Athens Academy takes down Clarke Central 2-1

The Athens Academy men’s soccer team defeated Clarke Central 2-1 at Billy Henderson Stadium, Friday April 9th.

The two goals scored for the Spartans were made by junior forward, Myles Pringle. Both free kicks were scored in the second half. And were made 12 minutes apart from each other.

“It was a great shot,” Pringle said, “I’m glad I found my opportunity.”

Athens Academy struggled to find their groove in the first half, missing multiple scoring opportunities. Although they had the first attempt of the game, the Spartans went scoreless for the first 40.

Clarke Central put pressure on the Spartans by scoring the first goal and keeping them shutout for a half. Ulisses Silis was given a corner kick, which was passed to Cullen Bruner in midfield. Brunner crossed the ball to Ehtaloe Htoo, who would then make the goal by header.

During halftime the Spartans regrouped and responded by a faster and a more anticipatory approach.

“We need to be quicker on the ball, we need to be smarter on the ball.” said Athens Academy head coach Stefan Billmayer. “I think falling into that was like, ‘Oh okay, that’s what we have to do.’ And I think you saw that confidence in the second half.”

Both Athens Academy and Clarke Central found multiple conflicts with the referees in the second half. Hunter Yelton, forward for the Gladiators was given a yellow card after arguing over a foul play.

Junior midfielder for the Spartans, Oliver Yates was given an immediate red card, and had to leave for the remainder of the game. Both teams were given bad calls throughout the second half, but Athens Academy’s student section made the calls against the Spartans seem almost out of line.

Clarke County public schools are currently on spring break therefore Athens Academy’s student body took it upon themselves to make Billy Henderson Stadium feel more like their home. More like Slaughter Field.

“This is big for them, you have an audience who is cheering for you and your number and shouting your name, that’s what they’ll hold forever,” said Coach Billmayer

Both teams consistently do well in their respected region and normally make it pretty far in state playoffs. Clarke Central is a top ranked team in the state and finished second in region this year while Athens Academy secured their 6th straight region title after shutting out Prince Avenue 10-0 on April 2nd.

As for the future, Athens Academy will head to Loganville Christian Academy this Tuesday for their last region game of the season. Meanwhile Clarke Central will travel across town to take on Cedar Shoals tomorrow night.