ATHENS — Athens junior Alex Campbell was named the NTL’s “Defensive Player of the Year,” and junior Korey Miller was tabbed a first-team-all star, while three of their teammates also earned recognition recently in voting by the league’s coaches.

Senior Brayden Post was a second-team selection, while sophomore Marco Quiros and junior Mitch Hamilton earned honorable mention recognition.

Wellsboro senior Peyton McClure was named the NTL “Player of the Year,” and the league’s all-state selection, while his classmate Jack Poirier was named the “Offensive Player of the Year.”

Wellsboro’s Todd Fitch was named “Coach of the Year,” after leading the Hornets to an unbeaten league record.

FIRST TEAM
Strikers
Korey Miller, junior, Athens: A heady player with a knack for getting in position to score, Miller led the Wildcats with 13 goals, and was second on the team with six assists.

Also selected to the first-team as strikers were: Wellsboro junior Caden Smith, Galeton junior Zach Pagano, and NP-Liberty sophomore Brady Stetter.

Midfielders
Selected as first-team midfielders were: Wellsboro senior Jack Piorier, Wellsboro senior Sam Rudy, NEB junior Cesar Alvarez, and Williamson senior Duncan Kerr.

Defense
Alex Campbell, junior, Athens: Athletic, physical, and possessing a high soccer iQ, Campbell anchored the Wildcat defense. He had one assist on the season.

Also selected to the first-team defense were: Wellsboro senior Peyton McClure, NEB senior Joe Stanton; and Williamson senior Cody Peers.

Goalkeeper
Wellsboro senior Aiden Gehman.

SECOND TEAM
Strikers
Selected to the second team as strikers were: Galeton senior Gavin Sykora, Wellsboro sophomore Alex Citrino, NEB junior Josh Stanton, and Williamson senior Trent Achey.

Midfielders
Brayden Post, senior, Athens: Athletic, with a high soccer IQ, Post could be counted on to be in the right place. He was second on the team with 11 goals, and had two assists.

Selected to the second team in the midfield were: Galeton senior Matt Smith, Troy junior Brady Spalding, and Williamson junior Will Gehman.

Defense
Selected to the second-team defense were: Williamson senior Robert Kipferl, Troy sophomore Ethan Cole, Wellsboro junior Ian Hoose, and Wellsboro junior Watson Feil.

Goalkeeper
Williamson sophomore Logan Stickler.

HONORABLE MENTION
Strikers
Marco Quiros, sophomore, Athens: A fiery player with good foot skills, Quiros made an impact in his first year with the Wildcats. He had six goals and one assist.

Strikers also receiving honorable mention recognition were: Wellsboro sophomore Lucas Cuneo, Williamson senior Ayden Sprague, and Williamson sophomore Kade Ficks.

Midfielders
Mitch Hamilton, junior, Athens: A skilled player, his defense and passing often flies under the radar. He had two goals and four assists on the season.

Midfielders also receiving honorable mention recognition were: NP-Liberty junior Zach Wilcox, Towanda sophomore Jack Wheaton, and Wellsboro junior Jacob Abadi.

Defense
Defenders receiving honorable mention recognition were: Galeton junior Matt Zur, Towanda sophomore Conner Barnes, NP-Liberty junior Corey Smith, Wellsboro sophomore Gabe Sprouse, and Williamson sophomore Jordan Monroe.

Goalkeeper
Galeton senior Ayden Whipple.

MILTON — Selinsgrove proved why it’s the top seed in the District 4, Class 3A boys soccer playoffs with a convincing 7-0 win over Athens here Saturday evening.

“I thought our guys played hard,” said Athens coach Jake Lezak. “Selinsgrove is a better team. If they don’t end up as District champs, I’ll be blown away.

“We knew their top three guys were going to hard for us to handle, and hard to run with, and they were.

“We were hoping to contain them, and get a goal or two, and see what we can do,” added Lezak. “At the end of the day, that team should go very far.”

Colin Findlay put the Seals on the board with a penalty kick about 2 1/2 minutes into the game.

About six minutes later, Nick Ritter made it 2-0. He completed a first-half hat trick by scoring with 15:53 and 5:58 remaining before the intermission.

“We made a couple mistakes in the first half that resulted in goals, but the other two — that’s just how good they are,” said Lezak.

Findlay scored again about 5 1/2 minutes into the second half, and Logan Rodkey and Jake Keeney added goal in a 2 1/2-minute span to make it 7-0 with 19:08 remaining in the contest.

Athens wraps up the 2022 campaign at 9-8-2.

The Wildcats will graduate a number four seniors.

