By SPENCER BATES
ALLEGANY — For the Portville boys soccer team, its first game of the season wound up being a trial by fire as it scratched and clawed for a result that took a penalty shootout to decide.
The Panthers lost significant veterans from their team last year and set to fill those shoes are a number of younger, less-experienced players. But there was no time to ease into their first matchup of the season, some their first varsity game, as Genesee Valley/Belfast held no punches.
GV/B did eventually emerge victorious, winning a penalty shootout 4-2 after a 3-3 tie in regulation was unable to be decided with two overtime periods, but Portville, despite the questions it has with its level of experience, did not go down without a fight.
The Panthers conceded the opening goal in the 14th minute, after a parried save fell into the path of GV/B’s Benjamin Cater, who was left with a tap in. But, in the 28th minute Portville found an equalizer in a similar fashion, as a spilled save from GV/B’s goalkeeper fell to the feet of John Neeson, who then squared a ball across the face of goal to an arriving Colin German who tapped home.
The tie did not survive long after the intermission as GV/B put their noses back in front via an Ian MacKenzie volley from distance.
Time was of the essence for the Panthers, just 11 minutes remained in regulation and they needed at least a goal to force overtime. Luckily for head coach J.J. McIntosh, his side never quit.
“It could have been easier to say, ‘hey, we’re down,’ and let them roll with the momentum of that second goal,” McIntosh said. “But I kind of thought once they scored that second goal, it was kind of the opposite. It seemed like we started to attack a lot more and I thought we had a lot more of the ball after they scored and went up on us. It was quite the attack that we were mounting for a good portion of 15 minutes there in the second half. … At times we beat ourselves, but it was less and less as the game went on.”
In the 69th minute, the Panthers knotted things up at 2-2 as Neeson paired a goal with his assist on the night. But they were not done there. Just one minute later, German, who left an incredible impact on the fixture, scored his second of the day from the penalty spot.
“He does a lot for us, he is a leader by example, for sure,” McIntosh said of German. “He’s put the work in in the offseason, and I’m glad everyone else was able to see that, you know what, he is one of the best players in this area, and there’s no doubt about it.”
Portville’s Vic Vena (4) unleashes a shot on goal against Genesee Valley/Belfast. (Spencer Bates)
In the blink of an eye, Portville had turned the tides in its favor.
But a penalty called against them with just four minutes to play put a damper on things as GV/B tied up the game and forced overtime.
Neither side managed to find the would-be winner in two golden-goal periods, so to penalties they went.
Unfortunately for the Panthers, consecutive misses on their third and fourth attempts, solidified the loss.
The defeat certainly stung, but what spoke to McIntosh more than the final scoreline was the way his youthful roster responded to the challenge presented to them.
“It was young kids stepping up into crucial roles and performing well,” McIntosh said. “I have a couple young kids where I wasn’t quite sure what to expect out of them today, one being a keeper, one being an outside defender, and they held their own. I was very proud of their effort. We have some good leadership in the middle of the field, silent leaders in other places, and I think that was growing as the game went on. I thought that we did a really nice job of playing the way that I’m trying to have them play, in terms of keeping the ball on the ground and trying to connect with your teammates.”
After the affair, McIntosh spoke with his players and reminded them that the only way they now aim to go is up. The goal he has in mind for his team is to continue building upon their successes until they are running like a well-oiled machine.
“I think we need to develop a little physicality,” McIntosh said. “I think that we could have done a better job of the 50-50 balls and then rallying to it with each other. … That’s obviously something we’re going to work on (as well as) trying to get them to attack the ball a little bit more with a little more confidence.”
As for his younger players, McIntosh noted it’s about learning as they go. With every game, with every possession, there is something to be taken away. As the season progresses, he hopes they will be molded into true varsity players by these moments.
“(With the younger players), whether they be younger, age-wise, or younger in terms of varsity minutes, they sometimes take some poor angles, and I think that those are things they’re going to figure out pay dividends later on,” McIntosh said. “If they step the wrong way in the wrong direction on a counter attack, it could cost them, and they’re not used to that. For the kids that played modified and JV, these are bigger, faster, stronger kids. So, that’s obviously something that we’ll work on.”
Fortunately, this was just the first day of the season.
The Panthers will play Ellicottville/Franklinville in the small school consolation game of the Gator Cup on Aug. 30 at 12:30 p.m.
