TIOGA JUNCTION, Pa. — Williamson swept past Athens in straight sets here Thursday night in NTL volleyball action, but Lady Wildcat coach Heather Hanson said her team did itself no favors.

Our own errors cost us the match,” she said. “Athens dominated beating Athens tonight. We made so many errors … all Williamson had to do was get the ball over to our side.

“Our serve receive was brutal,” noted Hanson. “If we had the pass, we couldn't set; if we had the set; we couldn't hit; and if we got the hit, we were in the net.

All our error added up to Williamson beating us in three,” added Hanson. “We need to find a way or make one.”

Williamson won by scores of 25-17, 25-13, and 25-13.

Jenny Ryan led Athens with three service points, 14 digs, five setter assists, two kills, and two blocks, while Taylor Walker had nine digs, three kills, and two blocks, and Ella Coyle had 20 digs.

Audrey Clare recorded 16 digs for the Lady Wildcats, while Ally Martin had 12 digs, Kassie Babcock had six digs, and Cailin McDaniel and Braelynn Wood each added three digs.

Athens, now 2-3,hosts Wyalusing Tuesday.

TIOGA JUNCTION, Pa. — Junior Levent Van Holden netted a hat trick, and Athens scored five second-half goals in a 6-0 win over Williamson here Thursday afternoon in NTL boys soccer.

“It’s a good win after Tuesday,” said Athens coach Jake Lezak in reference to the Wildcats’ 5-3 home loss to Wellsboro.

“We know we need to win out (in the league),” he added. “I hope this (win) helps the guys settle down, and get focused.”

Van Holden’s first varsity hat trick made for a “good birthday present for him,” said Lezak.

“It was a Sweet 16,” said Lezak.

“He definitely gave us a spark,” noted Lezak. “We know he’s capable of doing just what he did tonight.

“He very much doesn’t give himself enough credit,” continued Lezak. “Before the game we talked about what we needed him to do.

“In the first half, it was a different position for him, we didn’t train him there, but he has a high soccer IQ, he understands the game very well,” added Lezak. “We talked at the half … getting him to make adjustments, and he went out and did it.”

VanHolden scored midway through the first half to give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead, which it would take into the half.

The Wildcats put the game out of reach quickly in the second half. Van Holden scored another unassisted goal two minutes after the intermission, then scored again about four minutes later, off a feed from senior Mason Hughey, to make it 3-0.

Sophomore Korey Miller scored twice in a 2 1/2-minute span to give Athens a 5-0 lead with 26:06 remanning in the game. The first goal was assisted by junior Brayden Post, and the second by Hughey.

With 17:04 remaining in the match, Hughey capped the scoring, off an assist from Van Holden.

The Wildcats were playing without their leading scorer, and Lezak said that played a part in their slow start.

“We didn’t have Nate Quinn tonight, so we shuffled a couple of guys around,” he said. “It took them a while to get settled in, in the first half.

“We were putting some good pressure on, but we weren’t being really dangerous,” Lezak noted. “We were taking a lot of shots, and they were all on target … we had some good chances in the first half.

“We talked about what we needed to do at halftime, and the guys adjusted … and they responded the right way,” Lezak added.

Athens had a 22-3 advantage in shots-on-goal, while both teams had three corner kicks.

Grant Liechty had three saves in net for the Wildcats.

Athens, now 4-4, hosts Northeast Bradford Monday.

ATHENS — Senior Hannah Walker scored late in the first half, and the Athens defense made the stand for the final 41-plus minutes in a 1-0 win here Wednesday night in NTL girls soccer action.

The Lady Wildcats, coming off back to-back losses to N.Y. state powers Fayetteville-Manlius and New Hartford, in which they were outscored 11-1, bounced back with a “big league win.”

“I thought we did some really nice things tonight, then I thought we looked a little off after a long weekend,” said Athens coach Rich Pitts.

“I was proud of the girls,” he noted. “They worked hard even if they were not as sharp as they have have been.

“It’s a good win in the league,” added Pitts. “Now, we have to prep for a good (Class) AAA match-up with Shik(ellamy) on Saturday.”

Walker found the back of the net, off an assist from junior Alli Thoman, with 1:40 remaining in the first half. The final 41:20 was a scoreless battle.

