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NTL GIRLS SOCCER: DEFENDING DISTRICT CHAMPS RETURN TO FIELD IN PREPARATION FOR 2019 (16 PHOTOS) (2019-08-13)

By TIM BIRNEY
Valley Sports Report
ATHENS "” The defending District 4, Class AAA champion Athens Lady Wildcats hit the practice field for the first time Monday, and it felt like a holiday for coach Rich Pitts.

"I love it. It was like Christmas Eve last night. I don't think the girls think that way, but I do.

"We set the bar high last year," said Pitts. "We're a totally different team without those four seniors, but we're excited about what we have this season.

"We have 28 girls," noted Pitts.  "We have eight seniors, three juniors, and the rest are sophomores and freshmen. We have a huge sophomore class - 11 or 12 girls."

With a big senior class, and a large number of younger under classmen, Pitts is making an effort to schedule more JV games this season.

"We have a pretty solid JV team. I practiced with them early this morning, and they are a good group of girls," he said. "They play hard, and that's always a plus.

"With a new athletic director, I really pushed him to get us JV games," said Pitts. "We're going to be playing Vestal and a lot of teams in New York. We'll be sending them off, or getting JV games here because those kids need to play this year because we'll need them next year."

Pitts has also maintained a difficult non-league schedule.

"We get tested right out of the box at the Montoursville Tournament," he said. "I want to see what we have, and I want to tinker a bit with our line-up.

"We only have five home games ... we're going to be "˜Road Warriors,'" need Pitts. "It worked for us last year.

"I like us on the bus. I think it battle-tests you, and that's what you need when you're trying to create that (championship) atmosphere," added Pitts.

Athens opens its season Aug. 31 against South Williamsport at the Montoursville Tournament.

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PHOTOS BY TIM BIRNEY.

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