Bates leads Lions past Tigers with hat trick
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
GREENFIELD — The first half belonged to Fairfield senior Ryan Bates, and the rest fell into place for the Lions, as they visited Greenfield and left with a win, as they defeated the McClain Tigers, 4-2, Monday.
The win at McClain Field for the Lions came with a strong first half offensively, with Bates netting two goals past the Tigers' defense and finishing the match with a hat trick as he scored one goal in the second half.
"Ryan played great," FHS head coach Brian Ortlieb said. "He did a great job of staying home, and that allowed him to be in position to score the goals."
Bates' first goal came with 38:43 left in the first half, and he made it a two-goal lead with 11:01 for FHS with the assist from fellow senior Blake Hildebrant, as that lead stood to halftime.
"Blake did a good job of distributing the ball," Ortlieb said.
Also in the opening half for the Lions, senior keeper Joey Wilson stretched out and made a diving stop to keep, at the time, a one-goal lead.
"Joey is one of the best keepers in the area, I believe that," Ortlieb said. "I know when he's at goal, all of us can count on him."
The Tigers didn't back down, though, as McClain senior Mikel Pritchard kicked the ball past a diving Wilson to cut the Lions' lead in half at 2-1 with 28:26 remaining in the first half.
"McClain has a good, sound team," Ortlieb said. "Coming off fair week, you never know what's going to happen, but this was a big win."
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Once the score was a one-goal difference for the first time in the second half, the physicality of the match picked up as well, as the Tigers (2-2-2) almost tied the score around the 27-minute mark, but the goal sailed just high above the cross bar.
"I don't want to make excuses, but little practice during fair week, it is hard to come out and be competitive," MHS head coach Jon Chamblin said. "We were just flat for one half … we came out flat.
"Fairfield came ready to play a full game, and we came to play only a half."
The Lions answered with a converted goal as Hildebrant scored his first goal of the match from around 10 yards away, into the right corner of the goal, with 23:25 left on the McClain Tigers' scoreboard, putting the Lions ahead by two goals at 3-1.
Again, the Tigers didn't back down, cutting the Lions' lead back to one goal as Lincoln O'Connor scored off a rebound off a header by Juan Rivas in front of the net around the 21-minute mark of the second half.
"I felt the momentum shifted to them (McClain) in parts of the second half, and they controlled the midfield, which gave them the momentum, and they did a good job," Ortlieb said.
"We did get the midfield back toward the end, and I was happy to see that."
The Tigers had a couple chances shortly following their second goal to tie the match, as their offense applied pressure to the defense of the Lions, but it was MHS who slightly kicked the ball too wide or too high, sailing past the net.
MHS had another shot to tie the score with 12:30 on the clock with an open look at the goal, but the ball sailed to high over the top of the cross bar.
Bates put the Lions back ahead by two goals with Bates scoring on a leading header that landed in the left corner of the net with 6:25 remaining in the match.
The Tigers will host the Chillicothe Cavaliers Tuesday in South Central Ohio League play. The Lions face Southeastern, Tuesday at FHS, starting at 5 p.m.
The win at McClain Field for the Lions came with a strong first half offensively, with Bates netting two goals past the Tigers' defense and finishing the match with a hat trick as he scored one goal in the second half.
"Ryan played great," FHS head coach Brian Ortlieb said. "He did a great job of staying home, and that allowed him to be in position to score the goals."
Bates' first goal came with 38:43 left in the first half, and he made it a two-goal lead with 11:01 for FHS with the assist from fellow senior Blake Hildebrant, as that lead stood to halftime.
"Blake did a good job of distributing the ball," Ortlieb said.
Also in the opening half for the Lions, senior keeper Joey Wilson stretched out and made a diving stop to keep, at the time, a one-goal lead.
"Joey is one of the best keepers in the area, I believe that," Ortlieb said. "I know when he's at goal, all of us can count on him."
The Tigers didn't back down, though, as McClain senior Mikel Pritchard kicked the ball past a diving Wilson to cut the Lions' lead in half at 2-1 with 28:26 remaining in the first half.
"McClain has a good, sound team," Ortlieb said. "Coming off fair week, you never know what's going to happen, but this was a big win."
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Once the score was a one-goal difference for the first time in the second half, the physicality of the match picked up as well, as the Tigers (2-2-2) almost tied the score around the 27-minute mark, but the goal sailed just high above the cross bar.
"I don't want to make excuses, but little practice during fair week, it is hard to come out and be competitive," MHS head coach Jon Chamblin said. "We were just flat for one half … we came out flat.
"Fairfield came ready to play a full game, and we came to play only a half."
The Lions answered with a converted goal as Hildebrant scored his first goal of the match from around 10 yards away, into the right corner of the goal, with 23:25 left on the McClain Tigers' scoreboard, putting the Lions ahead by two goals at 3-1.
Again, the Tigers didn't back down, cutting the Lions' lead back to one goal as Lincoln O'Connor scored off a rebound off a header by Juan Rivas in front of the net around the 21-minute mark of the second half.
"I felt the momentum shifted to them (McClain) in parts of the second half, and they controlled the midfield, which gave them the momentum, and they did a good job," Ortlieb said.
"We did get the midfield back toward the end, and I was happy to see that."
The Tigers had a couple chances shortly following their second goal to tie the match, as their offense applied pressure to the defense of the Lions, but it was MHS who slightly kicked the ball too wide or too high, sailing past the net.
MHS had another shot to tie the score with 12:30 on the clock with an open look at the goal, but the ball sailed to high over the top of the cross bar.
Bates put the Lions back ahead by two goals with Bates scoring on a leading header that landed in the left corner of the net with 6:25 remaining in the match.
The Tigers will host the Chillicothe Cavaliers Tuesday in South Central Ohio League play. The Lions face Southeastern, Tuesday at FHS, starting at 5 p.m.