ATHENS RALLIES TO EDGE NEB, 2-1, IN ANNUAL 'PINK OUT FOR SARAH REID' GAME

By: Tim Birney | AthensWildcats.com | October 12, 2022 | Photo courtesy David Alliger

 
ATHENS RALLIES TO EDGE NEB, 2-1, IN ANNUAL 'PINK OUT FOR SARAH REID' GAME
 

ATHENS — Senior Ally Thoman scored a second-half goal to help Athens overcome an early NEB goal on its way to a 2-1 win in the annual “Pink Out for Sarah Reid” game here Wednesday evening in NTL girls soccer action at Alumni Stadium.

“It was a great victory over a very good NEB team on Sarah Reid Pink Out night,” said Athens coach Rich Pitts. “NEB came in with a great game plan, and really came at us the first 20 minutes.

“We were able to survive, then get a goal back before half to help us settle in.

“In the second half, I thought we played pretty good soccer,” noted Pitts. “We were moving the ball around and doing a lot of the things we work on every day in training.

“We got a nice goal by Ally (Thoman) in the second half, then we clamped down only allowing a few chances by them to finish out the game,“ Pitts added.

The win also avenges a 4-2 loss to NEB earlier this season for the Lady Wildcats.

The Lady Panthers took lead about 8 1/2 minutes into the game on a goal by Lizzie Gorsline, off an assist from Keirra Thoman.

With 6:19 remaining in the first half, Ally Thoman fed a ball over NEB’s back line, and sophomore Addy Wheeler collected it, and with three defenders on her heels, fired a shot into the back of the net to tie the game at 1-1.

With 26:51 remaining in the contest, Ally Thoman rocketed a shot from about 15 yards out into the net to give the Lady Wildcats a 2-1 lead.

NEB had a 9-5 advantage in shots-on-goal, and a 4-0 edge in corner kicks.

Senior Karlee Bartlow recorded six saves in net for the Lady Wildcats.

The “Pink Out for Sarah Reid” is played annually to honor Sarah Reid, a 2012 Athens Area grad who was killed in a car accident in the fall of 2012.

The game has been every year since 2012 and the Lady Wildcats have an 11-0 record in those games.

“I know Sarah would of been proud of the girls tonight as they played hard in her honor,” said Pitts.

Athens, now 7-6-1, returns to action Saturday morning when it hosts Montoursville.
 

About the Author
Tim Birney Author Bio
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).

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