The Lady Wildcats dominated play with 13 shots-on-goal to just two for Wellsboro. Both teams had three corner kicks.

Lilly Abadi had 12 saves in net for Wellsboro, while junior Karlee Bartlow had just two for Athens.

Athens, now 4-3, is on the road at Shikellamy Saturday.

ATHENS — Athens dominated the first two sets, and fended off a Sayre rally in the third set to post a sweep of its crosstown rival here Tuesday night in NTL volleyball action.

The Lady Wildcats, now 2-2, won by scores of 25-14, 25-11, and 25-21.

“The girls played well tonight,” said Athens coach Heather Hanson. “I was pleased with their performance and they should be pleased with how they played.”

Audrey Clare led Athens with nine service points, including seven aces, six digs and two hits, while Jenny Ryan had six points, including five aces, five kills, and four digs, and a team-high 13 setter assists, and Kassie Babcock added three points (two aces) and three kills.

Ally Martin contributed five kills and five digs in the win, while Taylor Walker had two points, two digs, and a team-high nine kills, Ella Coyle had two points and two digs, Cailin McDaniel added two kills and two digs, and Braelynn chipped in with two points (two aces).

Rachel Vandermark led Sayre with four service aces and two digs, while Emma Smith had three aces, two aces, and two digs, Gabby Shaw registered three blocks and two digs, Alexis Frisbie recorded eight digs, Aliyah Rawlings added three digs, and Maddison Belles chipped in with one block.

Athens travels to Williamson Thursday, while Sayre, now 1-5, travels to Wyalusing.

TOWANDA — Athens, running without their top runner Kyle Anthony, earned wins over Wyalusing and Towanda here Tuesday afternoon, while the Lady Wildcats split a pair of decisions in NTL cross country action.

The Athens boys topped Wyalusing, 25-33, and Towanda, 19-40, while the Lady Wildcats dropped a 27-29 decision to Wyalusing, and bested Towanda, 24-31.

BOYS
Athens 25, Wyalusing 33
Athens 19, Towanda 40
Wyalusing standout Zion Laudermilch ran away from the field, but Athens had five runners in the top 11 to pull out a pair of wins.

Laudermilch clocked in at 18:14, 63 seconds ahead of runner-up Athens senior Matt Gorsline, who crossed the finish line in 19:17.

Junior Ethan Denlinger was third for the Wildcats in 19:34, while freshman Ethan Hicks was sixth in 20:08, freshman Carter Lewis was eighth in 20:46, senior Izaak Hobday was 10th in 21:26, and senior Sander Bertsch was 11th in 21:27.

ATHENS — Four different players scored goals, including three in a 4 1/2-minute span, to lead Wellsboro to a, 5-3, come-from-behind win over Athens here in NTL boys soccer action at Alumni Stadium.

“Truthfully, it is unacceptable on our part,” said longtime Athens coach Jake Lezak. “Mentally, the guys have to get it figured out.

“(Wellsboro) capitalized on some very poor team defending, and individual defending … and took advantage of miscues and bad plays.

“I mean, we gave up five goals, four in the second half — three within about five minutes, and it was 100 percent on us,” added Lezak. “The guys have to take ownership of it, and do a better job with the mental side of the game.”

Lezak said there was some good in the game for the Wildcats, but once it went bad, his team did not respond.

“In my opinion, we had the better of the play for all, but about 12 minutes of the game, most of that in the second half.

“We have all the tools to be successful. We had all the tools tonight to win, and we simply did not put it together for 80 minutes,” said Lezak. “It’s not like you have to play a mistake-free game, but you certainly can’t fold like that.

“We didn’t play a team game, and (Wellsboro) did,” noted Lezak. “When we started making mistakes, guys started standing and watching.

“You can’t win games with 11 guys working together,” he added.

Wellsboro’s Sam Rudy scored about 7 1/2 minutes into the game, and Green Hornets held the lead for more than 25 minutes.

With 6:38 remaining in the half, senior Nate Quinn, off a feed from senior Daniel Horton, found the back of the net to tie the game at 1-1.

