NTL BOYS SOCCER: ATHENS BLANKS WELLSBORO, 2-0; IMPROVES TO 3-0 (24 PHOTOS) (2025-09-02)

Valley Sports Report
WELLSBORO — Athens scored a pair of second-half goals, sandwiched around junior Zach Fisher stop of a Wellsboro penalty kick, in the Wildcats' 2-0 win here Tuesday afternoon in NTL Large School Division boys soccer action.

The win snaps a six-game losing streak against the Hornets, who had won 9 of the last 10 games against the Wildcats.

"It's a very big win today for the boys and the program as a whole," said first-year Athens coach Travis Reynard. "I am beyond proud of each and every one of them for fighting an entire 80 minutes. 

"We knew coming in that it would be a tough battle against a well-coached side, but the boys never quit and stuck to the game plan we had in place," added Reynard.

Athens had an 8-4 advantage in shots-on-goal, while Wellsboro had a 3-1 edge in corner kicks.

"Offensively, we dominated possession and kept the ball in our attacking half for a large majority of the match," said Reynard.

"We played with pace and created chances and finally executed on nice combination play with the ball from Umber to Wheeler to get us on the board," he noted.

"Defensively, we were strong and handled the pressure well. 

"We were quick to shut down many shooting opportunities for Wellsboro and closed in quick on their attackers and back line to force turnovers," said Reynard.

"A huge shout-out to Zach Fisher for leading the defensive charge in goal and keeping the shut out and saving the penalty kicj and the rebound shot that could have put the Hornets back in it late in the game," added Reynard.

After a scoreless first half, junior Kam Wheeler took a cross from sophomore Patrick Umber and deposited it in the back of the net to give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead.

With 10 minutes remaining, Fisher came up with a big stop off a Hornet penalty kick to preserve the 1-0 lead.

With 1:30 left in the contest, freshman Chase Gombocz converted a penalty kick to provide the final margin.

Athens, now 3-0, returns to action Thursday at Williamson.

"We have to keep the momentum and style-of-play in tact and keep working hard every day to better ourselves as there are always areas of improvement," said Reynard. 

"We continue the hard week on the road against a well-coached Williamson team that always looks to keep it close and give us a challenge," he added.

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IN PHOTO 1: Athens junior Kam Wheeler. IN TOP PHOTO: Athens junior Brycen Wood. ... PHOTOS BY LANCE LARCOM.

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