By HUNTER O. LYLE
PORT ALLEGANY, PA – Typically, a team’s mentality on any given is win at all cost. However, as the Port United girl’s soccer team took the pitch on Tuesday afternoon, a draw would do just fine.
Playing under a 0.500 rule, the Lady Gators had a tall task ahead of them. Welcoming yet-to-be-defeated Elk County Catholic to their home field, it would take everything to hold them at bay and preserve a stake in the playoffs. Yet, after 100 minutes of battle, Port accomplished the mission, coming away with a 1-1 draw and ticket to the District 9 postseason.
Entering the day at 7-7-3, the Lady Gators were experiencing the most pressure they had felt all season, but they remained steadfast in their cultivated gameplan. Rather than get overwhelmed by the moment, Port stayed the course.
“The mentality was to play defense and hope to get a goal. That was the mentality, that was the preparation, that was what we talked about,” said Port Allegany head coach Matt Lawton. “Honestly, in District 9 soccer you (don’t get reminded) of how important ties are, whereas in the greater soccer world, ties are important. You don’t want to lose, ties are good. What was cool is, we’re playing for a tie which was just as good as a win. That was neat.”
Knowingly facing one of the premier defenses in District 9, the Lady Gators came out with aggression, immediately penetrating into hostile territory and getting a shot off within the first minute of play from Alyssa Pelchy. On the other side of the ball, Port defenders set the intensity, staying attached to the hip of Lady Crusader ball handlers.
However, ECC quickly settled into the flow of the game and conducted a rhythm. Earning their own first shot via direct kick, which was narrowly blocked by Port’s goalkeeper Hannah Taylor, the Lady Crusaders then began carving paths to the net with regularity. With their back line setting a barricade at midfield, ECC’s offense had multiple opportunities to drive by committee, using several passes on each possession to weave through defenders.
In the eighth minute, their efforts paid off. Sparking a fastbreak with a long through pass, the Lady Crusaders picked up speed, staying one step ahead of the collapsing Port defense before a perfectly placed cross found the foot of Lilyana Distler, who punched in the first goal of the day.
Although Port would immediately respond with a deep drive and subsequent shot, their offense then began to sputter. Scarcely finding runs from then on, the Lady Gator’s occasional fastbreaks were snuffed out by relentlessly crashing defenders, leaving them just one touch away from a shot.
“They’re tall, they’re strong and they’re fast and they’ve got good foot skills,” said Lawton on ECC’s defense. “That is the most complete back line we see all season. They are solid. It’s good to watch them, it’s fun but I wish we weren’t playing them.”
Unable to get an edge, Port began settling into a lull. Consistently beaten in the battles to loose balls, misplacing passes that ended fastbreaks before they started and seeing their opponents strike deep into the heart of their backfield, the Lady Gators were stuck on their heels, struggles which rolled over into the second half.
Fending off the initial attack, Port’s offense began sparking runs, getting closer and closer to the net with each possession. However, their waves of offense always seemed to crash against the Elk County defense.
With half the period burnt off the clock, the Lady Gators were at a tipping point, on the edge of falling apart or finding one last spark. Fortunately, they found the latter.
In the 66th minute, Kylee Pelchy stripped away an ECC pass at midfield, then turning and taking the ball down the left sideline. As she cut inside, she pulled the trigger on a carving shot that met a diving goalkeeper before bouncing over and into the goal.
“We’ve relied on Kylee and Alyssa’s speed all season. We were getting pressure off big crosses or we were getting pressure from Kylee or Alyssa running on the ball,” said Lawton. “They’re so tenacious, the two of them, they’re going to run through people and make them make mistakes and that’s what happened. ECC made just a couple mis-kicks, a couple mistakes and Kylee got it through.”
As both teams found their stride on offense, traversing the field back and forth, the final minutes of the clock emptied, forcing overtime.
Through the first extra period, the offensive ebb and flow resumed, this time with an added dose of physicality. The Lady Gators and Lady Crusaders drove and collapsed and cleared and regrouped over and over but to no avail, as the scoreboard remained deadlocked after ten minutes.
After a brief intermission, the do-or-die second overtime period began. For Port, their emphasis was on defense. Constantly looking for quick pressure releases with double-teams and long clears, their safeguards held strong until the final two minutes. In a culmination of dramatics, a handball in the box would give Elk County a penalty kick.
Lining up in goal, Taylor eyed up the shot. Diving right, she had guessed correctly, coming up with what would be the game-winning save.
“I’ve coached (Hannah) for three years and I’ve told her there’s two things you have to do as a keeper: catch the ball and don’t make any stupid mistakes,” said Lawton of Taylor, who ended the game with 24 saves. “She’s been so solid this year and today’s the same thing. She’s catching the ball and there were no stupid mistakes. That save there at the end, on the PK, was amazing. I can’t wait to see it again on film.”
Taylor’s big save would stand as the head of the action. In the final minute and a half, the ball remained in the midfield and while neither team lost by the sound of the final buzzer, for Port, it felt like a win.
“We were 4-7-3 a few weeks ago and had two ties and a couple losses that were kind of close was (frustrating,)” said Lawton. “Hopefully, this gave the team a second life. ECC came into this game undefeated and we came out with a tie, so that’s great.”
Port now awaits the playoffs, which will be decided hopefully by the end of the week, when the rest of the regular season shakes out and they learn their seeding in the upcoming District 9 Class A bracket.
