Valley Sports ReportATHENS — Athens scored four second-half goals on its way to a 5-0 win over Northeast Bradford here Saturday in NTL boys soccer action at Alumni Stadium.
"A great performance by the boys today," said Athens coach Travis Reynard. "They executed the plan well and got the result we wanted. We saw different players make an impact all over the field."
Junior Riley Patterson scored two goals, and sophomore Caden Brennan, and seniors Kamdyn Wheeler and junior Jacob Gorsline each had one goal.
Freshman Bryce Gombocz doled out two assists, and Wheeler had one assist.
"We changed some things up and saw great results," said Reynard. "We had four different guys score and many other guys make crucial passes to contribute to our attacking success.
"We have to keep finding ways to make combinations and finish on our chances," he added.
The Wildcats had an 8-3 advantage in shots-on-goal, and a 3-0 edge in corner kicks.
Senior Zach Fisher had three saves in recording the clean sheet.
"We handled the pressure and dealt with the talent of Dan Barrett from Northeast very well," said Reynard. "We do have things to improve on and have to be better out of the air and escaping pressure."
Patterson crashed in and tapped in a rebound off the NEB keeper to give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead midway through the first half, a lead it carried into the halftime intermission.
Brennan converted a penalty kick with 32 minutes remaining in the contest to increase the lead to 2-0.
Patterson, off a cross from Wheeler, scored with 16:45 remaining to make it 3-0.
Wheeler, off a through ball from Gombocz, and Gorsline off a tap-in scored in the final 10 minutes to provide the final margin.
Athens returns to action Monday against Horseheads.
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PHOTOS COURTESY OF LORRIE GOMBOCZ.
