NT GIRLS SOCCER: ATHENS BLANKS TROY, 2-0; CLOSING IN ON ANOTHER LEAGUE TITLE (24 PHOTOS) (2019-10-09)
BY TIM BIRNEYValley Sports ReportEAST TROY "” Athens took a huge step toward its eighth consecutive league title with a 2-0 win over Troy here Wednesday afternoon in NTL girls soccer action.
With the win, the Lady Wildcats improve to 12-1-2 overall, and 9-0-1 in league play. They lead Wellsboro (10-3-2 overall, 7-1-2 NTL) by 1 1/2 games with two league games remaining.
Although the majority of the first half was played in Athens' defense end, the Lady Wildcats struck for two goals - both by senior Abby Sindoni, and both assisted by junior Emma Roe.
Athens coach Rich Pitts said it was partially by design, playing on the smaller grass field at Troy.
"There were times when we possessed the ball, but we're not use to playing on a field like this - it's not how we train," said Pitts. "So, we adjusted our style, sat a little bit in our formation, and realized we could counter them over the top.
"When you have players like (Abby) Sindoni, (Emma) Roe, and (Hannah) Walker, it allows you to be a little more direct.
"Any time we come down here, we adapt to that style," he noted. "We know we're not going to put it on the floor here and move the ball, so we have to adjust.
"I thought the girls did a good job of seeing it tactically, and then being able to play some balls over the top, testing their back line, and getting a couple of goals," Pitts added.
With 14:25 minutes remaining in the first half, Roe chipped a ball over the Troy defense to put Sindoni in a 1-on-1 with the Troy keeper. She touched the ball left to avoid the hard-charging keeper, then punched a shot from close range into the open net to make it 1-0.
"Emma Roe sees the field pretty well," said Pitts. "She saw (Troy) was playing pretty flat, and (Abby) Sindoni was in their backline and they weren't dropping, so she just chipped it over.
"If you find Sindoni like that, she's going to finish it most of the time," he added.
About four minutes later, Sindoni knocked down a short punt from the keeper, and took off toward the Troy net. The ball was poked away from her, but Roe collected the loose ball, and fed it back to Sindoni, who ripped a shot just under the cross bar from about 20 yards out to make it 2-0.
"We talked early in the year about testing keepers with a higher ball, and taking some shots from the outside," said Pitts. "At times, we just like to dribble into the box and try to get fancy-dancy goals, instead of pulling the trigger.
"We've been doing more of it lately," he noted. "Walker hit one from about 25 yards out for our only goal against Vestal. We've started to get some goals where we're testing the keepers.
"I think (the keeper) may have had the sun in her eyes, too," added Pitts.
The Wildcats played the second half without Roe, which contributed to even more time of possession for the Lady Trojans in the second half.
"(Emma) took a little bit of a knock (in the first half)," said Pitts. "Her health at the end of the season is more important, and our district run is way more important.
"We were up 2-0 , and I didn't need to push it with her," he added. "She's fine, but I wasn't going to take any chances."
Pitts said his defense rose to the challenge, especially in the second half.
"We talked (at half) about managing the game a little bit - being up 2-0," said Pitts. "I thought our backs played well today.
"We're hitting our strides with our four backs ... we kind of popped into a 4-5-1, which is much more defensive.
"Obviously, we pinned Sam down, and tried to double-up (Nicole) McClelland because she's a huge threat, and I thought we did a good job," added Pitts. "(Troy) was in our end, but I don't think they had many dangerous chances"
Athens had a 6-3 advantage in shots-on-goal, and a 3-0 edge in corner kicks.
Senior Madisyn Joslyn recorded three saves in net for the Lady Wildcats.
Athens returns to action Saturday at Hershey in a non-league tilt, then returns home Monday to host Wellsboro with a chance to clinch another league title.
"We get Wellsboro at home Monday," said Pitts. :The seniors are sad to play their last home game, but happy they could lock up the division at home."
"”"”"”"”"”"”
IN PHOTO 1: Athens senior Abby Sindoni. ... PHOTOS BY TIM BIRNEY.
