Gatsini
WYOMING – Pittston Area broke a halftime tie and another that had existed for a year.
Fabrice Gatsini scored his team’s first three goals and assisted on the fourth Monday when the Patriots defeated host Wyoming Area, 5-1, in a non-league soccer game.
“This is my first win against Wyoming Area,” fifth-year Patriots coach Kevin Curry said. “Overall, it was 26-26 going into here, so we got the tiebreaker.
“I went to school at Pittston Area, played soccer all four years there. This game means a lot to all the players. We really wanted to take a talent, add some energy and hope to get some results.
“ … It’s nice to get one that we haven’t gotten in a while.”
Gatsinzi made it possible. He opened the scoring on a free kick.
Wyoming Area’s Liam Burke scored off a Nicholas Ciampi assist to tie the game, 1-1, at halftime.
The Patriots dominated from there, then scored four times in the last 15:23.
Gatsinzi broke the tie on a header off a Kyle Roman corner kick, then converted another free kick 2:49 later.
“The second half, we played the ball, possessed the ball and played our game,” he said.
Sadiki Murindabangabo scored off Gatsinzi’s assist with 3:10 left, then William Egan added a late goal on Jacob Ivey’s assist.
Curry saw a distinct improvement from the first half as the Patriots picked up their win in what is now a 3-0 start.
“We decided at halftime that we were going to play our game, which is finding people in the middle of the field,” Curry said. “ … It was that and winning balls in the air.
“The goal we gave up in the first half was on a ball that got through our defense.
“We decided we were going to attack the ball in the air and not let anything get behind us. We controlled most of the second half with that strategy.”
