By SPENCER BATES
ALLEGANY — The Portville boys soccer team were dealt a tough hand, having to play the consolation game of the Gator Cup small-school bracket just over 12 hours after finishing their first game of the tournament.
Still, the Panthers managed to pull out a 2-2 draw with Ellicottville/Franklinville for a share of third place.
On Aug. 29, Portville was tied with Genesee Valley/Belfast 3-3 after regulation, neither side was able to find a breakthrough in two golden-goal extra-time periods and the game was eventually decided by a penalty shootout, which the Panthers lost 4-2. It was an exhaustive, near three-hour effort, especially for Portville, which had a short bench for the tournament.
So, going into their consolation game against E/F, the legs in Portville coach J.J. McIntosh’s squad were understandably tired. That being said, there were still some positives he was able to take from the game.
“I think our defense looked a little more secure,” McIntosh said. “But it’s tough when we go back-to-back like that and we’re running about 11 kids strong. I think our legs were giving up towards the end there a little bit, and we didn’t quite have the push to get up and down the field. … We’re going to have to make sure we have full effort for 80 minutes. I think at times, when that’s dipping, it has allowed (other teams) to gain a little more confidence. We just didn’t have the push that we had last night.”
It was E/F that jumped on the board first, scoring after just 13 minutes of game time. But 14 minutes later, Portville had a response. Colin German, who was a major positive factor in his team’s loss to GV/B the prior night, volleyed home from close range to tie up the contest.
The sides looked to be headed to the half all square on the scoreboard, but one more moment of brilliance from German changed everything as it was his overhead kick pass that allowed his teammate Garrett Reynolds to score from close range.
The Panthers went up 2-1 into the break, but after just 10 minutes of second half action, E/F tied the fixture back up.
McIntosh noted that E/F provided his side with a different experience than GV/B did and while it was a challenge, it was a necessary one as his players need to be prepared for a variety of tactics come the league portion of the campaign.
“It was a different type of style than we saw from Genesee Valley,” McIntosh said. “So it shows what we were learning yesterday against one team is different against other teams. We play these guys two other times. It’s interesting it ended in a draw. We’ll see what happens the next couple times. I think we’re in for some good league matchups this year.”
Portville’s Vic Vena (4) takes a shot on goal. (Spencer Bates)
Neither side ended up finding a winning goal in the final 30 minutes of action, but some tempers did flare, and in some respects, McIntosh was happy to see that.
“They want to fight for it, for sure,” McIntosh said. “We saw some fire from some kids, and as a coach, as long as it’s contained, you want that. It shows that the kids are trying hard. It shows there’s passion. It shows that they want it. And, as a coach, you’re OK with sometimes having a little fire.”
Portville will host Bolivar-Richburg on Sept. 8 at 7 p.m. for their next game.
— The Bradford boys soccer team also played for third place at the Gator Cup, facing Chautauqua Lake in the large-school bracket.
The Owls claimed victory by a 5-3 margin over the Eagles and they started off on the right foot, scoring three times in the first 10 minutes of the game. Unfortunately for them, their advantage became more uncomfortable come halftime. Chautauqua Lake pulled two goals back before the break and it only took them four minutes of second-half action to level up the affair at 3-3.
Bradford had seen its significant lead evaporate before its eyes, but the Owls never dropped their heads. Just three minutes later Bradford jumped back in front, and this time, didn’t let its grip on the lead slip. In fact, the Owls added an insurance goal in the final minute of regulation to ice the game.