“I’m really proud of the seniors,” said Lezak. “They came back last year, and won the league title

“They worked really hard this year, and did everything we asked them to,” he noted. “We moved them around, and played them in different positions.

“We’re glad they’re part of our soccer family, and we’re going to hate to see them go,” added Lezak.

ATHENS — For the second time this season, Athens and Williamson played 100 minutes of soccer without determining a winner — this time in a 2-2 decision here Saturday at Alumni Stadium.

On Sept. 28, the teams battled to a 0-0 deadlock at Williamson.

The Warriors scored in the third minute to take a quick 1-0 lead, then tacked on another goal in the 24th minute to make it 2-0.

Sophomore Marco Quiros, off an assist from junior Korey Miller, put the Wildcats on the board with 3:39 remaining in the first half to cut the deficit in half.

Midway through the second half, Miller tied the game with an unassisted goal.

With the tie, Athens finishes the season second in the NTL with an 8-2-2 mark, and Williamson was third at 7-2-3. Wellsboro claimed the team title with a perfect 12-0 league mark.

Athens wraps up the regular season at 9-7-2, while Williamson finishes up at 10-5-3.

WELLSBORO — Athens struck first, but Wellsboro rallied to finish off its unbeaten NTL season with a 2-1 win here Thursday evening in boys soccer action.

The Hornets (14-2 overall) finish the season with a 12-0 mark in league play, including a 2-1 win at Athens on Sept. 14.

The Wildcats scored on a direct kick with 19 minutes remaining in the first half. After Wellsboro was whistled for a trip just outside the box, senior Brayden Post drove a shot into the net to make it 1-0.

The Athens defense kept Wellsboro at bay, but Hornet two-sport standout Jack Poirier, off a feed from Jack Bryant, scored with 2 seconds remaining in the first half to tie the game at 1-1.

Sam Rudy, off an assist from Poirier, scored with 21:24 remaining in the contest to give the Hornets a 2-1 lead.

Wellsboro had a 7-4 edge in shots-on-goal, and a 9-4 advantage in corner kicks.

Senior Grant Liechty recorded five saves in net for the Wildcats.

Athens, now 9-7-1, wraps up the regular season Oct. 22 when it hosts Williamson.

WILLIAMSPORT — Athens trailed Williamsport by a goal about 50 minutes into the game, but a Wildcat injury opened the flood gates as the Millionaires scored four goals in a five-minute span on its way to a 6-0 win here Saturday morning in non-league boys soccer action.

“It was not a good day for us,” said Athens coach Jake Lezak. “We were missing starters to begin the day ,then losing two more during the game plus another playing injured … we did not step up and play balanced defense for five minutes in second half.

“We were unorganized and (Williamsport) took full advantage,” noted Lezak “We had players in new positions against a good team.

“We get the next few days to recover, and see who we will have against Wellsboro on Thursday,” added Lezak.

Connor Poole scored about 9 1/2 minutes into the game, and the Millionaires led 1-0 at the half.

The game remained 1-0 until Angelo Casas scored with 29:25 remaining in the game to make it 2-0. Over the next five minutes, Jett Johnson scored a pair of goals, sandwiched around a goal by Poole to extend the lead to 5-0.

Jack Fink capped the scoring with 10:15 left in the contest.

Williamsport had a 9-4 edge in shots-on-goal, while Athens had a 6-5 edge in corner kicks.

Senior Grant Liechty recorded three saves in net for the Wildcats.

Athens, now 9-6-1 overall, and 8-1-1, travel Thursday to face NTL-leading Wellsboro (11-2), which is 10-0 in league play.

EAST TROY — Sophomore Marcos Quiros scored to give Athens the early lead, and the Wildcats never trailed in a 3-2 win over Troy here Thursday afternoon in NTL boys soccer action.

Quiros scored about 12 1/2 minutes into the game to the Wildcats a 1-0 lead, then scored again with 15:14 remaining in the half to make it 2-0.

Troy’s Landon Jenkins scored 85 seconds later to close the gap to 2-1.

Senior Brayden Post put Athens back up two goals, off an assist from junior Korey Miller, with 9:54 remaining in the first half.

The remainder of the game was a defensive battle until Troy’s Andrew Houseknecht scored with 19 seconds left in the contest.

Athens had a 24-2 advantage in shots-on-goal, and a 3-1 edge in corner kicks.

Athens, now 9-5-1, returns to action Saturday morning at Williamsport.

WELLSBORO — Senior Ally Thoman scored a pair of second-half goals to help Athens to a come-from-behind, 3-2, win over Wellsboro here Wednesday afternoon in NTL Large School Division girls soccer action.

“We didn’t play well at all after our first goal,” said Athens coach Rich Pitts. “Wellsboro played great soccer and we didn’t have much of an answer.

