DISTRICT 4 BOYS SOCCER: ATHENS TOPS SHIKELLAMY ON PEANTLY KICKS; ADVANCES TO CLASS 3A FINALS (24 PHOTOS) (2025-10-25)

Valley Sports Report
HEPBURNVILLE, Pa. — After battling to a 1-1 tie through double overtime, Athens topped Shikellamy in penalty kicks, 4-2, in the semifinals of the District 4, Class 3A boys soccer playoffs here Saturday at the Balls Mills Soccer Complex.

"I am beyond proud of the boys," said first-year Athens coach Travis Reynard. "They went down 1-0 late in the game and knew they needed to work hard to get an equalizer and that’s exactly what they did. 

"They fought all the way to the end and came out successful in penalty kicks, which is something we have been practicing all week leading up to the match," noted Reynard.

After two scoreless overtime periods, freshman Chase Gombocz converted his PK in the first round, and the Wildcats' junior keeper came up with a save on Shik's first attempts.

Juniors Brycen Wood and Kamdyn Wheeler were both successful on their PKs in rounds two and three, but their Braves' counterparts also made good on their attempts, and Athens led 3-2 heading into round four.

In the fourth round, junior Alex Arcesi found the back of the next to give the Wildcats a 4-2 advantage, then Fisher came up with his second stop in the PKs to send Athens into the Class 3A finals to take on Selinsgrove.

"A huge shoutout to our team, especially the PK takers for staying calm and focused on their job," said Reynard. "They all converted and did exactly what we asked of them in a very stressful situation. 

"In terms of defending the PKs, our keeper Zach Fisher came up big with two penalty kick saves that secured the win, so all credit to him as he adds another great performance to the monumental season he is having and he’s looking to continue this momentum into Wednesday," added Reynard.

The match was scoreless for more than 60 minutes until Shik's Jaden Garcia dribbled down the middle of the field into the box, and fired a shot into the net to make it 1-0.

With 5:43 remaining in regulation, Gombocz fired off a shot-on-goal, that sophomore Patrick Umber rebounded and tapped in past the keeper to tie the game at 1-1.

"Offensively, we had many chances, especially early on," said Reynard. "We had shots off the cross bar and off the posts.

"We finally connected in the channels and found opportunities late to score and put extra pressure on Shikellamy's back line. 

"It definitely wasn’t our strongest night defensively, especially early on," noted Reynard. "We were slow to apply pressure and force Shik to make mistakes. We allowed them to dribble through us, which led to their goal. 

"Once we found an equalizer, our defensive game switched entirely and we were physical and shut down numerous opportunities for them," added Reynard.

Athens had an 8-3 edge in shots-on-goal, and both teams had two corner kicks.

Fisher recorded two saves in goal during regulation and overtime, and two more during penalty kicks.

Athens, now 11-5-2, will now face second-seeded Selinsgrove (9-8-2), which beat Mifflinburg 1-0, on Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Danville High School.

"It’s yet another district final against Selinsgrove, a team I have been familiar with as a player, but never from a coaching standpoint," said Reynard. "We have to give it our all at practice this week and be ready to go Wednesday in what’s going to be a very physical and competitive matchup."

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IN PHOTO 1: Athens junior Kam Wheeler. IN TOP PHOTO: Athens junior keeper Zach Fisher. ... PHOTOS BY MATT PATTON.




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