Tucker McNamee fired off three early shots for the Titans to test first-time starting goalkeeper Steve Oleynek, who is just a sophomore. Ten minutes into the game, the Panthers moved their players back to their normal spots and that quickly resulted in the game’s first goal. Simon Day launched a ball up the left wing where Todd Van Alstyne sped up the line. A hesitation move past a defender left Van Alstyne one-on-one with Titans keeper Justin Taylor, and Van Alstyne calmly poked it past the charging keep in the 14th minute. Ten minutes later, Andrew Knight lofted a corner kick into the box which Joe Van Allen headed onto Tyler Mashaw, who put it away for a 2-0 lead. Then in the final minute of the first half, Mashaw found himself in space from deep and sent a high curving shot past Taylor to extend the lead.
The Panthers continued their offensive onslaught in the second half adding two more goals. In the 43rd minute, Andrew Knight chipped a ball into the box that looked destined for the hands of Taylor, but as the keeper made his move for the ball, Van Allen sprinted in and, throwing his body into the air and his head onto the ball, got past Taylor for a 4-0 lead. In the final ten minutes, Simon Day sprinted down the right wing with the ball, beating defenders before crossing the ball and finding the open Timm Novine alone in front of the net for the game’s last goal.
Despite the lack of goals, the Titans did have some standouts, including Taylor in goal who made seven saves. McNamee was an offensive force up front, while Dylan Ruffner was terrific in the midfield, both creating offense and defending.
For the Panthers, Oleynek made six stops in his varsity debut. The Panthers held a 16 to 9 shot advantage while both teams took three corners. The Panthers improve to 7-2 while the Titans drop to 0-7-1 in the league. Chatham continues their season with two league games next week: a Wednesday trip to Greenville followed by a Friday home match with Hudson. Earlier this season the Panthers topped the Spartans 5-2 and defeated the Bluehawks 6-1.
The Titans play three Patroon Conference games next week starting off with a Monday home match against Hudson, whom they lost to 3-0 earlier in the season. Wednesday the Titans travel to Catskill, whom they lost to 4-2, before closing out the week on Friday when they host ICC, who beat them 3-2 earlier this year.
