Tioga County Sports ReportOWEGO — Matt Higgins scored three first-half goals to lead Owego in a 5-1 win over Waverly here Wednesday night in STAC Central Division boys soccer action.
“It was a really solid, if not spectacular, performance tonight,” said Owego coach Alessio De Michele.
“We started very well and tried to maintain the same ferocious tempo with and without the ball, which is the key to our game,” he noted.
“It’s demanding and challenging when we play so many games in a condensed time,” added De Michele. “However, it was a terrific opportunity for more minutes for all players who work so hard every day to show what they can do.”
Higgins gave the River Hawks a 1-0 with a goal about five minutes into the contest.
About 10 minutes later, Higgins cleaned up a loose ball in the box after a corner kick, and rifled it past the Waverly keeper to make it 2-0.
With 15:06 remaining in the first half, Higgins picked off a Waverly pass, and blasted a shot from 30 yards out into the upper-90 to extend the lead to 3-0.
Logan Roskow put the Wolverines on the board, off an assist from Peyton Robinson, less than a minute later to close the gap to 3-1.
Vasil Brich, who also had two assists, scored about 10 minutes after the intermission to make it 4-1.
Sawyer Prentiss scored a few minutes later to provide the final margin.
Matt Samuelson and Ryan Barnes were also credited with assists for the River Hawks.
Owego had an 8-5 advantage in shots-on-goal, and a 7-1 edge in corner kicks.
Owego, now 9-0, returns to action Friday at Seton Catholic.
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IN PHOTO 1: Owego’s Matt Higgins. IN TOP PHOTO: Owego’s Matt Higgins rifles a shot through a crowd for a goal. … PHOTOS BY TIM BIRNEY.
