Jim Walker

jim.walker@irontontribune.com

 

PORTSMOUTH — Talk about stacking the deck.

Once St. Joseph fell behind, Portsmouth Clay used an overload of defensive players to shut down the Flyers’ offense in the second half as the Panthers posted a 5-3 win on Monday in the Division III sectional soccer tournament.

“It was a hard-played game. Both teams played well,” said Flyers’ coach Mike Balestra.

“We had our opportunities but didn’t finish them. Once we gave up the lead, Clay stacked all their players but two on the defensive end and it was difficult for us to get any shots.”

St. Joseph took a 1-0 lead on a goal by Peyton Adkins with an assist by Dylan Arrington just three minutes into the game.

But Clay scored three straight goals — two by Tyler Knittle and one by Aaron Keyser — as they took the lead at the 19-minute mark.

The Flyers battled back and scored seven minutes later on a goal by Tre Neal with an assist from Adkins.

Adkins and Neal reversed their roles six minutes later to score the tying goal.

In the second half, Jordan Collier had an unassisted goal with 53:00 on the clock and Keyser’s unassisted goal at the 65:00 mark made it 5-3 and then the Panthers turned to their defensive ploy.

The Flyers’ goalkeeper Joey Bush had 12 saves.

St. Joseph 3 0 = 3

Ports. Clay 3 2 = 5

First Half

SJ — Peyton Adkins (assist by Dylan Arrington) 3:00

PC — Tyler Knittle (unassisted) 7:00

PC — Tyler Knittle (assist by Ethan Newton) 17:00

PC — Aaron Keyser (assist by Jordan Collier) 19:00

SJ — Tre Neal (assist Peyton Adkins) 26:00

SJ — Peyton Adkins (assist Tre Neal) 32:00

Second Half

PC — Jordan Collier (unassisted) 53:00

PC — Aaron Keyser (unassisted) 65:00

Saves — St. Joseph 12 (Joey Bush); Clay NA.

Shots on Goal — St. Joseph 18, Clay 23

Corner Kicks — St. Joseph 6, Clay 3

Fouls — St. Joseph 10, Clay 6

Offside Penalties — St. Joseph 6, Clay 0