Valley Sports ReportMILTON — Top-seeded Midd-West scored midway through the first half, and added a pair of insurance goals in the second half in a dominant, 3-0, win over Athens here Wednesday night in District 4, Class 3A boys soccer championship game.
"It's not the way we wanted our season to end, but that was a competitive game against one of the top programs in the state in Midd-West," said Athens coach Travis Reynard, who has led the Wildcats to 3A finals in each of his first two seasons at the helm.
"All credit to (Midd-West) for their excellent play and talent and they made it hard for us to get things going," he said. "We do not get to see teams like that on a regular basis in our league and losing non-league games this year was definitely not beneficial for us to try to get some more experience.
"In the end, I’m super proud of the boys for fighting for 80 minutes and leaving it all on the field tonight," added Reynard.
Midd-West's Parker Eppley intercepted a Wildcat pass in the box and rifled a shot across the mount and inside the far post to give the Mustangs a 1-0 lead in the 19th minute.
Abram Sellers and Eppley added second-half goals to provide the final margin.
"Offensively, we didn’t have much of an attack tonight," said Reynard. "Although some of that was planned by some tactical decisions, we did have a few chances in the second half to connect and counter, but just couldn’t break through.
"The difference in our offense from year 1 to year 2 has been tremendous and we want to keep building on it as we enter future seasons," he added.
Midd-West had a 15-0 advantage in shots-on-goal, and a 12-0 advantage in corner kicks.
Athens senior Zach Fisher recorded 12 saves in net for the Wildcats.
"We defended most of the game, but we did it as a team and stuck together and forced Midd-West in to frustrating situations," said Reynard. "They had to change things up on occasion to break through.
"Every single player on the field tonight battled physically and left it all out there.
"A few defensive errors is what led to us conceding late, but all in all, there has been so much improvement from our defensive side of the ball this season, which has been great to see."
The Wildcats wrap up the season at 12-6-2. They graduate nine seniors in Fisher, Noah Thompson, Abram Steinfelt, Alex Arcesi, Holden McKeever, Zach Blackman, Kamdyn Wheeler, and Brycen Wood.
"The hardest part about this loss is saying goodbye to the nine seniors who have given this program so much," said Reynard.
"They faced a coaching change in the middle of their high school career and bought in right away," he noted. "They were a big part of our success in my first season last year.
"They are simply a special group, filled with talent and great personalities and will all go on to do great things in the future," added Reynard. "They have helped me grow so much as a coach, and I thank them for everything. They will definitely be missed."
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PHOTOS BY TIM BIRNEY.
