By HUNTER O. LYLE
SALAMANCA, NY – Through the first three weeks of the season, the Portville boy’s soccer team had been through the ringer. Seeing two games postponed, another called off midway through, a draw and two losses, all of which were played away from home, the Panthers’ first steps onto the pitch have been nothing short of turbulent.
However, coming into their fourth match of the campaign, Portville finally found a way past their frustrations. Dominating for the full 80 minutes, they notched their first win of the season, shutting out Salamanca for a 3-0 inaugural victory.
““It’s been a weird season. We started with a lightning game postponement, then our game in the Gator Cup got suspended because it got pretty chippy, some crazy stuff. We played pretty well against Genesee Valley and then we ended up letting in a goal with eleven seconds left to tie and hit the post four times in overtime. It’s just been that kind of season,” said Portville head coach JJ McIntosh. “But it was good to come out today and connect. When you haven’t had that victory yet, any taste of it makes you want it even more.”
All the while the Panthers were navigating around their early pot holes, the Warriors were experiencing a very different opening few weeks of play. After three years of one-win seasons, Salamanca erupted onto the pitch, finding three consecutive wins including a recent 5-0 blowout over Pine Valley-Gowanda.
“I’ve just seen a lot of growth in our players. A lot of them have matured into really fine, hardworking men,” said first-year Salamanca head coach Parker Rieman. “We have a lot of good leadership on our team, we just need to keep working.”
Almost immediately though, the Warriors’ unblemished resume would be put to the test. Starting on their first touch of the game, Salamanca saw the Panthers reroute their brief drive before setting up shop on their side of the field.
Using crisp back-and-forth passes as well as technical one-man maneuvers through the defense, Portville kept a tight grip on the possession, refusing to be sent away without a glance at the net. Meanwhile, Salamanca couldn’t catch their breath. As the pressure built, so did a sense of desperation and while the Warriors focused their sole efforts on clearing the ball away, they did so by sending errant passes upfield, which ultimately were collected by the opposition and returned sooner rather than later.
“I think we were playing the ball a little faster than we have in the last couple games and I think that helped. The decision making could be improved across the board but I think we did a nice job of moving into space,” said McIntosh. “I think we did a really good job of moving to open space, finding their player and advancing the ball as a unit, as opposed to playing up to forwards and praying it’s going to be two-on-four.”
Continuing to probe and cut deep drives into enemy territory, it would only be a matter of time until the Panthers created a way to break the stalemate, and midway through the half, that moment came. Recovering a pass that ricocheted off a defender at the 16-minute mark, Parker Keim put a lofting shot into the air from 30-yards out. Sailing above the pitch, the ball cleared the outstretched arms of Salamanca’s goaltender and into the net, tallying the first goal of the night and Keim’s first of the season.
Less than a minute later, Portville repeated the feat. Taking it upon himself, Colin German pressed on the gas, using finesse to single-handedly weave through the defense before pulling the trigger on a shot that rifled into the goal, also his first of the season.
“(German) is one of our leaders. I expect a lot out of him and he knows that,” said McIntosh. “As he goes, we go. He’s one of those kids who doesn’t ever take a play off.”
For the remainder of the half, Salamanca’s defense stitched itself back together and held strong. Although they were still unable to find a path downfield, they managed to hold Portville at bay for the final 23 minutes, heading into halftime looking up at a 2-0 deficit.
“We knew it was going to be a defensive ball game,” said Rieman. “We wanted to keep it that way, keep it a low scoring game and hope to find the back of the net. It just didn’t happen.”
Returning to the pitch only welcomed more of the same. From the gates, Portville resumed their relentless pressure and attack, carving out constant trips into the box while penning Salamanca within midfield. As the still-shotless Warriors fought against the imposed boundaries, the Panthers peppered the net, and once again, the defense could only hold on for so long.
With just under 25 minutes to play, Vic Vena came down through the middle, feeding Gabe Evans on a perfectly placed through-ball for a clean look at the net. Giving it the boot, Evans rocketed a shot past a diving goalkeeper to put Portville up by three, all but sealing the outcome.
In the final moments of the night, the pressure continued and Salamanca failed to put forth a significant drive down the field, let alone find a shot on goal. For the Warriors, the final buzzer marked the end of their untainted record. And for the Panthers, it marked the coveted first taste of victory.
In the next coming weeks, both teams will dive into the heart of Chautauqua Cattaraugus Athletic Association Division II league play, eventually marching towards a rematch on Monday, Oct. 5. But before then, both know there is still room to reflect and room to build.
“Our work needs to start with finding the back of the net. You can’t win any games without scoring, but I think it starts with just coming together as a team. Having each other’s back, going to battle everyday,” said. Riema. “I think that’s going to go a long way for us.”
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