NTL BOYS SOCCER: ATHENS BLANKS NEB, 1-0, IN SEASON-OPENER; REYNARD NOTCHES FIRST CAREER COACHING WIN (16 PHOTOS) (2025-08-27)

Valley Sports Report
ROME — Senior Chase Ingram broke a scoreless tie early in the second half, and the Athens defense made it stand in a 1-0 season-opening win over Northeast Bradford here Wednesday afternoon in NTL boys soccer action.

The win was obviously the first of the season for the Wildcats, but also the first career victory for rookie coach Travis Reynard.

"It definitely feels to get the first win, but we had to fight hard to get it.

"Northeast came out strong, and we came out sluggish and slow, which is not what we want to do," said Reynard.

"The halftime talk kind of really got them going," he noted. "We came out strong in the second half, and did what we were looking to do — move the ball on the ground and play it quick, which is what we weren't doing early on.

"It feels good to get out of here with a 1-0 win, but there's definitely a lot of work to do as the season goes on," added Reynard.

NEB had the advantage in the first have with three good scoring opportunities, but Athens' junior keeper Zach Fisher and the Wildcat defense were up to the challenge.

Athens, on the other hand, had a shot by Eli Vogell sail with 9 1/2 remaining in the first half.

About 3 1/2 minutes into the second half, Ingram launched a shot from 22 yards out into the far corner to give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead.

"The energy definitely changed on Chase's goal; that was a great shot," said Reynard. 

"We're trying to get them to shoot from all over," he noted. "We're trying to find the perfect opportunity in the box, but that's not what we're wanting to do.

"If we're able to get a shot off, we're going to take it," added Reynard. "Chase's shot just happened to get over the keeper's hands, and definitely helped our momentum."

The Panthers had several good opportunities to score the equalizer, but Fisher made four nice saves, including a 1-v-1 stop in the box.

NEB had an 8-5 edge in shots-on-goal, and a 10-7 advantage in corner kicks.

Fisher had eight saves to get the clean sheet for the Wildcats.

Reynard is ready to get back to work.

"We're going to be focusing on some combination play up top," he said. "We're looking to be more complete up top, move the ball better, and make better runs.

"We also need to work on playing the ball out of the air," he noted. "Northeast Bradford dominated us out of the air today — they won about 75 percent of the 50-50 balls. 

"We need to be better at winning the ball out of the air, getting the ball first, and keeping it at our feet," added Reynard.

Athens returns to action Saturday when it hosts Elk Lake.

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