Redwood Boys Varsity Soccer Hand Porterville First Loss in 2-1 Thriller

Redwood Boys Varsity soccer earned their first win of the EYL season, beating previously undefeated Porterville in the process.

By: Lucas de Lima

VISALIA – After a tough start to the EYL (East Yosemite League) season with a 3-0 loss at El Diamante on Tuesday, January 9th, the Rangers came roaring back with a thrilling 2-1 victory over the previously undefeated Porterville Panthers on Thursday, January 11th.

The match started out slowly, with both teams dog-fighting for lengthy possessions for the first 15 minutes. Then, after some chaos in Redwoods penalty area, #22 Andres Gutierrez, ’24, went down with an apparent injury. Gutierrez would be subbed out for #6 Nicolas Alcantara, ’24, a minute after his injury. Afterwards, the Rangers attempted to strike on the counter attack following a Panthers corner kick, but came up short with two unfortunate passes in the final third.

Gutierrez would come back in the match with 16 minutes to go in the first half, replacing Alcantara. Alcantara would come back in for #19 Ulysses Garcia, ’25, five minutes later.

Porterville had a dangerous chance from a corner with less than 10 minutes to go in the first half, but after a clean pass into the penalty area the Panthers skied their best opportunity so far, through the field goal posts still standing from football season.

#8 Andrew Garcia, ’25, would be the last substitution for the Rangers in the first half, with #16 Jesus Valencia, ’26, taking his place. Two minutes later, #11 Dallas Harris, ’24, was given a great opportunity to score after a stellar pass from Alcantara, but the ball couldn’t find the back of the net. Two minutes after that chance, another one came along after a cross from the right side zipped past the face of the Panthers goal, but no Rangers could reach it in time before the ball was out of play. After a Redwood offsides and a quick chance for Porterville on the other end, the first half came to an end with the score 0-0.

Goalkeeper #32 Cutler Griswold, ’26, earned 4 saves in the first half, and the Panthers had 4 corner kicks to the Rangers 0 after the first 40 minutes of play.

The second half got off to a fast start, with both teams gunning to break the deadlock. The Panthers had the first shot of the second half, but booted it several feet above the goal. One minute later, the Rangers earned their first corner of the game, but came up short of getting a clear prospect of the goal.

Then with 35 minutes remaining in the second half, an airborne Harris collided with the Panthers goalkeeper after attempting to head the ball near the top of the penalty area. The Rangers were awarded a penalty, with #24 Ethan Bither, ’24, stepping up to take it. Bither would fire the ball past the Porterville goalkeeper in the top right corner, giving Redwood a 1-0 lead after over 45 minutes of gameplay.

The pace of the match changed dramatically following the goal, with both teams elevating their pressing game to an intense level. This quickly turned into a corner for the Panthers, which resulted in the equalizing goal; a header by #4 in the middle of the goal area to the middle of the goal. The score was now 1-1 apiece with about 32 minutes left to play.

Substitutions came soon afterward, with Ulysses Garcia replacing Alcantara and Valencia replacing Andrew Garcia, but the pace would not slow down. The Rangers would get caught offsides, and shortly afterwards were forced to defend a Porterville chance themselves, with Gutierrez coming up with a huge block.

The Rangers would come closer to getting back the lead, with two shots getting denied in quick succession in the Panthers penalty area with 18 minutes left to play. Tensions rose after #5 for Porterville was awarded the first yellow card of the match with 16 minutes remaining, and he would get subbed out immediately by the Panthers head coach.

Redwood’s lone goalscorer so far, Bither, would go down in the backfield with an apparent injury with 14 minutes left to play. Alcantara would take Bither’s spot while Bither quickly recovered, returning to the game with 11 minutes remaining.

The final 10 minutes were the most exciting part of the match. Porterville had multiple great opportunities to steal the win, with a misfired shot barely passing left of the goal, and getting blocked twice after a corner.

Redwood had a chance of their own with 7 minutes left, a free kick from the right side that landed in the hands of the Porterville goalkeeper. After a few more subs for the Rangers, the moment of the match arrived.

Valencia ran down Porterville’s half, fighting off Panthers defenders in the process. Valencia arrived in the penalty area, avoided a Panthers attempt to thwart his shot, and slotted the ball past the goalkeeper to the back of the net.

The loyal Ranger fans that fought through the cold went into pandemonium, myself included. The match concluded soon after, with a final score of 2-1 in favor of the Rangers.

The Panthers now boast a record of 16-1-2, and the Rangers a record of 5-9-2.

In preparation for the match, #5 Matthew Garcia, ’25, says, “We watched a lot of film. We went in [during] lunch and watched film together, and we worked on tactics during practice.”

Gutierrez says, “We didn’t keep our heads down, all practice yesterday. Leave the game in the past and we move on. Keep our heads up.”

Garcia also says, “We brought out a lot of intensity, and we flipped the switch from El D. We played with a lot of passion and heart.”

“We did really good, we had a lot of pressure on the ball. [We] played with heart. We wanted this,” says Valencia, the game-winning goalscorer.

When speaking about his goal, Valencia says, “Felt unreal. Game-winning goal, [in the] last two minutes of the game, [it] felt good.”

Gutierrez also says, “It feels good, It feels better because we were the underdogs. Everyone thought they were going to sh*t on us. We didn’t let that get to us, we just played us. We played with heart, and that’s what got us the win.”

Take a look at some highlights from the JV and Varsity RHS-Porterville Soccer games

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