Hornets dominate on Senior Night
By: Ed Weaver | NTL Sports | October 19, 2017
The Wellsboro Varsity Boys Soccer team sent off their senior team members with a dominant performance with an 8-0 win over Northern Potter on Wednesday, October 18.
"I was really happy for the boys. They played well, the seniors all got a chance to start and play about 40 minutes and just really happy how they played on their senior night," said head coach John Shaffer.
The Hornets opened up the scoring 10 minutes into the game as senior Gabe Leach sent a shot to the far-right post and into the goal. A Kaeden Mann to Noah Fitch goal made it 2-0 with 25 minutes remaining, then Wellsboro scored four goals in eight minutes to take a 6-0 lead into the half.
Fitch turned around and assisted Mann on a goal, then senior Tanner Runyan assisted Fitch to make it 4-0. Mann then assisted junior Brett Rudy and Fitch closed out the half with his third goal for the hat trick with 11 minutes remaining.
Wellsboro increased their lead in the second half on two more goals in a short span. With 27:28 remaining,freshman Will Poirier assisted freshman Joseph Grab, then 5 minutes later Grab assisted Rudy for the game's final goal.
The Hornets played the majority of the game on Northern Potter's side of the field, taking 45 shots to the Panthers' 5. The Hornets took 4 corner kicks and had 2 direct kicks.
Junior Nate Redell played 66 minutes in goal and held the Panthers scoreless. Freshman Ethan Ryan played the remaining 14 minutes.
"These boys mean so much to me," continued Shaffer. "Nine seniors, they came in as freshman a year after we went to states and they always had the goal to get back. They've always had big goals and have worked really hard over the last four years. They're on the pinnacle of being able to reach those goals."
One of the goals the Hornet seniors have had their minds on is winning an NTL Championship. The last time Wellsboro won the league was 2011. This team has a chance to make history tomorrow night in Athens.
"Athens came here and tied 2-2 in a hard fought battle. I'm sure Athens feels like they're going to win it. We feel like we're going to win it. I think it'll be the game of the year," Shaffer concluded.
Ed Weaver is the owner of Circle W Sports in Wellsboro, PA, is the Sports Director for The Home Page Network and the creator of WellsboroAthletics.com and WellsboroFootball.com. You can follow him on Twitter or friend him on Facebook.
