Valley Sports ReportROME, Pa. — Junior Ben Krissler scored two goals and Athens closed out the regular season with a 5-0 win over Northeast Bradford here Wednesday in NTL boys soccer action.
"It's a great result for our final regular-season game," said Athens coach Travis Reynard. "We finished most of our chances and were able to handle the pressure that was put on our back line, which was good to see."
"Offensively we had lots of good moments, but we have to be more situationally aware and watch our offsides; that killed us tonight — 14 offsides calls," noted Reynard.
"We have to move the ball quicker and find the gaps early to break down defenses that step up quick, which Northeast was great at," he added.
Krissler took advantage of an NEB miscue in the box, and put the Wildacts on the board about 5 1/2 minutes into the game.
Freshman Nico Rossettie scored off a throw-in from senior Brycen Wood about 10 minutes later, and junior Riley Patterson scored off an assist from Wood — again on a throw-in — with 11:21 remaining in the first half to give the Wildcats a 3-0 lead it would carry into the intermission.
Junior Patric Umber scored off an assist from senior Kamdyn Wheeler with 26:58 remaining in the contest, and Krissler capped the scored about 4 1/2 minutes later off an assist from Umber.
Athens had a 14-5 advantage in shots-on-goal, while NEB had a 2-1 edge in corner kicks.
Junior Zach Fisher recorded five saves in net for the Wildcats.
"Defensively, we were strong all around and saw a lot of improvement with the way our back line communicated and shifted together," said Reynard. "We always can keep improving, so we will look to do that over the next week or two before district play."
Athens wraps up the season with a 12-5-2 record, and now awaits word on its opening-round match-up in the upcoming District 4, Class 3A playoffs.
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IN TOP PHOTO: Athens freshman Nico Rossettie (25) and Athens senior Holden McKeever. IN BOTTOM PHOTO: Athens junior Ben Krissler (18) and Rory Smart (10). ... PHOTOS COURTESY OF LORRIE GOMBOCZ.
