Ambassadors FC Ohio scored early in the 5th minute but needed a dramatic 95th minute tally to steal all three points from the Buffalo Stallions at North Tonawanda High School on Saturday night. The win keeps them in the upper echelon of the Great Lakes Conference table and virtually clinches a playoff berth with four matches remaining in their regular season.
The Stallions will have to travel to Canton, Ohio on Tuesday, June 30 for the return leg of the season series after their trip to Ohio went for naught when the match had to be abandoned due to lightening and dangerous weather two weeks ago.
Diego Pinto (Akron, OH/Lakeland CC) was a menace from the opening whistle of the match and finished the opener in the 5th minute with a sublime release and finish following a quick throw in restart from Nate Werthmuller (Medina, OH/Otterbein Univ.) down the line on the far side.
The subsequent ten minutes following the goal saw Ambassadors let off a bit and allowed the Stallions back into the match as they generated a bit of pressure with a high press. But Ambassadors found a response through winning first and second balls off of aerial duals and then possessing out of small spaces in quick transitions. From the 15th minute on, Ambassadors generated some significant quality chances.
“We were secure in our process in the first half and stuck with our strength when out of possession,” said Head Coach & Technical Director Ryan Dean. “We were really pleased with our ability to quickly turn their losses of possession into chances on goal and could have easily extended our lead significantly.”
Alex Depperschmidt (Mansfield, OH/Univ. of Mount Union) and Tyler Harsch (Aliquippa, PA/Univ. of Mount Union), teammates at the Univ. of Mount Union (OH) were very effective in the wide spaces in the first half with Depperschmidt finding the woodwork twice with the second attempt that called for an outstanding save from Stallions goalkeeper Jack Petrie.
Halftime planted the seed of change for both teams as Buffalo came out of the interval with a renewed and refined spirit and tactic. Their commitment to with the duals and play more direct did put Ambassadors on the back foot much much more after the half started.
That spirit then paid off in the 56th minute when a deflected pass up the line careened off of an AFC Ohio player and found the feet of a Stallions winger in an obvious off sides position. The near side assistant referee momentarily raised his flag but realized that the ball was played into the Buffalo player technically by the defending Ambassadors player. The alert Stallions did not hesitate when the AFC players did and stopped playing for a moment, providing Stallions second half substitute John Barone with a simple tap int to bring the match to honors even.
The next 30 minutes became a physical and athletic battle with each team drawing two yellow cards, and additional being shown to the Ambassadors bench. “It was not pretty as both teams scrapped for bits of quality and possession,” said Dean. “The match was sitting there for both teams to try to take for themselves. It came down to moments and we were fortunate and courageous in the moments.”
In the 94th minute, the Stallions broke a disjointed AFC Ohio press and sent in a cross from the left flank that Depperschmidt chested toward the byline only to see it glance off the near post giving Buffalo a penultimate chance with a corner kick. The corner was flighted into the area only to be touched by a glancing header over the endline by the Stallions.
From the subsequent goal kick, AFC Ohio advanced the ball quickly up their right flank only to play it into touch deep in the Stallions end. The throw in was flicked and hooked forward into the AFC Ohio end and headed back into the midfield mix by center back captain Ben McCauley (Tallmadge, OH/Baldwin Wallace Univ.). The second ball header was won by midfielder Matt Skladany (Cleveland, OH/Baldwin Wallace Univ.) and then deftly touched on by veteran central mid Brendan Swann (North Royalton, OH/John Carroll Univ.) to streaking forward Saiheed Jah (Moline, IL/Drake Univ./CWRU). Jah powered his way past the outside shoulder of the Stallions back to hammer a shot directly on goal that Petrie was only able to parry directly in front of him. AFC Ohio all-time leading scorer and reigning conference MVP Amir Spratt (Kent, OH/Univ. of Mount Union) was their to pounce on the deflection putting the contested ball into the net setting off a spontaneous party at the near side corner flag.
The goal marked the sixth victory of the season for Ambassadors, three of which have been finished beyond the 90th minute.
Jordan Akins of AFC Ohio & John Barone of Buffalo Stallions contest a header in North Tonawanda, NY in a 2-1 win for Ambassadors on Saturday night
“We put so much emphasis on the value of winning the 2nd ball duels and asking players to win their moments so it is very satisfying to earn a result under these circumstances.” concluded Dean. “Buffalo is truly a very strong side and their record does not at all reflect their quality, their coaching, their spirit and their organization to be sure.”
Ambassadors return home to host conference leading and #2 nationally-ranked Erie Commodores on Wednesday, June 24 at 7:00 p.m. at Dr. David & Winnie King Field on the campus of Malone University in Canton, Ohio.
