Late heroics

Fredonia senior Kadin Ritenburg had one of those forever moments on Wednesday.

In a 1-1 game with under eight minutes left in regulation, Ritenburg unleashed a high-arching shot from 30 yards out. The ball sailed past Dunkirk goalkeeper Greg Orcutt into the top right corner of the net for the eventual game-winning goal.

The Hillbillies defeated the Marauders 2-1 in a Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Association Division 1 boys soccer contest at Dunkirk High School.

“Kadin’s shot, I told him if he practiced it 10,000 times, he may not make it 9,999 times,” Fredonia head coach Jim Rush said. “The one time he needed to make it, he made it. He will remember that for the rest of his life.”

Dunkirk’s Anthony Bautista heads the ball near midfield as Fredonia’s R.J. Koopmaduring a CCAA Division I boys soccer game Wednesday at Dunkirk High School’s Karl Hoeppner Field.
OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen

Fredonia (5-3-2, 4-2-1) came into the game after being shut out in a scoreless draw with Jamestown on Monday. The Hillbillies had only eight goals in nine games entering the matchup with their rivals, and five of those eight goals belonged to R.J. Koopman. Needless to say, Fredonia is built on defense, but it got just enough against the Marauders.

Early on, Dunkirk (3-7-1, 1-6-0) tested Fredonia goalkeeper Andrew Cowan in the eighth minute off a free kick. An attacker got past the Fredonia defense, but Cowan made a big save on the shot on net, holding to Rush’s comment from earlier in the week that the team counts on one big save per half out of Cowan.

That statement held true later on, as well. But first, Fredonia needed to get on the board, and it did.

In the 21st minute, Aiden Czekanski found the back of the net after a free kick redirected several times in the box. Czekanski put it in the bottom right corner of the net for the first goal of the game.

The 1-0 Fredonia advantage held for the rest of the first half. As strong as Fredonia’s defense is, it was no surprise that just one goal had Fredonia in the lead for more than half of the entire contest.

The Hillbillies held their opponent without a goal in six of the first nine contests this season, but Dunkirk was not willing to follow the trend. After a foul was called for a tackle in the box, the Marauders sent senior captain Peter Felt to take a penalty kick with 16 minutes left on the clock.

“Peter Felt is very good at taking our (penalty kicks). … I was very confident that he would put it in the back of the net for us,” Dunkirk head coach Zach Meadows said.

Felt chose to go low and to his right, and he tucked the ball into the corner of the net to the left of Cowan to even the score. The shot tied the score in almost the exact same spot in the net as the game’s earlier goal.

“We made a mistake and gave them a penalty kick. It got them back in the game and they had the run of the play for a while,” said Rush.

Then it was up to the Hillbillies to respond, and they did just that.

“I honestly felt pretty confident,” Cowan said even after allowing the game-tying goal on Felt’s penalty kick. “Our team has worked really well together to rebound. We still had most of the possession and momentum even after they scored.”

After the momentum built for Fredonia for several minutes, Ritenburg looked up to see Orcutt was rather far out of his net. Near the 30-yard line on the field, Ritenburg drilled the shot from in front of his own sideline, just as he has in practice countless times.

“I’ve taken that shot thousands of times while practicing. I knew I just had to keep calm and level-headed. I saw that the goalie was off his line, so I knew if I just hit a high ball at the back of the net, he’s not saving it,” Ritenburg said. “… Honestly, I was shocked. I didn’t think it was going to go in that beautifully. I was in complete shock, I didn’t really know what to say or do. It was a surreal moment.”

Meadows called the goal “a beautiful shot,” and even knew once it left his foot that it had a chance to go in. He said he thought to himself, “This is not good.”

Playing with the lead once again, Fredonia just had to hold Dunkirk off for the final 7:36 to clinch the rivalry victory. As it turned out, Dunkirk fought to the absolute final second.

“To the last minute, even when there were just seconds left on the clock, they were trying to force one in the back of the net. I’m very proud of the way they played today,” Meadows said.

With the clock running down, Dunkirk got behind the Fredonia defense and let a shot go from outside of the box, heading toward the net. Even though the Fredonia defense allowed Dunkirk the opportunity to get a shot off, Cowan still credited his teammates for putting him in good position. Cowan made the save as the clock struck zero, holding true once again to the mantra that he comes through with at least one huge save in every half of play.

“My defense did a good job to put him in a position where I could cut down his angle. If I’m able to get in a spot where he can’t get to most of the net, I feel much more confident in making that save,” Cowan said. “My defense did a good job putting him in that spot, and I tried to execute to the best of my abilities in being there.”

After Cowan’s save in the final seconds, the buzzer sounded and Rush let out a yell from the sidelines. After the game, following an embrace between the two, Rush spoke to the elation of that moment.

“I get really excited in games like this. This is why you coach, you coach for games like this,” Rush said. “… It’s all about emotion. It’s all about heart and who wants it more. Both teams played hard, we just were able to get one in.”

Between Cowan, Ritenburg, and Czekanski, Fredonia’s seniors led the way as the Hillbillies captured one last victory over Dunkirk. Cowan said, “It feels great. Don’t count us out. … Whether we’re up or we’re down, Fredonia soccer is going to keep pushing until the last whistle.”

Up next, both teams host non-league contests on Friday afternoon, as Dunkirk hosts Maple Grove and Fredonia hosts Falconer-Cassadaga Valley.

“The season is not over. Let’s go out and get the next game,” Meadows said.