Valley Sports ReportDANVILLE — After more than 55 minutes of scoreless soccer, Selinsgrove broke the ice and made it stand in a 1-0 win over Athens here Wednesday night in the championship game of the District 4, Class AAA boys soccer playoffs here at Danville High School.
The Wildcats, who bussed 84.2 miles to the game compared to just 18.8 for the second-seeded Seals, were denied their first District 4 title since 2018. It's the third time (also 2019 and '24) they've lost to Selinsgrove in the Class 3A title game since 2018.
"It's not the result we were hoping for tonight against a strong Selinsgrove side that often controlled the midfield against us," said Athens first-year coach Travis Reynard.
"The biggest thing is that I’m proud of the boys for fighting 'til the end, especially this special senior group that left it all on the field.
"It’s not how they wanted their last season to end, but they all should be proud of the accomplishments they made this season starting with the NTL title and making a district final," added Reynard.
Selinsgrove had a 3-1 edge in shots-on-goal, and a 4-1 advantage in corner kicks.
"We had some chances and opportunities to connect in the final third, but were shut down by a strong Selinsgrove defense," said Reynard "We were forcing things and didn’t have the offensive presence we were hoping for tonight.
"Offensive attack is definitely something that will be our focus going into next season," added Reynard.
With 24 minutes remaining in the contest, Selinsgrove senior Nick Bisacia collected a rebound off a corner kick and found the back of the net to give the Seals all the offense it would need.
"Defensively, we were very strong once again," said Reynard. "Zach Fisher made a couple great saves early on for us to keep us in it.
"Our back line held its own and just got unlucky on a corner kick that fell in the box," noted Reynard.
"Our strong defensive game is what led us to succeed this season and we showed that tonight — simply just got unlucky," he added.
Fisher, who had 11 shutouts this season, recorded two saves for the Wildcats.
The NTL champion Wildcats finish Reynard's first season with an 11-6-2 record.
"With the hire of a young first-year head coach, we were doubted," said Reynard. "Teams took us lightly and didn’t think this group could succeed and they proved everyone wrong.
I’ve learned a lot from my first season and we have put ourselves in a great place to keep the success going.
"We are returning lots of players who are going to be crucial in the way we play next year," noted Reynard. "We will work all offseason as a coaching staff to prepare for next year and have the boys ready.
"This will be my first full offseason and will be a great time to look at everything and be ready to go come fall/
"I couldn’t have asked for a better first season with a special group of boys and I’m excited for the future," he added.
Reynard said he'll miss a good group of seniors, who provided leadership.
"This senior group of Alex Thompson, Eli Vogell, Chase Ingram, Aryan Gaur, and Carter Bleiler had been the driving force behind the team's success.
They have led on and off the field and I can’t thank them enough for all they brought to this team this season, and for making my first year go so well.
"Without them keeping me in check, I don’t know what I would have done," added Reynard. "I can’t thank them enough and I can’t wait to see where their futures take them."
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IN PHOTO 1: Athens senior Chase Ingram. IN TOP PHOTO: Athens junior Kam Wheeler. ... PHOTOS BY LEIGHANNE INGRAM.
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