Three minutes later, Quinn, off an assist from senior Mason Hughey, ripped a shot into the net gain to give the Wildcats a 2-1 lead.

About 4 1/2 minutes into the second half, Jacoo Abadi scored for the Green Hornets to tie the game at 2-2.

Hughey put Athens ahead 3-2 with a goal about 14 minutes later, but Wellsboro answered with a trio of goals in rapid succession.

With 19:03 remaining, Matthew Richards found the back of the net to tie the game at 3-3. Just 41 seconds later, Rudy gave the Green Hornets the lead for good, at 4-3.

Jack Poirer added an insurance goal less than four minutes later to put Wellsboro up 5-3.

“We created opportunities and finished our shots tonight, a combination we have been missing. The boys continue to play with great resolve,” said Wellsboro coach Todd Fitch.

Lezak, now in his 17th season, said he’s not sure the last time Athens gave up five goals in an NTL match.

“I would say you would have to go back to my first couple years, when Troy was dominating the league.”

Wellsboro had a 16-15 edge in shots-on-goal, while Athens had a 4-3 advantage in corner kicks.

Grant Liechty had five saves in net for the Wildcats.

Athens, now 3-4 overall and 2-1 in NTL play, travels to Williamson Thursday.

TOWANDA — Twice in four matches, Athens came up short of the top spot by 1 stroke. Monday, the Wildcats edged arch-rival Sayre by 1 stroke to win the fifth NTL golf match of the season here at Towanda Country Club.

Athens tallied a four-player aggregate scoring of 369, with Sayre finishing at 370. Wellsboro finished third at 386, Wyalusing was fourth at 388, Towanda fifth at 407, Cowanesque Valley was sixth at 420, and North Penn-Mansfield was seventh at 426.

Sayre senior Kannon VanDuzer shot a strong back nine en route to low-medal honors, with a round of 79. He shot a 41 on the front nine, including a birdie on the par-4 8th hole, then recorded seven pars on the back nine on his way to a 38.

Athens sophomore Evan Cooper finished second with an 84 in a round that included three birdies, but just two pars.

Athens freshman Dylan Saxon was eighth with a 94, while Athens junior Lucas Kraft, Sayre junior Colton Watkins, and Sayre senior Josh Arnold tied for 10th with rounds of 95.

Athens junior Cameron Sullivan was 13th with a 96, and sophomore Nicholas Jacob was 18th with a non-scoring round of 98.

Senior Dylan Fabbri was Sayre’s fourth scorer with a round of 101, while senior Dylan Seck had a non-scoring round of 108, and junior Jackson Hubbard tacked on a non-scoring round of 127.

Freshman Keaton Sinsabaugh added a non-scoring round of 128 for the Wildcats, while freshman Brady Darrow and junior Isabella Dahl shot nine-hole scores of 52 and 53, respectively, in exhibition.

Sayre sophomores David Hall and Sam Claypool shot 59 and 61, respectively in nine-hole exhibition rounds.

The Redskins improve to 20-4 on the season, and remain in first place, while Athens is 22-7 and takes sole possession of third place — just one game behind Wellsboro, which is now 23-6.

The NTL golfers return to action Sept. 28 at the Tyoga Country Club in Wellsboro.

BALDWINSVILLE — It was a tough weekend for the Lady Wildcats, who dropped a pair of decisions at the Baldwinsville Tournament.

On Saturday, Fayetteville-Manlius topped Athens, 5-1. Today, state-ranked New Hartford blanked them, 6-0.

“In spite of the score, the girls played their hearts out all weekend,” said Athens coach Rich Pitts. “We had very good game plans and executed a lot of what I wanted to accomplish.

“We are a better team after this weekend and just like in years passed, this will battle-test us for districts and league,” he noted.

Saturday
Fayetteville-Manlius 5, Athens 1
F-M led 2-0 at the half en route to a 5-1 win over Athens Saturday afternoon

Senior Hannah Walker knocked how a direct kick from 30 yards out to trim the deficit to 2-1 about 5 minutes after the intermission.

F-M answered in the 53rd minute to make it 3-1, and tacked on two goals for the final margin.

F-M had a 25-2 advantage in shots-on-goal, and a 7-1 edge in corner kicks.

