By SPENCER BATES
PORTVILLE — For Portville girls soccer coach Mike Matz, his team’s first game of the season against CCAA Div. I rival Falconer/Cassadaga Valley/Maple Grove stuck in his head.
Up 2-1 late, the Panthers conceded the game-tying goal with two minutes left in regulation and then the winner two minutes into the overtime period.
Since that Sept. 24 game, Matz has emphasized the importance of putting together a full 80-minute effort with his girls.
“We watched our boys team, they were beating Randolph with 15 seconds left, and then they tied,” Matz said. “If you are not willing or able to play for the full 80, you’re probably going to lose.”
Flash forward to Oct. 15. Portville and Falconer were set to square off once again in the final league match of the season for both teams. Each side entered with an 8-2-1 record, with the Golden Falcons only holding first place in the league over the Panthers due to the tie-breaker it earned a little less than a month ago. This meant, whichever team came out on top in the rematch would stake its claim as league champions.
But once again, it would take a full 80-minute effort. Especially after Allie Bray broke the scoreless deadlock in the 51st minute and put the Panthers’ noses in front.
Fortunately enough for Matz, he saw the message he had been preaching taken to heart, as his team did everything they needed to in order see the result through to the end.
“The entire game, I had a throbbing pain in the side of my head,” Matz joked about the stress he felt on the sideline. “But this is why we compete in athletics. That’s a damn good (Falconer) team. We participate in athletics for situations like this. We got girls crying out of happiness, that’s cool.”
However, up until Bray’s eventual game-winner, Portville found itself on the back foot, especially for the grand majority of the first half. While Falconer was unable to put much on target through the first 40 minutes, its crisp ball movement and sustained possession put significant pressure on the Panther defense. The only reprieve they were able to get was when clearances were booted upfield. But even then, it was only a matter of time before the Golden Falcons charged forward again.
After the intermission, Portville was able to move the ball a bit easier and create some chances of its own and according to Matz, it was just a matter of getting back to basics.
“Bryn Milne, our assistant coach, pointed out we just need to play the simple ball, not be so rushed,” Matz said. “We talked a lot in practice about, ‘if I’m off by six inches or a foot on the first pass, the next one’s going to be off by two feet. The next one’s going to pop up.’ (Mistakes) build on themselves. That was the biggest adjustment, just playing the simple ball and relaxing a little bit.”
Portville’s Grace Gariepy (24) looks to carry the ball upfield while being swarmed by Falconer defenders. (Spencer Bates)
Another big key in the Panthers’ resurgence into the game was star midfielder Grace Gariepy was able to get up the field more. In the first half, because of the Golden Falcons’ ability to hold possession, Gariepy was forced to drop into the defense and was resigned to launching long, searching clearances in hopes to alleviate some pressure.
In the second half, Portville’s forwards were more creative with their movement, which allowed for Gariepy to be a factor on offense.
“We need to be more creative offensively,” Matz said. “Our forwards need to be a little bit more shifty, dynamic. (They need to be) checking back to the ball, being creative, quite frankly. They can all do it, we do it in practice all the time. It’s now just a question of, we got to get it going in the game.”
Claiming the CCAA Div. I title is no small achievement. Five of the seven teams in the league currently have winning records. But it is how his team went about the season that makes this feat so special to Matz.
“They’re a real gritty group,” Matz said. “If somebody goes down, it’s next one in. … This is a physical group. And that’s been their biggest area of growth, just their overall physicality throughout the year. They’re tough, man.”
Portville has one game left in the regular season, a tune-up game ahead of the playoffs against Ellicottville. Matz is hoping that the seismic win over Falconer will give his team an added boost at just the right time.
“This is a stepping stone,” Matz said. “Everyone wants a peak at the end. So we’re hoping that we’re ramping things up. There’s good teams in the Class C bracket. So, if we don’t bring it on Friday, we’ll lose Friday. If we don’t bring it in the first round of the playoffs, we’ll lose. We have to bring it every time.”
The Panthers will host the Eagles on Oct. 17 at 6 p.m. for their regular season finale.
