PORTLAND—Portland’s boys’ soccer team has come a long way in recent weeks.
And now, the Bulldogs get to make a short trip.
Across town.
To face their biggest rival.
In the biggest game of the year.
Saturday morning at Fitzpatrick Stadium, seventh-ranked Portland hosted No. 10 Westbrook in a Class A South preliminary round contest and the Bulldogs found their scoring touch midway through the first half and roared to victory.
A goal from sophomore Francisco Samuel in the 18th minute got things started.
Senior Ollie Hettenbach then scored consecutive goals before junior Max Kierstead finished late in the first half to produce a 4-0 lead.
Portland didn’t let up in the second half either, as first senior Brady Toher tickled the twine, then Hettenbach completed his hat trick and the Bulldogs went on to a 6-0 victory.
Portland improved to 10-5, ended Westbrook’s season at 5-7-3 and in the process, advanced to set up a delicious quarterfinal round showdown at No. 2 Deering (10-2-2) Wednesday at 5 p.m.
“We knew for a lot of us, this could have been our last-ever game at Fitzy, so it meant a lot to us to go out there and have a good performance,” Hettenbach said.
Winning time
Portland didn’t enjoy as much success as it expected to have during a 9-5 regular season (see sidebar for links to previous stories), but the Bulldogs were still primed for greatness entering the playoffs.
Westbrook started 0-3 and didn’t win consecutive games until the last two contests of the regular season, but the Blue Blazes still managed to wind up 10th in the region.
In the teams’ regular season meeting Sept. 21, Hettenbach and senior Kosta Nedeljkovic eachh scored twice for the victorious Bulldogs. The Blue Blazes got a penalty kick goal from senior Jason Shackley.
Westbrook had won two of three prior playoff meetings, with a 1-0 victory in the 2008 quarterfinal the most recent (see sidebar).
Saturday, on a comfortable late-October day (the temperature was 50 degrees and climbing at kickoff), Portland controlled play most of the way and capitalized several times on good chances.
Portland senior Ollie Hettenbach takes a free kick early in the Bulldogs’ 6-0 win over Westbrook in Saturday’s Class A South preliminary round. Hoffer photos.
In the early going, the Bulldogs were flustered, as Hettenbach twice had shots saved by Blue Blazes’ sophomore goalkeeper Jason McCarthy.
Senior Nick Paterniti then missed wide, but with 22:47 to go in the first half, after Hettenbach crossed the ball into the box but it wasn’t cleared, Samuel won possession, turned and shot and produced a 1-0 lead.
Westbrook had a chance to answer, but Portland senior keeper Ben Littell made a sprawling save to deny junior Rodolphe Matonga.
With 19:43 remaining before halftime, Hettenbach scored for the first time, as after Paterniti made a nice run, but lost possession, the ball came to Hettenbach, who ripped a 25-yard blast past a diving McCarthy, just inside the far post for a 2-0 advantage.
“(Westbrook’s) a good team, but we did a good job winning the ball in the midfield and playing it wide and if we get the ball out wide, we can get the ball into dangerous areas,” said Hettenbach. “Nicky won the ball and created space. He had a shot deflected and it came out to me and I saw a corner and buried it.”
Hettenbach then struck again with 11:44 on the clock, as he found himself wide open in front and only had to tap home a cross from senior Exauce Lenge to make it 3-0.
“That was all Exauce and I was just in the right place at the right time,” Hettenbach said.
The Bulldogs weren’t finished and with 3:51 left in the half, Paterniti took a free kick from 40 yards out and it found the head of Kierstead, who ran on to the ball to send it in for a commanding 4-0 advantage at the break.
“We heard about (Westbrook’s) long throws and we wanted to make sure we avoided falling behind early and letting them build momentum,” said longtime Portland coach Rocco Frenzilli. “We were fortunate to knock a few in and the rest took care of itself.”
Portland junior Martin Kalala and Westbrook junior Rodolphe Matonga fight for possession.
The Bulldogs weren’t content to sit on their lead and were rewarded with 32:30 to play, as after McCarthy dove to rob Paterniti, Nedeljkovic set up Toher for a 5-0 advantage.
Hettenbach then completed his hat trick with 17:10 remaining, somehow converting a shot from the left side through traffic and getting the ball to bounce off the far post and in.
“It’s really about getting the win, but a hat trick is nice,” said Hettenbach. “I saw the goalie come out and I knew the net was empty, so I thought if I could get the ball on target it would go in.”
“There was no angle on that shot,” said Frenzilli. “It had to have rolled right across the line. (Ollie’s) been steady for us all year. We started him in the back and we had to find some offense, so we put him up top and we found our offense.”
Late in regulation, Westbrook appeared poised to get on the board after Littel broke up a play, but the rebound sat free and the ensuing shot appeared goal-bound, but out of nowhere, senior back Tyler Bryant swept the ball off the line.
“Tyler’s a kid who gets little playing time, then he takes one off the line and saves the shutout for Ben,” Frenzilli said. “You love to see those kids get rewarded.”
Portland slammed the door from there and was able to celebrate its 6-0 victory.
Portland senior goalkeeper Ben Littell is congratulated at the conclusion of the Bulldogs’ victory.
“It was a really, really good team effort today,” Frenzilli said. “I’m so pleased for the players and their hard work. The postseason is fun. Obviously, you want to come out on the right end of it, but all the teams earned being here. Westbrook deserves kudos for making it and the ball just rolled right for us today. It was great to have a chance for all the players to play and enjoy the atmosphere.
“Before the game, I went into the locker room and they had some grandfather-type music on, not their usual loud stuff, and they said, ‘That’s for you, Coach.’ I got a little tear in my eye.”
The Bulldogs finished with a 17-5 advantage in shots on frame, got five saves from Littell and took nine corner kicks to the Blue Blazes’ three.
Westbrook got 11 saves from McCarthy as its season came to a close.
Stevens Avenue-bound
Portland and Deering did not meet this season.
The rivals have squared off twice before in the postseason, with the Rams prevailing, 1-0, in the 1981 Western A preliminary round and the Bulldogs springing a 1-0 upset in the 2016 Class A South quarterfinals.
This one promises to be memorable.
“We’ve definitely gotten much better as the season’s gone on and right now, we’re playing well,” said Hettenbach. “Deering’s a great team. We just need to focus on ourselves and play how we can play and play for each other. Anyone can beat anyone. I’m excited for it.”
“We’re happy where we are and now we get a chance to go across town,” Frenzilli said. “We’re looking forward to it. We’re playing with house money. We’ll go over there and give them what we’ve got. They have some great players, but you know what? So do we. We’ll respect them and play our game and we’ll have some postseason fun.”
Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @foresports.
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