UNBEATEN WELLSBORO EDGES ATHENS, 2-1, IN OVERTIME
By: Tim Birney / September 14, 2022 / Photo: David Alliger
ATHENS — There are few things guaranteed in life, but one of them is the
fact that when the Athens and Wellsboro boys soccer teams square off,
it’s going to be a hard-fought and tightly-contested game, and it will
have league title implications.
Wednesday evening proved to be no
different as unbeaten Wellsboro scored an overtime goal to hand Athens
its first NTL loss of the season, a 2-1 decision here at Alumni Stadium.
The Hornets improve to 6-0 overall and 5-0 in NTL play, while Athens is 4-3 overall, and 4-1 in the NTL.
Wellsboro standout Jack Poirier put the Hornets on the board, off a feed from Sam Rudy, midway through the first half.
The
Hornets maintained the lead until Athens senior Brayden Post, off a
feed from senior Levent VanHelden, scored with 11:44 remaining in
regulation to tie the game at 1-1.
Caden Smith, off a feed from Poirier, provided the game-winner for Wellsboro with 2:41 remaining in overtime.
Wellsboro had a 12-8 advantage in shots-on-goal, while Athens had an 8-7 edge in corner kicks.
Senior Grant Liechty recorded five saves in net for Athens.
Athens returns to action Saturday when it hosts Midd-West in non-league action.
About the Author
Tim Birney
Tim Birney is the founder / owner of River Road Media Group. He was born and raised in the Valley, graduating from Waverly High School in 1984.
Birney earned an Associate's Degree in Journalism from SUNY Morrisville in 1986 and a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism / Public Relations from Utica College of Syracuse University in 1988. He began his newspaper career at The Daily Review in Towanda in 1989, before moving on to The Evening Times in 1995. He spent more than 10 years at the Times, the last four as Managing Editor.
River Road Media Group includes five sites in "The Sports Reports" family that cover 24 school districts in five counties: Valley Sports Report (launched Aug. 10, 2009), Tioga County (NY) Sports Report (Aug. 13, 2018), and Northern Tier Sports Report (Aug. 31, 2020); Northern Tier West Sports Report (March 15, 2021) Southern Tier Sports Report (Aug. 16, 2021).
