GRAHAMSVILLE –– Last Thursday’s season opener for the Tri-Valley Bears boys soccer team against the Port Jervis/Eldred team took place at the Grahamsville campus.  A small but enthusiastic crowd showed up in the light rain hoping for a win to start the season. Unfortunately for the home team, the win went to the visiting Port Jervis/Eldred squad who utilized their superior size and speed to handily overcome the Bears by a score of 9 to 4. 

 Port Jervis plays an older more experienced team with a roster of 19 juniors and seniors, to Tri-Valley’s 9 junior and senior players. The visiting team imposed their will right from the start, using their speed to get past the out of position backers of the Bears, scoring on multiple breakaways in the first half. The shot totals at the end of the half were 18 for Port Jervis to 7 for Tri-Valley. The Bears were down 7 to 2 at the break.

The second half was more of the same in terms of the ball control and possession time for Port Jervis. The difference in this half was their struggle to put their shots into net. 

When they did put shots on net, they were lacking pace but were controlled by Tri-Valley’s goalkeeper, Shayden LaForge. Tri-Valley did show improvement as the game went on, tightening their defense, especially in the midfield.

Stand out players for each team were # 20 Brandyn Prespare for Port Jervis/Eldred, and Logan Weyant for Tri-Valley. Each of them scored hattricks for their respective teams.