By HUNTER O. LYLE
ALLEGANY, NY – Heading into the last game on the schedule, one without postseason or league ramifications, the smart move for any team would be to ease off the gas. Cycle in some reserves, save your energy and avoid risks.
But while the rest of the Portville and Allegany-Limestone teams settled into cruise control, no one seemed to tell Grace Gariepy. Leading by example in her final regular season game of her high school career, she hammered on the pedal, leaving no ounce of energy unspent as she carried the Panthers to a 2-1 win over their down-the-road rivals.
“(Gariepy) knows one speed and it’s full speed. It’s really how she does everything where there’s a competition or a number attached to it,” said Portville head coach Mike Matz. “It’s because she wants to do the best that she can possibly do.”
For Gariepy, seeing the Gators was more than just one last contest to bring the communities together to fill the bleachers. The teams had history, and in her eyes, they had beef. Not only had the Panthers been bested in their previous meeting this season, losing 3-2 on Thursday, Sept. 24, but the painful memory of losing to A-L in the 2023 postseason still held its scalding place in the back of her mind.
“The first thing on my mind was our playoff game (from three years ago.) We lost on penalty kicks against them. That was a real heart break, so there was a little bit of wanting vengeance,” said Gariepy. “The motivation was really wanting to beat them. Wanting to win, wanting to compete, wanting to push ourselves.”
From the jump, she didn’t hold back. As she has all season, Gariepy took control of the game in any way she could. With the ball in front of her, she sparked single-handed drives that saw her out-pacing and out-maneuvering defenders one by one. Playing away from the action, she facilitated the offensive and defensive positioning as a field general with callouts and commands. And in the 18th minute, she shouldered the weight, carving down the right sideline before sending in a skinny-angled shot that found the back of the net to put Portville ahead, a sight all too familiar for the Panthers.
Punching in the go-ahead goal, Gariepy’s season total rose to 20, keeping her spot in the top ten for Section VI firm and secure. However, throughout her career, that total stands in the triple digits as she became one of four Panthers, boy or girl, to notch 100 career goals earlier this month.
“It’s wonderful. It’s a great achievement. I really appreciate everyone who’s gotten me there. It takes a team to get to that,” said Gariepy, who reached 107 career goals with the first half score against A-L. “It feels great and I’m really appreciative.”
The newly made tally wouldn’t stand alone for long. In the second half, after the Gators found an equalizer on a penalty kick from Kennedy Honeck in the 48th minute, Gariepy again kickstarted the Maroon and White machine, continuously charging down field and threatening a retaliation, albeit, in between spans on the bench as Portville occasionally rotated in reserves.
Despite taking another 28 minutes to find it, Gariepy once again broke through. Collecting a long outlet from Airiana Whittaker, she found herself on a 1-on-1 fastbreak, only seeing the Gators’ goalkeeper in front of her. With a quick flick, Gariepy fired off another chance, one that once again was collected in the back of the net.
Standing unanswered by the final buzzer, her 108th career goal sealed the win, sealed the Panthers’ redemption and simultaneously brought the Gators’ 14-game win streak to an end.
“It feels great (to end the regular season on a win,) especially against a team that we’ve lost to historically,” said Gariepy. “It feels great to close out the season on a win, I think it gives us a little bit of confidence going into playoffs. But really, we celebrate today and move on tomorrow.”
All things considered, the win came more as a moral victory than anything else. While the Panthers are able to end their 9-5-2 season on a high note, A-L’s grip atop both the CCAA Division I and Class C standings were left unchanged. Both will be kicking off their postseason campaign next Saturday and both have bigger goals than the regular season rivalry series.
For Gariepy, that goal rests on one final chance to end her high school career with a Sectional title, one last accomplishment that has so far remained elusive.
“I think it would mean everything. Not just for the team but for Portville. I don’t think it’s ever been won,” said Gariepy. “It would mean everything to the team and, individually, I’ve been yearning for it for the last five years so it would be a big deal.”
As they prepare for the upcoming do-or-die playoffs, which for the No. 5 seeded Panthers will be on the road against a to-be-determined opponent next weekend, the biggest thing for Matz and Co. is staying confident.
“You have to believe. If you think you can or you think you can’t, you’ll find a way to make that happen. These girls need to believe that they can do it,” said Matz. “I’ve seen teams that didn’t have a lot of talent but they played together and they fought like crazy and they won way more games than they should have. Once you are bound together, you’ll be fine. You’ll do more than you think you should or could.”
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