Mattawan became the first soccer squad in 2018 to defeat Portage Northern, winning 2-0 at home Saturday evening for their first win against the Huskies since 2015. The Wildcats saw a stellar performance by sophomore goalkeeper Carson Foor, unofficially making 11 saves, including one on a penalty kick.
Both Mattawan goals came in the first half. In the 22nd minute, Josh Filiputti put the Wildcats up. Soon after in the 25th minute, Connor Burkett scored with an assist from James Sobol.
The Wildcats had a chance to potentially ice the game with a penalty kick of their own in the 49th minute, but a beautiful diving save by Portage Northern’s Ryan Ingersoll kept the score at 2-0. The Huskies best chance to score on their penalty kick try in the 68th minute, but Foor remained a brick wall and completed a well-earned clean sheet.
Mattawan improves to 9-2 overall with the victory and 3-2 within SMAC play. They return to action at home Wednesday against Kalamazoo Central.
Portage Northern falls to 5-1-1 and 3-1 in the SMAC. Next for them is a home match Tuesday with Lakeshore.
Listen back to Saturday’s match here.
