He picked the perfect time to score his first.

Riedesel scored in the 70th minute Thursday evening to send the fourth-seeded Thunderbirds to a 1-0 victory over No. 1 Portville in a Section VI Class C semifinal.

“I had these guys in modified for a couple of years and these guys work hard,” Chautauqua Lake coach Mike Putney said. ” … When you can get a group of guys who work hard and listen, great things are going to happen.”

Next up for Chautauqua Lake is a meeting on Dutch Hollow Road with No. 2 Maple Grove on Saturday afternoon at 1:30. The Thunderbirds, who will be seeking their first sectional crown since winning back-to-back titles in 1998 and 1999, handed the Red Dragons their lone loss of the season, 3-2, last Friday.

Photo by Derek Gumtow Chautauqua Lake’s Ian Riedesel (25) celebrates after scoring late in the second half of Thursday’s Section VI Class C semifinal soccer game.

“We’re playing well. They play with passion and they meet the challenge,” Putney said. ” … Maple Grove is a phenomenal team. … They are the benchmark for everybody. You go out there and you just try your best.”

Chautauqua Lake’s spot in the championship game hung in the balance for most of the game Thursday until the Thunderbirds took advantage of a throw-in deep in Portville territory.

Senior Hunter Harris quickly picked up the ball on the sideline and threw it in Riedesel’s direction toward the outside of the 18-yard box.

See T’BIRDS, Page B3

Several Panthers defenders seemed to part like the Red Sea giving Riedesel a clear look at the goal.

“Hunter delivered a beautiful pass out there,” Putney said.

Off a bounce, Riedesel struck a perfect shot just inside the goalpost to the short side of the net where Portville keeper Alex Wenke was unable to reach it giving Chautauqua Lake a 1-0 lead.

“We were just standing there and I decided to make a run,” Riedesel said. “Hunter Harris had a beautiful throw-in. I just shot it and it went in.”

“Ian was on the sideline. … I looked at Ian and I said ‘Go score a goal,'” Putney added. “I knew he was due. I have faith in these guys and they deliver for you. Ian is a great kid and he works his butt off. What a time to get your first goal.”

“It seemed like indecision on whose throw it was or whether it was a foul,” Portville coach J.J. McIntosh said. ” … He picked it up and threw it in … I don’t know how he got it in at that angle. He made a nice move, cut in goal side and knocked it home.”

The goal seemed to energize the Thunderbirds, who actually possessed the ball for much of the remainder of the game as the Panthers desperately looked for the equalizer.

Both teams had their fair share of possession in the first half, which was marked early by an injury to Wenke, who collided with a Chautauqua Lake player in the sixth minute and was forced to leave the game for nearly 10 minutes.

The Thunderbirds’ Devin Putney had one of the best chances of the opening 40 minutes when he received a pass down the right side of the field and struck a shot that looked to be heading into the top corner of the goal before it was tipped over and out of play by Wenke — one of his five saves — in the 24th minute.

In the 28th minute, the Panthers were awarded a free kick just outside the top of the 18-yard box, but the shot was driven into a Chautauqua Lake wall of defenders.

“We connected to feet and were possessing in the attacking half, but we just couldn’t find that one finishing touch,” McIntosh said. “We couldn’t find that one pass to make it a really solid opportunity. That goes to their pressure and tenacity.”

Thunderbirds junior keeper Tate Olson was called upon to make the best of his 10 saves midway through the second half, when he deflected a Portville shot over the goal and out of play.

“Tate Olson is a true warrior. I just love him back there,” Putney said. “There have been countless times this year that I thought the ball was going in the net and out of the blue he just appears.”

Chautauqua Lake was up to the task of defending the speed of Michael Cole, the Panthers’ leading scorer with nine goals on the season. The sophomore was able to find a couple of shots on net, but they were all from the perimeter of the Thunderbirds defense.

“Mikey Cole was struggling to find space behind the defense,” McIntosh said. “We were getting wide, but we just weren’t getting up fast enough to put pressure and numbers inside the box.”

“I just love our defense. These guys work tirelessly at it,” Putney said. ” … They just bring it. They thrive on those challenges. We do one-on-one drills in practice and they take it to heart.”

Putney’s team will likely need an equally impressive performance Saturday when they take on the Red Dragons, who have outscored opponents 50-17 this fall.

“It’s been a really great experience,” Riedesel said. “I couldn’t ask to do it with anybody else other than these guys.”

NOTES: Chautauqua Lake’s girls team — the No. 5 seed — will also play in a sectional final Saturday at 11 a.m. in Frewsburg against the second-seeded Bears. … Mark Carls, the father of Portville junior Thomas Carls, coached Chautauqua Lake to its back-to-back sectional titles in 1998 and 1999. … Riedesel became just the fourth Chautauqua Lake player to score this season. Carson D’Anthony has 12 goals, Harris had three and Elias Quintero has three.