Junior Karlee Bartlow recorded 17 saves in net for the Lady Wildcats

Sunday
New Hartford 6, Athens 0
New Hartford controlled the action on its way to a 6-0 win Sunday afternoon.

“New Hartford to me is a clear favorite to win a state title,” said Pitts. “They would beat every team I can think of in District 4. They are loaded with three or four Division 1 players.  

“I can’t say enough about how well we played,” added Pitts. “Their coach came over after and told me we gave them a really tough match.”

New Hartford had a 26-1 advantage in shots-on-goal, and a 10-0 edge in corner kicks.

Bartlow registered 19 saves in net for Athens.

Athens, now 3-3, returns to action Wednesday when it hosts Wellsboro, then travels to Shikellamy Saturday.

MILLVILLE — Senior Nate Quinn scored two goals to lead Athens to a 2-1 win over Millville here Monday night in non-league boys soccer action.

Quinn opened the scoring with 4:28 remaining in the first half to put the Wildcats up 1-0. Senior Mason Hughey was credited with an assist.

It took more than 30 minutes for either team to find the net again.

With 12:48 remaining in the game, Quinn scored an unassisted goal to make it 2-0.

About 3 minutes later, Eli Klinger put the Quakers on the board, but the Athens defense stiffened and preserved the win.

Millville had an 11-7 edge in shots-on-goal, while Athens had a 5-2 advantage in corner kicks.

Senior Levi Kuhn recorded nine saves in net for the Wildcats.

Athens, now 11-6, closes the regular season Thursday at Troy. A win will clinch the NTL title.

CHENANGO FORKS — Seniors Kyle Anthony and Matt Gorsline, and junior Ethan Denlinger all finished in the top 20 to lead Athens to a second-place finish in Race 1 here Saturday at the Pre-States McDaniel-Baxter Cross Country Invitational at the Chenango Valley State Park.

There were five boys races, and five girls races. In all, there were 83 boys teams, including 66 complete teams, competing, and 78 girls teams, with 47 complete teams. There 675 boys in the merged field, and 463 girls.

CHENANGO FORKS — Athens freshman Sara Bronson and junior Emma Bronson, and Waverly freshman Harper Minaker each finished in the top 15 in Race 2 here Saturday at the Pre-States McDaniel-Baxter Cross Country Invitational at the Chenango Valley State Park.

There were five boys races, and five girls races. In all, there were 83 boys teams, including 66 complete teams, competing, and 78 girls teams, with 47 complete teams. There 675 boys in the merged field, and 463 girls.

Powerhouse Fayetteville-Manlius had seven runners in the top 10 to run away with the team title with 19 placement points, well ahead of runner-up Lake Placid, which had 71 points, and third-place finisher Chenango Forks, which had 102 points. Tioga finished eighth with 243 points, while Waverly and Athens did not field a complete team.

WESTFIELD, Pa. — Athens posted its first win of the season Thursday, sweeping past Cowanesque Valley in NTL volleyball action.

The Lady Wildcats won by scores of 25-20, 25-16, and 25-15.

“We played a good game tonight. The girls looked good,” said Athens coach Heather Hanson.

“We’re still a little quiet, but we will get there,” added Hanson.

Taylor Walker led Athens with seven service points, including five aces, three kills, one block, and three digs, while Kassie Babcock had six points, including five aces, two kills, and three digs, Jenny Ryan had four points, six kills, one block, 18 setter assists, and seven digs, and Ally Martin had two points, three digs, and a team-high 13 digs.

Audrey Clare registered a team-high nine kills and had two digs in the win, while Braelynn Wood and Ella Coyle each added two points and two digs, and Cassie Friend chipped in with three kills.

“I saw some really great plays and some nice kills by Audrey Clare,” said Hanson. “She is hitting it hard.”

Athens, now 1-2, hosts Sayre Tuesday.

ATHENS — South Williamsport dominated the game statistically, but needed a fourth-quarter TD to pull out a 7-0 win over Athens here Friday night in NTL football action at Alumni Stadium.

The Mounties played keep away in the first half, running 36 plays for 210 yards, while the Wildcats ran just six plays for 1 yard, but the game was scoreless.

