The Allegany-Limestone boys soccer team swarmed its goalkeeper and the five players it called upon in sudden victory penalty kicks.
For the Gators, this was literally a long time coming.
Allegany-Limestone had to settle for a lightning-shortened scoreless tie in its first meeting with league rival Randolph. It dominated play in the rematch before dropping a 2-1 overtime decision to the Cardinals, its only loss of the year.
And then on a chilly Friday night at Sweet Home High School it went 80 minutes of regulation and two 15-minute overtimes before securing that elusive victory over Randolph and what it had been searching for all along.
Sean McAfee, Sam Flanders and Dylan Talbot each scored a PK marker and Conner Golley came up with the big stop his team needed as the second-seeded Gators won the shootout, 3-1, following a 0-0 tie to take the Section 6 Class C crown over the top-seeded Cardinals.
That made it three-straight sectional titles – and four total in 11 seasons under coach Jon Luce – for A-L, which will meet the Section 5 Class C winner in next week’s Far West Regional.
“I’m very excited for the kids,” said Luce, who mentioned his team was welcomed back to Allegany by a victory parade. “They worked so hard to get here, and it’s just rewarding to watch the excitement on their face after we came off the field with a victory.”
In a battle of Class C heavyweights – Randolph came into the game ranked No. 3 in the state and Allegany-Limestone No. 16 – the Gators (17-1-1) not only had a title in mind, but also a little bit of revenge.
Luce’s team never got a second half crack against the Cardinals back in its fourth game of the season. They somehow dropped the second meeting even after not allowing a shot on goal in the second half. Those games were the only two blemishes on the Gators’ docket.
With the loss, they had to settle for second place, behind Randolph, in the CCAA East standings. And so, yes, this game did have a little extra meaning behind it.
“A little bit,” Luce acknowledged. “Just knowing that we were in both of those games early gave us confidence. We went in knowing we had a good opportunity to win the game. Since we played so well against them in the regular season and it just didn’t turn our way, it was gratifying getting the victory here for the sectional title.”
Golley came up with five saves as he and Randolph’s Jarrett Lecceadone ensured a scoreless draw through 110 minutes. Luce said that the turf field provided a much better playing surface than what the teams had in the regular season and that the Gators once again controlled much of the play, but couldn’t finish.
“I thought we handled the ball pretty well offensively,” he said. “I thought the turf was an advantage for both teams. I was very happy with the way we played. We controlled the ball again like we have in the past. I thought Randolph had a couple of pushes as well. It’s just so relieving to get out of there with a victory.”
A victory that took some 240 minutes between three games to corral.
In the penalty kick session, A-L made three of its five kicks while Golley came up with a stop and two other Randolph players missed the goal. What was going through Luce’s mind as the PKs unfolded?
“I know we’ve practiced taking PKs, especially around playoff time because it can come to that,” he said. “We were just hoping that Conner could make at least one good save in goal and we could just put all five of ours in. Both great goalkeepers in this game tonight, so it could have went either way on the PKs. We were fortunate enough to put our first three in.”
A-L is now looking for the next step as a program. It’s now won four sectional titles under Luce (2004, ‘14, ‘15, ‘16) but has lost in the Far West Regional in all three of its other trips.
“That would be a huge hurdle for us,” he said. “We set our goals at the beginning of the season, and it wasn’t just to win sectionals, we want to make states. We haven’t been there yet. That’s the next step that we want to accomplish for this school, is to make it to the Final Four on the boys’ side.”
SECTION 6 CLASS D TITLE
Pine Valley 1, Ellicottville 0, OT
Just like the A-L-Randolph game, these two teams went past the 100-minute marker, only in this one, Dylan Chase scored in the second overtime to give No. 1 Pine Valley the win.
Robert Spell had nine saves and Elliot Bowen kept PV’s leading scorer, Tyler West (32 goals), at bay for the Eagles. Ellicottville coach Matt Finn was happy with the way his 3-13-1 team hung with 17-1 Pine Valley.
“I could not be prouder of my team,” he said. “They played over 100 minutes of soccer and they never backed down. They played with heart and determination and they wore the Eagle uniform with pride tonight.”
He added: “We left Dylan Chase open for five seconds, and he got one.”
Pine Valley, which outshot the Eagles 10-5, will meet the winner of Section 5’s Alfred-Almond and C.G. Finney in next week’s Far West Regional.
