By HUNTER O. LYLE
ALLEGANY, NY – In what should have been a tightly contested battle for the Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Associations Division II title, the Portville boy’s soccer team faced error after error, fighting themselves as much as the Eagles as they bowed out of their rematch with Ellicottville/Franklinville, ultimately losing 4-2.
“It was just kind of clear that they wanted it more than we did and they went out and took it. It’s easier sometimes when we leave it all out there, we play as hard as we can and it just doesn’t go our way,” said Portville head coach JJ McIntosh. “ It’s a lot tougher when you have two strong teams that go together and one team just comes and beats your ass for 80 minutes. And that’s what happened.”
Early on in the season, on Monday, Sept. 21, the Panthers traveled to Ellicottville, going toe-to-toe with the then 6-1 Eagles in a double-overtime draw. That stalemate continued to hold as the lone stain on Ellicottville’s near-perfect league record entering Wednesday’s sequel. However, early on, doubt on whether the second showing would be as hard-fought started to materialize.
Although Portville traveled downfield, getting off a low-chance, albeit, accurate shot off on goal in the first few seconds of the afternoon, that would be the last time the Panthers came close to a threatening drive for the remainder of the first half. Immediately after, Ellicottville returned the favor, flipping the field and coming up with their own threatening drive. In response, Portville struggled to fend off the pressure.
Plagued with bad touches and errant passes, the Panthers failed to connect a drive together past midfield. Forced in constant motion, usually in a desperate flight back to defend their net, their offense ground to a halt.
“I think I might have played this game up too much for them and we kind of came out and played too tight, if so it’s on me. It was a little bit of nerves and a lot-a-bit that some days it’s just not your day. ,” said McIntosh. “We didn’t play our best but it came from (Ellicottville’s) relentless pressure. It came from them constantly hustling and we just didn’t return the favor.”
Meanwhile, the Eagles began to formulate their attack. Using the entire width of the field, breaking out wide before striking deep drives into the box, Ellicottville dominated the time of possession and grew closer and closer to breaking the ice. In the 19th minute, they finally saw a shot collect in the back of the net. Settling a cross at the top of the box, Jacob Henning shot left and scored, putting the Eagles up 1-0.
Suffering a gut punch, the Panthers continued to lag a step behind and a pass away, instead, seeing their brief drives fizzle out long before a chance at retaliation. Despite fending off the opposition for the majority of the rest of the half, a late heart breaker in the 35th minute from Ellicottville’s Holden Basher sent them into the break down by a pair.
“The wind in the first half was not helping us in terms of trying to push the ball over top of them. Any time we would try to find the gap behind (Ellicottville), it was kind of blowing back down to them,” said McIntosh. “We never once got behind them in the first half.”
Returning to the pitch, despite still playing out of sync, Portville began making strides downfield. Their mustered intensity manifested in physicality, which was reciprocated by the Eagles. Battling for possession with strength as much as speed and skill, the Panthers ultimately earned a direct kick just five minutes into the second period of play. Stepping up to the spot, Colin German rattled off a top shelf shot, one that produced his eleventh goal of the season.
Feeling a flash, Portville continued to chip their way into the fight, however, another error would dash their momentum. Eight minutes after their initial score, on an Eagle trip through the box, the Panthers’ goalkeeper stepped one stride too far from the crease, allowing Tosh Klein to swiftly maneuver past and net their third goal of the night.
Four minutes after that, a bad pass in front of the net gave way to another score, sinking the Panthers deeper into a 4-1 deficit.
Throughout the final 18 minutes, the Panthers sprawled across the field, fighting the clock as they attempted to regain footing. However, their continuous inability to send or receive the ball never faded, resulting in repeated one-and-done unfruitful drives.
With just three minutes to go, Portville managed to end the night on a bitter-sweet note, seeing a direct kick rattle off the crossbar before Vic Vena punched it in from point blank range, but the score failed to change the inevitable. As Ellicottville left the field in jubilation, officially securing the Division II title, Portville left with their heads hung low.
Seeing their league champion aspirations dissipate before them, the only thing left to focus on is preparations for the playoffs. With two games remaining on the schedule, which will take place next Tuesday against Bolivar-Richburg and Thursday against PineValley-Gowanda, the looming postseason will arrive sooner rather than later.
“We have two weeks from today before we’ll play our first playoff game and we’ve got a few kids that really just need to be healthy,” said McIntosh. “If we can get rested and get back to 100 percent in the next two weeks, I think it’ll be very helpful for us and I think we’ll be able to put some stuff together.”
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