Fit to be tied

What they both have back this year are strong goalkeepers.

They didn’t disappoint on Monday.

The Golden Cougars’ Nathan Bailey made 12 saves, while the Hillbillies’ Andrew Cowan made four saves as the teams played to a 0-0 nonleague draw at Cassadaga Valley Middle-High School.

The best opportunity for either team came early.

Fredonia goalkeeper Andrew Cowan makes a save against Cassadaga Valley/Falconer.
OBSERVER Photo by Matt Spielman

In the eighth minute, Cassadaga Valley/Falconer’s Channing Brainard sent a cross through the 18-yard box that missed a Golden Cougar in the center of the goal mouth, but went through to the back post where it found the sliding foot of a late-running Nathyn Gilbert. It appeared the hosts were going to break through on the scoreboard, but a late-sliding attempt by Cowan kicked the ball to safety.

“As a young team, it’s just building confidence. Putting that one away would’ve really boosted our team’s momentum in a positive direction,” Cassadaga Valley/Falconer head coach Nick Quattrone said. “They’re young and have to learn that they have to start at a faster pace.”

“We have to rely on him to make that save. The other team is going to put balls on the net. We expect him to make that save,” Fredonia head coach Jim Rush said of Cowan. “He was in the right position. We worked on some things with him Friday and it showed today. I was very happy with his play. He was very aggressive. … He’ll continue to get better and be in charge back there.”

Fredonia upped its intensity in the opening minutes after halftime and nearly broke through itself. Rewarded with a free kick in the 45th minute, Morgan Cerrie stood over the ball and sent it through Cassadaga Valley/Falconer’s 18-yard box, but just missed the foot of a sliding Mason Tomaszewski.

“We did a lot of things well, we just didn’t put the ball in the net. The possession was great,” Rush said. “A lot of good things happened, we just have to work on finishing.”

Bailey made his best save of the night in the 73rd minute in tight after a scrum in front of his net and two minutes later, the Golden Cougars pushed a midair volley wide of the post.

“Our defense played very well and Nathan Bailey kept us in the game with some really good, quality saves,” Quattrone said.

The teams then played a pair of scoreless 10-minute “Golden Goal” overtime sessions, but the game did not end without drama.

With the final 20 seconds running off the clock, Cassadaga Valley/Falconer was awarded a corner kick. With nothing to lose if they lost possession, the Golden Cougars pushed all 11 of their players — including Bailey — into the final third of the field. Cowan punched the initial service to safety and Cassadaga Valley/Falconer’s final look at the net came just after the final whistle.

“You don’t want to get out of your system and do anything stupid. We didn’t get crazy. I felt like we had the play,” Rush said of the overtimes. “Soccer is that way sometimes. They had a couple of opportunities, but I thought for the most part we played really hard and really well.”

“That’s a good tie for us,” Quattrone said. “Obviously we wanted to have more chances and offense is something we have to work on more in training.”

Fredonia, which lost its opener 3-0 to Westfield/Brocton, will open Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Association West Division play at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Strider Field against Jamestown. Cassadaga Valley/Falconer, which lost 2-0 to Chautauqua Lake and beat Maple Grove 1-0 in its opening two nonleague games, will open East Division play Wednesday at Randolph. The game is slated for 7 p.m. on the new artificial turf at Raymond Van Wie Field, but may be moved to 5 p.m. at Weeden Park.

“I think a team that knows they have Nathan Bailey behind them is going to play with confidence knowing that their keeper is going to make the key saves. We have some phenomenal athletes on our defense and some very coachable athletes,” Quattrone said. “I think they’ll give Randolph a run for their money.”