The Mustangs traveled back to East Kentwood High School to face the East Kentwood Falcons for the Regional Finals. It was a cool, crisp, evening, and a perfect night for soccer. Portage Central made it far in the state high school soccer tournament. We were one of eight teams left. The East Kentwood is the #3 ranked team, and the defending Division 1, State Soccer Champions. Central was well prepared and  faced a powerhouse opponent. The Falcons tried to attack continuously the entire first half. Our defensive efforts paid off and we went into the half with the score tied Portage Central 0, and East Kentwood 0. The second half was played with equal intensity and skill. Our Mustangs had several quality scoring opportunities but we would just miss the goal. Our defense, that includes Senior Taylor Kimbrel, Senior Nate Soper, Senior Torin Carpenter, Junior Michael Hull, and Sophomore Zach Alkhamis worked together and held the Falcon offense at bay. Our entire team played with heart and with a drive that made all of the Mustang’s parents and fans proud. Senior goalkeeper Tyler Champion made sixteen saves. Everyone played with extraordinary determination up until the last tick on the clock. We even put all eleven players in the box for a couple of last minute tries for a score. We would come close, but in the very end the Falcons would prevail. The final score was East Kentwood Falcons 1 and the Portage Central Mustangs 0. Congratulations to the Mustangs for an outstanding and successful soccer season!

Making the District finals was quite a thrill for the Mustangs. On this beautiful Saturday afternoon the Mustangs faced the Jackson Vikings for the District Title. Both teams battled and tried several attempts to score. It wasn’t until eighteen minutes left in the first half when Senior J.D. Meyers would take a nice cross in front of the goal from Senior Taylor Kimbrel. Meyers would punch hard and head the ball into the net. With fourteen minutes left in the period Junior Sean Magee would send a corner kick over to the goal and Junior Jared Penland with head the ball past the Viking goalkeeper. At the thirty minute mark, Senior Kevin Roose would deliver the ball up-field and Senior J.D. Meyers would roll and tap the ball into the net. The Score at the half was the Portage Central Mustangs 3 and the Jackson Vikings 0.
The second half was played even up, at the start. The scrappy Jackson squad would manage to put a goal in, eight minutes into the second half. The teams fought up and down the pitch. With fourteen minutes remaining on the clock Junior Patrick Drabik took at nice pass from  Magee and suddenly he added another goal. Both teams finished out the game strong.  The final score was the Portage Central Mustangs 4 and the Jackson Vikings 1. We are the District Champions! Next Tuesday evening we travel to East Kentwood and meet Grand Haven High School for the Regional Semi-final match.

The Mustangs traveled to Mattawan for a SMAC Tournament game. It was an interesting, aggressive first half. The Portage Central team controlled the ball and had many shots on goal. However, the score at the half remained the Mustangs 0 and Wildcats. O. The second half started and again the Portage Central Mustangs battled with  the scrappy Matawan team. At about fifteen minutes into the period, the Mustangs took charge. Junior Sean Mcgee took a pass from Senior Nam Le and beat the Wildcat

goalkeeper for score number one. Ten minutes later Junior Jared Penland broke free and beat the Mattawan goalkeeper for tally number two. We played hard the rest of the match and but there would be no more scoring. The match ended with the score Portage Central Mustangs 1 and the Mattawan Wildcats 0. Senior goalkeeper Tyler Champion and the hard working Mustang defense recorded a shutout.

The Mustangs took the lead early when a deft pass was sent from Senior Nam Le over to Senior J.D. Meyers. Meyers fielded the ball and then beat the Huskies goalkeeper at seven minutes into the match. The Mustang team held the 1-0 lead for the rest of the first half. The second period started, and at about two minutes in, the Huskies scored a goal. This tied the game. The soccer battle ensued for the rest of the regulation time. Regulation time ended with score tied 1 to 1. After a brief rest the teams took the field for a ten minute overtime period. Our Mustangs drove to the goal several times but did not come up with a score. Suddenly, with two minutes left in the overtime, a Portage Northern player broke free and scored. The final tally was the Portage Central Mustangs 1 and the Portage Northern Huskies 2.

On an overcast and rainy evening the Portage Central Mustangs hosted the Battle Creek Central Bear Cats. The Mustangs played a good game against the determined Bear Cats. The scoring went like this. Five minutes into the game Senior Rich Campbell passed the ball into the box where Junior Sean McGee headed the ball in for score number one. Ten minutes later McGee broke free and scored an unassisted goal. The third score happened at the twenty five minute mark.  Junior Patrick Drabik crossed a ball to Junior Jared Penland. Penland then finished the ball into the net. Score number four and five happened when Penland used his speed to beat the Battle Creek defenders twice with about thirteen minutes left. At the ten minute mark a rebounded ball was fielded by Junior Brad Elliston. Elliston dribbled the ball and drilled it in for score number six. With five minutes left in the game Senior J.D. Meyers score an unassisted goal. This was score number seven.  One more tally occurred when Senior Aron Duymovic found the ball and dribbled up field to beat the Bear Cat goalkeeper for score number eight. The game ended. The final score was the Portage Central Mustangs 8 and the Battle Creek Bear Cats 0. The Mustangs defense and senior goalkeeper Tyler Champion earned a shutout.

The Portage Central Mustangs hosted a home game Tuesday against the Mattawan Wildcats. The scrappy Wildcats put up a good fight. However things changed at about the twenty minute mark when Senior Nam Le took a good strike on the ball from an indirect kick. The ball deflected off the back of a Mattawan defender and Le scored goal number one for the Mustangs. Later with thirteen minutes left in the period, Senior Nam Lee again kicked the ball forward in the center towards the Wildcat goal. Speeding PC Senior Taylor Kimbrel took the pass and redirected the ball pass the Wildcat goalkeeper for Portage Central score number two. The Mustang team would add another goal to the tally at the seven minute mark. Senior Rich Campbell angled the ball down the right side of the pitch to the fast charging Senior Aron Duymovic. Duymovic ran full speed forward and blasted the ball into the net for Mustang score number three. Not to be denied, Mattawan made a score with three and one half minutes left in the first half. The score at halftime was Portage Central 3 and Mattawan 1.

In the second half the score remained the same for most of the period. At the thirty minute mark the Mustangs took charge. After putting together a series of fine passes up the field the ball found its way to Junior Jared Penland. Penland ran through the defense and crossed the ball to Junior Sean McGee. McGee took the ball and shot hard to the back of the net for Mustang score number four. Junior Jared Penland dribbled the ball up field with four minutes remaining in the game and beat the Wildcat goalkeeper for Portage Central score number five. Mattawan managed to sneak in one more goal. The final tally was Portage Central Mustangs 5 and the Mattawan Wildcats 2.

The Portage Central Mustangs men’s soccer team traveled northwest to play the Holland West Ottawa Panthers for the first game of the season. Soccer fans were treated to a hard-fought match. Both teams battled with intensity the entire time.  The game was tied 0 – 0 at half time. During the second half the Panthers came at the Mustangs with attack after attack. The resilient defense held strong and the offense countered many times. The game was a real nail biter for the fans. With three minutes left in the contest a crossing ball found its way to Senior Rich Campbell who redirected the ball towards the Panther goal. Senior Kevin Roose then charged forward to seal the deal and put the ball into the net. Senior goal keeper Tyler Champion had a shut out. The final score Portage Central Mustangs 1 and Holland West Ottawa Panthers 0.

Overall Record  1 - 0 - 0
SMAC Conference Record  0 - 0 - 0