Late goal lifts Buffalo past Monticello

By Rob LaPlante

Sports Editor

 

It was “Miller Time” Tuesday night at Bison Field East.

Sophomore forward Brian Miller scored both goals, lifting the Bison boys’ soccer team to a dramatic 2-1 home win over rival Monticello.

Miller’s first goal opened the scoring just 5:19 into the contest. Luke Quiring made several nice moves to get a point-blank opportunity. Quiring’s shot was saved by Magic goalie Quinten Bianchi, but the rebound went to a wide-open Miller, who buried his fifth goal of the season.

Less than two minutes later, Magic forward Jacob Keller tied the score 1-1 on a shot through heavy traffic in front of Bison goalkeeper Logan Vajda.

Keller’s goal lifted the spirits of his teammates, but a key leaping save by Vajda late in the first half kept the score tied 1-1 at the half.

“I told the guys before the game that there’s going to be some adversity in this one, so the key would be how we would respond to it,” said Buffalo Head Coach Joe Pokorney. “I thought the guys did a nice job of battling back.”

Miller’s opening goal tied him with teammate Conor Smrz for the team lead with five. Ryan Nelson ranks second in goals with four.

After a quiet night on the scoresheet, Buffalo’s top offensive threats came alive when the game mattered most.

With the rain starting to fall and overtime lurking, Nelson used his speed to get to the outside and found an open Smrz in the goal crease. Instead of taking a contested shot, Smrz passed to a wide-open Miller, who buried home the winner with 11 seconds left in regulation.

“This feels pretty good,” said Miller, who leads the team with six goals and 15 points. “I have to thank the team for the great passes. I was just in the right place at the right time.”

The victory was extra-special for Smrz and Miller, who play on the same club team in the off-season as the Magic’s Keller.

“It feels good to kind of rub in his (Keller) face a little bit,” joked Miller. “Personally, I would say St. Michael is my favorite rival, just because I have kids in my neighborhood that play for them, but Monticello is a close second.”

The victory was extra-satisfying for Pokorney, who called it one of the more dramatic games he’s coached.

“It’s an absolute battle with Monticello every time we play them,” Pokorney said. “We knew they would give us a good game, and they did. It was a really evenly matched game and a fun night of soccer.”

The victory was the Bison’s third straight, and fourth in the past five games.

Buffalo’s previous win came in a 6-0 road shutout last Thursday at Big Lake. Parker Vajda scored twice and twin brother Logan added another. Normally a goalie, Logan played the field and tallied his first career varsity goal.

Matthew Butler opened the scoring in a four-goal first half for the Bison. Also scoring were Smrz, Nick Lund, and Ryan Nelson.

Asked about the confidence level of his 4-2-1 squad (3-1 in conference play), Pokorney said it’s rising.

“We’re getting there,” he said. “We knew Tuesday would tell us a lot about what kind of level we can reach. I don’t think we’re at our ceiling yet. There’s a lot of skill on this team. Now the next step is to get consistent with it.”

The Bison travel for a 7 p.m. road game on Thursday, Sept. 20 at Cambridge-Isanti. The next home game is 5 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 22 against Maple Grove.

 

Buffalo 6, Big Lake 0

(Thursday, Sept. 13 at Big Lake)

Buffalo        4  2   -  6

Big Lake      0  0   -  0

Scoring:

First Half: B -- Matthew Butler; B -- Conor Smrz (Butler); B -- Nick Lund; B -- Parker Vajda (Luke Quiring).

Second Half: B -- Ryan Nelson; B -- P. Vajda (Logan Vajda).

Goalies:

B - Wyatt Hiers (win); BL - N/A (loss).

 

Buffalo 2, Monticello 1

(Tuesday, Sept. 18 at Buffalo)

Monticello    1  0   -  1

Buffalo        1  1   -  2

Scoring:

First Half: B -- Brian Miller (Luke Quiring) 5:09; M -- Jacob Keller (Brenden Fee) 7:29.

Second Half: B -- Miller 2 (Conor Smrz) 39:49.

Goalies:

M - Quenten Bianchi (loss) 18 saves; B - Logan Vajda (win) 8 saves.

Publication: 

The Drummer and The Wright County Journal Press

PO Box 159
108 Central Ave.
Buffalo MN 55313

www.thedrummer.com

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