Special to the OBSERVER
Freshman forward Chad Bennett scored early in overtime as Fredonia State defeated Morrisville State, 2-1, in SUNYAC men's hockey Saturday at the Steele Hall Ice Arena.
"It's obviously a big SUNYAC win for us," Fredonia State coach Jeff Meredith said. "Those kinds of wins provide you with a little more momentum than a normal win might do."
Bennett's goal was his first as a collegian and came after he skated from behind the net and got off two shots. The first one was blocked on the short side, the second found the net as the Blue Devils improved to 3-2 overall, 2-1 in the SUNYAC.
"I still think we're in search of our game," Meredith added. "We're not going to get too far until we get everybody going."
Another freshman, Taylor Bourne, scored the game's first goal also his first as a collegian as the Blue Devils took a 1-0 lead at 2:31 of the second period. Bourne's goal came on a back-hander after he skated free coming down the left wing.
The puck came to him from sophomore Declan Gunovski, who earned the first assist with a back pass while taking on a defender.
Daniel Morello scored Morrisville's goal on a power play. His knuckling shot from the point and through a maze of players came at 1:34 of the third period, assisted by Anthony Scornaienchi and Matthew Beer, and pulled the Mustangs even at 1-1.
Fredonia State goaltender Mark Friesen made 19 saves. Morrisville's Christopher Azzano was credited with 28 saves.
The Blue Devils return to action next Friday at Potsdam in the first of two SUNYAC next weekend. They visit Plattsburgh on Saturday.
Women's Volleyball
Blue Devils fall short in SUNYAC Tournament
BUFFALO - Fredonia State fell to Cortland in three sets during semifinal play of the 2012 SUNYAC Women's Volleyball Tournament Saturday at Buffalo State.
The Red Dragons advanced after posting set scores of 25-20, 25-16, 25-18 while the loss ended the Blue Devils' season.
Buffalo State also advanced to Sunday's final after defeating New Paltz, 3-0, in Saturday's other semifinal. The title match begins at noon with the winner becoming SUNYAC's automatic qualifer into the NCAA Division III tournament.
Fredonia State was led by their strong freshman core as Kelly Edinger recorded 19 assists, Jessica DiChristopher connected on seven kills, and Lauren Hokaj tallied 17 digs as well as two service aces.
Ashley Coyle had 12 kills and eight digs and Kristen Guercio collected 23 assists for the No. 16 ranked Red Dragons .
Senior outside hitter Lindsey Olson played her final game for the Blue Devils. She leaves the program among the top 10 career leaders in kills, attempts, and digs.
The Blue Devils end the season with a 19-16 record. They were making their 10th straight SUNYAC Tournament appearance and the 13th appearance in 14 seasons under head coach Geoff Braun.
Women's Swimming and Diving
Ficarro posts NCAA D-III provisional scores
GENESEO - Senior springboard diver Sarah Ficarro took the first step toward a fourth straight NCAA Division III appearance during Fredonia State's dual meet Saturday against Geneseo.
Already a six-time All-American, Ficarro posted NCAA D-III provisional scores and topped a 1-2-3 finish by the Blue Devils in each of the two diving events. She had scores of 261.35 in the 1-meter and 293.45 in the 3-meter.
Junior teammate Ashley Keller was second in both events, junior Katelyn Haley was third in the 1-meter, and sophomore Heather Colby was third in the 3-meter.
The Blue Devils lost the dual meet, 160-138.
"We had some missed opportunities out there," head coach Arthur Wang said, who was pleased with the progress his team is making, especially against a quality opponent such as Geneseo. "But those were by some of our younger people who did not know what to expect in a meet like this."
Fredonia State had three other individual winners, led by sophomore Steph Rosa, a winner in the 100-yard backstroke (1:03.08) and a second-place finisher in the 200-yard backstroke (2:11.79). Her 200 time was just a second off her personal-best.
Rosa finished ahead of senior Emily Ginty in the 100 back. Ginty's time was 1:04.20.
The other individual winners were freshman Sam Rokos, who was first in the 200-yard freestyle (2:01.88) as well as second in the 100-yard freestyle (:56.54); and senior Lizzie Lodinsky, first in the 500-yard freestyle (5:28.76) as well as second in the 1,000-yard freestyle (11:10.04).
Men's Swimming and Diving
Fuller, Estanislau double at Geneseo
GENESEO - Fredonia State had two double winners Saturday in its 160-134 men's swimming and diving dual meet loss to the Geneseo Blue Knights.
Junior springboard diver Ryan Fuller was first in the 1-meter with 289.85 points and first in the 3-meter with 296.05 points. Both scores provisionally qualified Fuller for the NCAA Division III zone meet next March.
Blue Devil freshman diver Rafael Santiago finished second to Fuller in both events.
The Blue Devils' other double winner was junior John Estanislau. He touched first in the 100-yard breast stroke (1:02.73) and the 100-yard freestyle (:48.35), and was second in the 100-yard butterfly (:54.46).
"Overall it was a solid performance," Fredonia State head coach Arthur Wang said. "This is as close as we've been to Geneseo in a long time."
The Blue Devils had three single-event winners - junior Adrian Van Hall with a 1:53.60 in the 200-yard freestyle, junior Eric Jordan with a 2:04.51 in the 200-yard backstroke, and junior Andrew Case in the 200-yard individual medley.
Van Hall finished ahead of freshman teammate William Baker in the 200 free.