“Our kids scrapped it out,” said Athens coach Jack Young. “How many times did we stop them in the red zone?

“We hung in there and the defense just kept making plays,” added Young.

South Williamsport coach Chris Eiswerth said the first half was the continuation of a disturbing trend for his squad.

“In the first half, we couldn’t finish,” he said. “Early in the year, we haven’t been able to finish.”

Junior QB Mason Lister ripped off an 18-yard run on Athens’ first possession of the second half for the team’s initial first down of the game, but a pair of costly penalties and a South Williamsport sack forced the Wildcats to punt.

The Athens punt pinned South Williamsport at its 13, but with 18 consecutive run plays, the Mounties covered the 87 yards. Lane Lusk capped the drive, which chewed up more than 10 minutes off the game clock, with a 2-yard TD run. Kayvan Shams split the up rights with the PAT to make it 7-0.

On the first play following the ensuing kickoff, senior tailback Shayne Reid ripped off a 23-yard run on a reverse, but four plays later, the Mounties defense snuffed out the drive with a fourth-down stop.

The Mounties, on the back of Lusk’s bruising runs, picked up a pair of first downs before turning the ball back over on downs.

The Wildcats’ night on offense would come to an end moments later when Lister’s fourth-down pass was picked off near midfield.

The Mounties ran the final 2 1/2 minutes off the clock to preserve the win.

Lusk led South Williamsport with 181 yards and one TD on 32 carries, while Clayton Swarthout added 70 yards on 17 carries, and QB Landon Lorson added 52 yards on 13 carries.

The Wildcats were held to 53 yards in total offense on just 17 plays.

Reid led Athens with 26 yards on five carries, and Lister added seven yards on five carries.

Lister completed 3 of 6 passes for 20 yards.

Athens, now 2-2, hosts Wyalusing Friday at Alumni Stadium.

MANSFIELD — Freshman Addy Wheeler, and junior Alli Thoman each netted hat tricks to lead Athens to an 8-0 win over North Penn-Mansfield here Thursday afternoon in NTL girls soccer action.

Senior Hannah Walker was also a major contributor in the win, scoring one goal, and doling out six assists.

The Lady Wildcats opened the scoring about 2 1/2 minutes into the game when Wheeler re-directed a corner kick from Walker past the keeper. It was Wheeler’s first varsity goal.

A few minutes later, Walker received a long ball, dribbled about 20 yards, and fired a shot into the back of the net to make it 2-0.

Thoman got on the board later in the half when she took a through-ball from Walker and knocked home a shot from just inside the 18 to up the lead to 3-0.

Taylar Fisher capped the first-half scoring, with her first varsity goal on a penalty kick to make it 4-0.

Wheeler scored the first two goals of the second half to complete her hat trick, then Thoman scored the next two to do the same thing. Walker assisted on all four goals.

Athens had a 19-2 advantage in shots-on-goal, and a 4-2 edge in corner kicks.

Junior Karlee Bartlow had two saves in net for Athens, while Tierney Patterson had 11 saves for NP-M.

Athens, now 3-1, face Fayetteville-Manlius Saturday in the opening game of the Baldwinsville Tournament.

ATHENS — Senior Nate Quinn and sophomore Korey Miller scored three goals apiece to lead Athens to an 8-0 win over Galeton here Thursday afternoon in NTL boys soccer action.

Miller opened the scoring with an unassisted goal nine minutes into the contest. About 2 /12 minutes later, Quinn scored off a feed from Daniel Horton, to make it 2-0.

Just 79 seconds later, Horton and Quinn teamed up against to up the Athens lead to 3-0.

With 22:26 remaining in the half, Quinn, off another assist from Horton, completed his hat trick to increase the lead to 4-0.

The goals kept coming for the Wildcats as Miller scored with 17:06 left in the first half, and senior Mason Hughey capped the first-half barrage six minutes later to make it 6-0.

Miller finished off his first career hat trick five minutes into the second half to push the lead to 7-0, and Hughey tallied the game’s final goal 40 seconds later.

Athens had a 16-1 advantage in shots-on-goal, while Galeton had a 1-0 edge in corner kicks.

Athens, now 3-3, hosts Wellsboro Tuesday.