By HUNTER O. LYLE
SALAMANCA – After suffering a loss last week, the Portville boys soccer team was able to get back in the win column with a 10-1 dismantling win over Salamanca-Cattaraugus Little Valley.
When the two teams took the field ahead of their Division 1 matchup, they did so having experienced massively different starts to the season. Halfway through, Sal-Catt sat at 1-8 overall and came into Monday amidst a five-game losing streak. The Panthers, however, were flourishing, holding a record of 6-1-2 and 4-1 in league play.
“A lot of these guys play travel ball so it’s nice, going into the season, knowing some of the pieces we’re bringing back,” said Portville head coach JJ McIntosh on his team’s success halfway through the season. “Then we’re able to plug certain kids into roles where they are able to fill a void that we’re missing that just kind of puts the puzzle together.”
From the immediate tip, the Panthers looked to dominate the pitch. After stealing the War Wolves’ very first pass of the day, Portville raced upfield with ease and finesse, finding successive one-touch passes to penetrate the box. In just the second minute of the game, Colin German fired a shot past Sal-Catt’s goalkeeper to put the Panthers on the scoreboard. Just over a minute later, Braedon Carter repeated this feat, scoring on a lone-man fastbreak.
While the Panthers streaked up field at will, the War Wolves struggled to keep the opposition at bay, desperate to just clear the ball. On the few times Sal-Catt earned a drive up field, clunky passes that aimed at distance rather than accuracy resulted in constant turnovers. Meanwhile, Portville ran up the score to 5-0 by the 13 minute mark.
“A lot of these guys put time in throughout the year and I think that we have a good group of seniors that show leadership,” said McIntosh. “We’re a solid unit. There’s not just one kid you can take out of the game for us. We’ve had a couple guys get banged up and we have a kind of ‘next man up’ philosophy. We’ve had some younger kids step into some important roles and they’ve been doing a good job.”
Sitting on a more-than-comfortable cushion on the scoreboard against an already listless War Wolves squad, Portville reached into their bag of tricks and showcased their superior touch and control. Charging up field, the Panthers split defenders, spun by contact and dribbled their way to whatever spot they wanted. The end result of these flashy maneuvers was goal after goal and, after scoring three more times in the final four minutes, looked down at Sal-Catt from atop an 8-0 lead at the break. Going into halftime, Portville had out-shot Sal-Catt 14-2.
As the second half began, it seemed as if both teams were just waiting for a final buzzer. Portville called off the attack, instead calmly passing the ball to each other as they zig-zagged up field before letting it slip from their possession in the final few feet. Despite their pacificity on offense, Portville still denied entry into their territory by stripping passing and reverting the ball the other way.
After nearly half the period had slipped by, the Panthers scored their ninth goal of the night from Vic Vena, who collected a deflected shot before finding the back of the net at point blank range. Trent Jadlowski put in goal No. 10 eight minutes later from a perfectly placed cross.
Now down double digits, the War Wolves’ second squad managed to find some life and avoid a shutout with a clutch goal from Kayden McCune in the 42nd minute. After a cluster of War Wolves scrambled in front of Portville’s goal, McCune collected a ricochet and scored, giving Sal-Catt a silver lining celebration as they jogged off the field.
“We’re a really young team. They’re growing, they’re working really hard. We’ve made a lot of improvements since last season and we’re still just trying to build,” said Salamanca-Cattaraugus Little Valley head coach Marra Stokes. “We just want to see improvement every single practice and every single game.”
Gabe Evans led Portville’s scoring effort with two goals and an assist while eight other Panthers found the back of the net in their seventh win of the season. Brady German recorded five assists while Carter and Colin German each had one.
“In my 15 years of coaching, I think this is the hardest C bracket that I’ve ever seen. Every team is going to have their work cut out for them because I think it’s anyone’s section for Class C this year ,” said McIntosh. “We’re going to take it one game at a time. We’ve got Faulkner on Wednesday and hopefully we can play well and execute. The sky’s the limit with the team. I think we can achieve great things this year but we need to keep moving forward and keep our foot on the gas.”
