To win a soccer championship, a reliable goaltender is a must, and Palos Verdes has one of the Southland’s best in Greyson Porth.
The 6-foot-1 junior is one of the many reasons the Sea Kings were ranked No. 1 in California and No. 14 in the nation earlier in the week, and his skills were on display Tuesday night in the Sea Kings’ thrilling Bay League opener at Mira Costa — a game that featured Tucker Malinofsky’s stoppage-time equalizer before fellow co-captain LT Armijo netted a double.
“He’s very strong and when the ball is in the air he calls for it and gets there first,” Armijo said of Porth. “We trust him.
Porth has nine shutouts with 73 saves in 15 starts this winter and had not conceded a goal in 340 minutes of action – a four-and-a-half-game scoreless streak – before Noah Szeder pounced on a corner kick in the 70th minute to give Mira Costa a short-lived 1-0 lead on Tuesday. It was only the seventh shot scored for Porth all season.
“It’s a great feeling because they’re our opponents and I haven’t beaten them before – none of us have,” Porth said as he savored the Sea Kings’ first win at Mira Costa since 2017. “The shutouts are there, but as long as we’re winning, I’m happy. Our defense is amazing – LT, Nathan Dorfman, Aiden Cruz and our whole back line Dayton Cho.”
Porth went nearly five full games without scoring during the South Tournament, finally scoring in the second half of the championship game against fellow league rival Redondo Union. Palos Verdes prevailed 2-1 in overtime.
One save that head coach Derek Larkins will remember was on a penalty kick with 15 minutes remaining in a non-league contest on Dec. 30 at Sultana that kept the score scoreless. The Sea Kings scored shortly after to avenge last year’s 3-0 loss in the Southern Section Division 1 quarterfinals.
“It’s one of the toughest places for a visiting team to win, but Greyson came up big that day,” said Larkins, who is trying to lead PV to its first CIF title since back-to-back crowns in 2006 (Division 4) and 2007 (Division 2). “We haven’t forgotten that loss because it ended our season and he helped us exorcise that demon.
Porth was a back-up to then-senior Ben Forte last season, whom he called “a good mentor”.
“I didn’t play much last year, maybe five or six games, but I learned a lot from Ben,” said Porth, who started his soccer career in the fourth grade as a midfielder but switched to goalie at age 11. “I was kind of forced into that position because I was the tallest player on my AYSO Extra team, so they needed me there. Sometimes it can be a nerve-wracking defense, but I know it can be the last nerve-wracking one.” or interrupt the game.”
Larkins attributes the 17-year-old’s growth to hard work in the offseason and credits goalkeeping coach Matthew McNab with helping Porth reach his potential.
“He’s receptive to learning and has taken ownership of his game and the way he coaches,” said McNab, a 2009 PV football graduate who went on to play at Westmont College. “He took on a leadership role. Being a goalkeeper requires a lot of mental toughness, but he did it too.”
The two formed a close bond.
“Matt listens to me,” said Porth, who even dropped from midfield to thwart a potential breakout earlier this season. “I tell him what I need to work on and he drills me. I’ve improved everything since last year … angles, positioning, shot blocking and kicking. I can be aggressive or rely on my reflexes. I use instincts to know what to do in certain situations.”
Mira Costa has won five consecutive league championships and is looking to match PV’s streak of six straight from 2011-16. The teams will meet again on January 23.
“We kind of emphasized before the season how we were going to defend the box and the rebounds,” Larkins said. “We gave up five goals from throw-ins and two from free kicks in our three losses to them last year. We emphasized the importance of that.”
Larkins, who is also an English teacher, believes that sports are a metaphor for life and likes to quote athletes, philosophers and musicians to motivate his players. This season’s mantra is “be yourself, be legendary” — a lyric from hip-hop group Coast Contra’s “Breathe and Stop Freestyle.”
“This is the best team we’ve had since 2014,” said Larkins, who is in his 15th season. “We have seven guys who are three-year varsity players. A lot of them went to high school together, so it’s an older, more experienced team. We have a lot of grit, we can play different styles depending on the opponent and we have talent.”
Palos Verdes (14-2) has won 10 straight since back-to-back losses to Santa Monica and Servite. Senior co-captain Willie Knotek has a team-best eight goals, forward Ian Alonzo has a team-high 20 points (six goals, eight assists and Malinofsky has six goals and five assists).
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