple opportunities to break through the UR defense, the home team’s capable goalie always seemed to be in the right place at the right time.
The Yellowjackets return to action this Friday, Sept. 9 when they visit St. Lawrence University.
Bernstein is a member of
the class of 2014.