“We re-grouped at half and came out to dominate the second half,” added Pitts. Another great come from behind win for the cardiac kids.

Freshman Kaitlyn Sutton put Athens on the board a little more than three minutes into the game, but Sarah Seeling scored 64 seconds later to tie the game at 1-1.

Corys Barlett put Wellsboro ahead 2-1 with 25:19 remaining in the first half.

Thoman, off a feed from sophomore Addy Wheeler, tied the game at 2-2 with 28:45 remaining.

About 5 1/2 minutes later, senior Taegan Williams lofted a pass over the defense, and Thoman tracked it down, then beat the keep 1-v-1 with the game-winner.

Athens had a 9-4 advantage in shots-on-goal, and a 4-1 edge in corner kicks.

Senior Karlee Bartlow had two saves in net for the Lady Wildcats.

Athens, now 5-5-1, travels to Horseheads Friday.

ATHENS — Junior Korey Miller had a career day, scoring four goals in the first half to lead Athens to a 4-1 win over Northeast Bradford here Saturday morning in NTL boys soccer action to cap off a successful Homecoming Weekend.

Miller scored his first three goals in less than five minutes to put the Wildcats up 3-0 with 29:53 remaining in the half.

“We played a great game today,” said Athens coach Jake Lezak. “The boys moved the ball well and created opportunities on goal.

“Korey (Miller) had an incredible game today,” added Lezak. “He was a workhorse on offense.”

Miller’s first goal came when he collected a loose ball in the box following an Athens corner kick, and drove it into the back of the net with 34:18 remaining in the half.

Just 30 seconds later, Miller took a feed from Mitch Hamilton and drove a shot from close range to make it 2-0.

Nearly four minutes later, Miller again beat the keeper to complete his hat trick.

With 6:25 left in the half, Miller poked the ball between the legs of a defender in the box, stepped around him, and beat the keeper with a hard shot to make it 4-0.

Athens had a 9-2 advantage in shots-on-goal, and a 6-2 edge in corner kicks.

Senior Grant Liechty had two saves in net for the Wildcats.

Athens, now 8-5-1, returns to action Thursday at Troy.

TIOGA JUNCTION, Pa. — Athens and Williamson walked on the pitch here Wednesday afternoon tied for second place in the NTL boys soccer standings, and 100 minutes of scoreless action later — a 0-0 double-OT draw — the two teams were fittingly still tied.

Athens and Williamson are both 6-1-1 in the NTL — trailing front-running Wellsboro, which is 8-0.

Longtime Athens coach Jake Lezak felt his Wildcats controlled the action throughout.

“We played very well,” said Lezak. “We controlled the flow of the game for a majority of the match, but just didn’t finish. The boys created a lot of opportunities but kept sending it to their keeper.

“The defensive side for us looked great as a team,” added Lezak. “We limited their chances and kept the pressure up the field.”

Athens had an 8-4 advantage in shots-on-goal, including a hard shot off the crossbar by senior Brayden Post.

Senior Grant Liechty had four saves in net for the Wildcats.

Athens, now 7-5-1, hosts NEB Saturday.

ATHENS — Junior Korey Miller had three goals and two assists, and senior Brayden Post also had a hat trick to pace Athens in a 9-1 rout of Towanda here Monday night in NTL boys soccer action at Alumni Stadium.

Post scored an unassisted goal just 27 seconds into the contest to give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead, then scored again, off a feed from Miller, about 20 1/2 minutes later to make it 2-0.

Miller notched his first goal, off an assist from sophomore Marco Quiros, with 1:57 remaining in the half to give the Wildcats a 3-0 lead, which it carried into the halftime break.

Post, off a feed from Miller, scored just 81 seconds after the intermission to finish off his hat trick and give Athens a 4-0 lead.

Miller scored off an assist from senior Levent VanHelden about 6 1/2 minutes later to extend the lead to 5-0.

Jack Wheaton put Towanda on the board with 28:34 remaining in the contest, closing the gap to 5-1.

Senior Caleb Hunsinger scored the first of his two goals two minutes later to make it 6-1.

Miller finished off his hat trick with 14:22 left in the contest, and junior Mitch Hamilton and Hunsinger capped the scoring in the final 5 1/2 minutes.

Athens had a 23-3 advantage in shots-on-goal, and a 9-1 edge in corner kicks.

Senior Grant Liechty had two saves in net for the Wildcats.

Athens, now 7-5, returns to action Wednesday at Williamson.

ATHENS — Corning scored three goals in the final 23 minutes, including two in the closing minutes, to blow open a close game and win a 5-1 decision over Athens here Friday night in non-league boys soccer action at Alumni Stadium.

