The Falconer/Cassadaga Valley boys soccer team played the final 20 minutes of its game against Randolph a man short and then the final five minutes two men short, but that didn’t stop the Golden Cougars from adding another goal and beating the Cardinals 3-0 in Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Association East Division action on Wednesday.

“Discipline on the defensive front,” Falconer/Cassadaga Valley head coach Nick Quattrone said was what helped the Golden Cougars preserve the shutout while down players. “We played really smart out of the back. Cleared the ball when necessary, no easy balls through the middle and just perseverance up front attacking those loose balls and they were rewarded for it.”

Coming into the match, it was well known that if the Golden Cougars wanted a good chance at winning they would have to stop Randolph’s dynamic duo of Cooper Freeman and Griffin Nelson. It was obvious Falconer/Cassadaga Valley planned on marking the duo closely, but that didn’t stop Freeman and Nelson from getting their chances.

“It’s no secret that Cooper and Griffin are our two leading goal scorers,” Randolph head coach David Pihlblad said. “Almost every team all year has put a guy on at least one of them, sometimes both of them. At the end of the first half we had several chances … We had one or two that right there and I think if we get one before halftime that changes the game.”

Falconer/Cassadaga Valley defender Finley Pavlock (7) goes to kick the ball from Randolph’s Cooper Freeman (9) while teammate Gabe Lundmark (5) comes to support in Wednesday’s CCAA East Division contest in Randolph. OBSERVER Photo by Christian Storms

Just like Randolph, Falconer/Cassadaga Valley’s attack has plenty of speed and skill and it allowed the Golden Cougars to strike first. In the seventh minute, Alex Reynolds used his speed to enter the box from the left wing and sent a perfectly placed strike into the bottom of the net for the 1-0 lead.

The rest of the first half was fairly even, but Reynolds was the only one to find the back of the net and that was largely thanks to his goalie Carson Olson turning aside every Randolph chance. Olson made 15 saves on the night and none were bigger than when a Randolph free kick pinballed it’s way behind everyone and Olson had to chase down the ball, diving just in time to prevent the ball from crossing the line.

“It was an excellent job by our goalkeeper today,” Quattrone added. “He kept us in the game. There were some really tough shots on him, but he kept us in it.”

After getting some rest at halftime, the Golden Cougars decided to buy some insurance early in the second half. Just 10 minutes in, Gabe Lundmark found himself dribbling down the right wing and just before he got into the top right corner of the box he lofted a ball over the Randolph defense to Reynolds who perfectly timed his run to get his head on the ball and into the back of the net for a 2-0 lead.

It was already a tall order to score once on Falconer/Cassadaga Valley, but now Randolph needed two goals in order to pull level. With around 21 minutes left in the game, Randolph got its help when the Golden Cougars went down a man thanks to a player being shown a second yellow card.

Falconer/Cassadaga Valley's Roger Markham (1) dribbles into the box during Wednesday's East Division game against Randolph. OBSERVER Photo by Christian Storms

Unfortunately for Randolph, the player sent off the pitch was not Falconer/Cassadaga Valley defender Finley Pavlock who continued to be a living nightmare for any forward playing down his wing. Getting the ball past Pavlock proved nearly as difficult as getting it past Olson and he made sure that his presence was felt whenever the ball came to his side.

“Randolph has two of the most dynamic players in the entire league and the fact that he’s able to suppress them,” Quattrone stated about Pavlock. “It’s a testament to how hard he works in practice, how fast he is and just how tenacious he is on the ball. He is just an elite player.”

Despite being at a disadvantage, it was the Golden Cougars who found the back of the net again when Coleson Barber punched home a loose ball in the box after a free kick. Then, in the final five minutes, another Falconer/Cassadaga Valley player received a second yellow card to give Randolph a two-man advantage, but it was already too late to make any difference.

The victory keeps alive the hopes of Falconer/Cassadaga Valley (8-5-1, 6-2-1) earning a share of the league title with Portville (10-3-1, 7-1-1), but it will require Gowanda/Pine Valley (1-13-0, 1-8-0) to pull off the upset next Wednesday. Meanwhile, Randolph’s (9-5-0, 5-4-0) league title hopes have been dashed thanks to Monday’s overtime loss to Portville and Wednesday’s loss to Falconer/Cassadaga Valley.

“We had a really tough game on Monday,” Pihlblad stated. “We went to double overtime against Portville and the kids looked tired. They just looked like we didn’t have it today and Falconer/Cassadaga Valley brought it. I think that was the big difference.”