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Randolph Falls To Geneseo In Regional

Randolph’s Kaleb Steward (6) takes the ball toward the net while Geneseo’s Caleb Pruden defends during the second half of Friday’s NYSPHSAA Class C Far West Regionals at Sweet Home High School. P-J photo by Alex Shipherd

BUFFALO — Geneseo’s boys soccer season will continue beyond a current 17-3-1 record, after the Blue Devils were able to pick up a 1-0 victory over Randolph (10-9-1) on a rainy Friday night at Sweet Home High School in New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class C Far West Regional play.

Blaze McKinney played the unlikely part of an offensive hero for Geneseo, picking up the only goal of the evening with 26:16 remaining in the first half. While looking for an opportunity to advance the ball into the 18-yard box to teammates, McKinney opted to let a shot of his own fly from long range.

That hard-hit ball found its way inside the right post, giving the senior defender his first goal of the season at just the right time.

“That shot that he hit from 25 or 30 yards in the upper corner was just pretty good,” Randolph head coach Dave Levandowski said. “Most goalkeepers aren’t going to get their hands on that and I thought (Jacob Bulich) made a nice little jump to his left.”

The Cardinals know what it is like to get huge contributions from unlikely actors, thanks to Hayden Congdon’s first career goal off a penalty kick was able to tie Randolph’s Section VI Class C title game against Maple Grove a week prior.

This time it was the Blue Devils who earned the pleasant surprise.

“It was a great shot and he just stepped up and hit it perfectly. It was all we needed so I was glad to have it,” Geneseo head coach Chris Masters said. “We knew that their best player was (Kaleb Steward), and we just felt we had to make sure that whenever they went forward we had an idea where he was. We tried to double team him and not let him dribble because he is a pretty strong player.”

The Blue Devils defensive strategy worked pretty much to perfection through the first 40 minutes of play, as Randolph struggled to get its offense up and running.

Danny Kelly earned a pair of chances for Geneseo early on with a cross that was tipped wide left by Brian Ehmann.

Kelly followed that up with a throw in near the 6-yard box that trickled out of play. Shortly after that close chance, the Blue Devils were able to force another ball in close that was punched straight up by Bulich. Jack Gagnier was able to get a head on that ball but his try found the field-goal post. With time winding down in the first half, Bulich picked up one of his seven saves on the night, picking off a crossing ball by Kelly to end the half.

Facing a one-goal deficit and the end of their season, Levandowski’s team was able to mount a resilient comeback effort in the second half — as they have done all season long.

“Once we pulled out of that defensive shell I thought we really took it to them a little bit,” Levandowski said. “The first 20 minutes we were a little nervous. This was our first time here in 29 years so I think the weight of that situation may have come down on the players a little bit but they worked through it. I’m really proud of what they did.”

Steward’s first good look of the night came from a far wing, where the junior sent a low crossing ball through the 6-yard box, but could not find any red shirts.

On the next series, Steward broke past his defender and let a shot fly toward the near post that was turned away. The Cardinals earned more good chances in the second, including a corner kick by Ty Rosengren that was volleyed high of the crossbar by Ethan Shields.

With two minutes to play, Steward was able to carry into the left side of the 18-yard box before being brought down by a defender, but no free kick was awarded.

For a Randolph team that overcame expectations, perhaps even its own, Friday night offered a bittersweet end to an incredible run.

“If you would have asked me a few weeks ago if we would be in this game I would have said no,” Levandowski said. “For a soccer team in a predominantly football town, with all the state titles, this is pretty incredible. I really hope that down the road a few years with a number of the young kids coming through that they will see this and want to continue playing soccer.”

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