After nearly 39 minutes of scoreless soccer, Corning’s Carter Rosno, who netted a hat trick for the Hawks, scored with 1:03 remaining in the first half.

Corning’s Jackson Casey made it 2-0 less than two minutes into the second half.

Junior Korey Miller put the Wildcats on the board with an unassisted goal with 29:30 remaining in the contest, but Rosno scored about 6 1/2 minutes later to push the lead back to two goals, at 3-1.

Rosno scored again with 4:45 remaining, and Colton Loeber tacked on the final tally for the Hawks with 1:02 remaining.

Corning had a 19-4 advantage in shots-on-goal, and a 7-0 edge in corner kicks.

Athens, now 6-4, returns to action Monday at Towanda. Game time is 6 p.m.

ROME, Pa. — Sophomore Marco Quiros netted a first-half hat trick as Athens handed Northeast Bradford its first NTL boys soccer loss, a 5-0 decision here Wednesday afternoon.

Athens (6-3) overall improves to 5-1 in league play, while NEB (4-2) is now tied with Williamson (5-2) at 4-1. Wellsboro sits atop the NTL standings at 7-0.

“It took us a little while in the first half to get settled in,” said Athens coach Jake Lezak. “NEB has some good midfielders who were tough to handle all game, but especially early on.

“Once we started passing and creating, moving the ball forward it just came together for the boys,” he noted. “We created a lot in the second half and just didn’t put it low and away from there keeper.

“The boys played a good defensive game with guys getting in and behind where we needed them,” added Lezak. “We still have to work hard at staying consistent for 80 minutes, regardless of who is in, but we are narrowing that gap.”

Quiros, off a feed from senior Levent VanHelden, scored with 24 minutes remaining in the first half, and the Wildcats scored four more goals in the next 13 minutes.

With 22 minutes remaining, junior Korey Miller, off an assist from sophomore Isaac Wilcox, scored to extend the lead to 2-0. Two minutes later, Quiros scored off an assist from Miller to make it 3-0.

With 15 minutes remaining in the half, Quiros finished off his hat trick, with VanHelden getting the assist.

Four minutes later, senior Brayden Post capped the scoring, with Miller credited with an assist.

Athens had a 14-3 advantage in shots-on-goal, while NEB had a 3-2 edge in corner kicks.

Senior Grady Liechty had three saves in net for the Wildcats.

Athens returns to action Friday when it hosts powerhouse Corning.

ATHENS — Neither team managed many shots-on-goal in a defensive battle, but Athens made the more its opportunities, scoring on both of its second-half shots to pull out a 2-1 non-league win over Horseheads here Monday evening in boys soccer action at Alumni Stadium.

Horseheads scored late in the first half, and led 1-0 at the intermission.

With 13:32 remaining in the contest, sophomore Eli Benninger-Jones tied the game up with an unassisted goal.

About 10 minutes later, with 1:40 left in the contest, junior Korey Miller, off an assist from senior Levent VanHelden, scored the eventual game-winning goal.

The win snaps a three-game losing streak this season against non-league opponents.

Horseheads, which has now lost five straight, had a 4-3 edge in shots-on-goal, and a 6-3 advantage in corner kicks.

Senior Grant Liechty recorded three saves in net for the Wildcats.

Athens, now 5-4, returns to action Wednesday at NEB.

ATHENS — Midd-West pumped in four second-half goals to blow open a close game en route to a 5-0 non-league win over Athens here Saturday afternoon in boys soccer action at Alumni Stadium.

“It was a good first half from the team, but a poor second half,” said Athens coach Jake Lezak.

“We have to be a better team and kill the dribble, and put the other teams back line under pressure,” noted Lezak.

“Poor transition led to the second and third goals after we failed to pass early and lost possession.
 
“I think the biggest issue we have is trusting each other against the better opponents,” added Lezak. “The boys have to take ownership of their own mistakes first then we can improve.”

Owen Solomon made a run down the right-side of the box, and fired a shot across the goal mouth inside the net at the far post with 15:08 remaining in the first half for the only goal prior to the halftime intermission.

Athens senior keeper Grant Liechty made a pair of diving saves in the first half to keep the score at 1-0.

Kyle Ferster and Noah Romig scored in the opening minutes of the second half to give the Mustangs a 3-0 lead.

Romig and Solomon tacked on goals in the final 15 minutes to provide the final margin.

Midd-West had a 11-3 advantage in shots-on-goal, and a 4-2 edge in corner kicks.

Liechty recorded six saves in net the for the Wildcats.

Athens, now 4-4, hosts Horseheads Monday at 6 p.m.

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.