Lynchburg-Clay scores late 2nd-half goal to win sectional title over Fairfield
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
DODSONVILLE — All the Lynchburg-Clay Mustangs had to do was wait until the right time to see the offensive pressure they continued to put on the Fairfield Lions in the second half come to fruition. In fact, it was freshman Ian Waits who put the ball into the back of the net for what became the game-winning goal on Wednesday night.
The Mustangs (12-4-2) — who are the co-Southern Hills Athletic Conference champions — were all tied up with the visiting Lions with under 4:00 to go in regulation in the Division III SE District Sectional Final match. With the air being crisp, rain starting to fall and the wind not being anyone’s friend, it was a freshman who put the Mustangs over the top when they needed a goal the most.
Waits scored the game-winning goal (his eighth goal of the season) with 3:01 remaining on the second-half clock, and he did so by getting the ball past a Fairfield defense that played a strong game for the entire 80 minutes of action. Waits did what he needed to do to get the Mustangs back to the district semifinals, and by doing so, he gave the home team a sectional championship.
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“Fairfield came to play, and they played hard from start to finish and kudos to them. Those kids played hard,” Lynchburg-Clay head coach Jason West said. “Ian scored the game winner, and before that we pulled him out to give him a couple minutes’ rest. We wanted him to give what he had, and he did, and he put the ball in the back of the net.”
On the other side of the field, the Lions took their Highland County counterpart to the brink by using their aforementioned defense, and the play of senior keeper James Bentley was on point, as he stayed in the game late while battling a shoulder issue as he landed awkwardly after making a big stop.
“We played hard, they played hard, and I think injuries caught up with us a little bit too at the end,” Fairfield head coach Jacob Alexander said. “We had Justin Sowders go down, and James had his shoulder there, and once they saw that they were going for blood, they capitalized on it, and that is what good teams do.
“Jordan’s goal was a great left-footed shot, and it was one of those that you saw develop and he put it in the goal. That is what senior captains do — they rise to the moment, and he did.”
Bentley finished the sectional semifinal match with 25 saves, as he had a career season by totaling 186 saves this season, averaging nearly 10 saves per game.
“James had someone who has watched more soccer than I’ll ever see come up to him after the game and say that James played one of the best games he’s ever seen from a goalkeeper,” Alexander said. “James was everywhere, and he had a great night.”
Back to the Mustangs, they were the first team to score a goal on Wednesday night. They did so by having a goal from sophomore Harrison Burge with 27:14 left in the first half, and the 1-0 score stood until halftime arrived. Burge now has six goals this season.
Near the middle of the second half, the Lions began putting pressure on the defense of the Mustangs with a near goal at the 31:00 mark. Just four minutes later, with the clock reading 26:11, Fairfield scored their lone goal off a kick by senior Jordan Cameron for the 1-1 score that stood until Waits put the Mustangs ahead with 3:01 left in the match.
Before this season, in the previous two years the Lions didn’t win a regular-season contest and had just one win (in the postseason). This year, the Lions turned the corner and finished with an overall record of 7-11 with a 2-5 mark in the SHAC. In the postseason, the Lions finish 1-1 with the sectional semifinal win coming against Portsmouth by an 8-0 score on Saturday, Oct. 12.
Cameron led the Lions in goals this season with eight, and next was fellow senior Ethan Saunders with seven. Sophomores Koben Zink and Reece Teeters each end the season with four goals. Cameron also led the Lions with eight assists in ’19, while Zink and Jon Bentley each finished with four assists for the season.
“This season was reassuring that the program is heading in the right direction by what we saw from the young guys this season,” Alexander said. “We have a good foundation with Reece Teeters, Koben Zink and Tucker Watson and getting Cody Ayers and Bryce McVay, there is a lot to build on next year.”
Alexander also spoke about his seniors.
“I’m going to miss this one because the first freshman I had was from this senior class in Brayden Grooms, then we added more their sophomore year in Justin Sowders, James Bentley, Jordan Cameron, Corey Allen and Braighton Wise coming out his senior year,” Alexander said. “There is also Ethan Saunders and Wyatt Willey coming out this season as well, and this class are workhorses. They are good kids and will do good things in life.”
The defense of the Mustangs stood up strong as well when the Lions had their few scoring opportunities. This season, LC keeper Gavin Stroop has 50-plus saves.
“As always, our defense starts in the midfield by not allowing the transition from our opponent not playing the ball from out of the back,” West said. “We don’t allow the ball very often over the midfield line because that is part of our deal. We play the flat back line and push forward, and we don’t have to run backward often if we maintain possession of the ball.”
Next for the Mustangs is a Division III SE District Semifinal match on Saturday, Oct. 19 at 7 p.m. as they’ll be facing Minford in Waverly. Minford (11-4-1) won their sectional title by defeating New Boston by a 2-1 score on Wednesday night.
“Getting back to the district again is an honor,” West said. “They understand they didn’t play very well tonight, and some of them realize that whether we were at our best or not, the other team came to play and we are fortunate to come away with the victory. We’ll talk about how to handle that the next couple practices.”
The Mustangs (12-4-2) — who are the co-Southern Hills Athletic Conference champions — were all tied up with the visiting Lions with under 4:00 to go in regulation in the Division III SE District Sectional Final match. With the air being crisp, rain starting to fall and the wind not being anyone’s friend, it was a freshman who put the Mustangs over the top when they needed a goal the most.
Waits scored the game-winning goal (his eighth goal of the season) with 3:01 remaining on the second-half clock, and he did so by getting the ball past a Fairfield defense that played a strong game for the entire 80 minutes of action. Waits did what he needed to do to get the Mustangs back to the district semifinals, and by doing so, he gave the home team a sectional championship.
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“Fairfield came to play, and they played hard from start to finish and kudos to them. Those kids played hard,” Lynchburg-Clay head coach Jason West said. “Ian scored the game winner, and before that we pulled him out to give him a couple minutes’ rest. We wanted him to give what he had, and he did, and he put the ball in the back of the net.”
On the other side of the field, the Lions took their Highland County counterpart to the brink by using their aforementioned defense, and the play of senior keeper James Bentley was on point, as he stayed in the game late while battling a shoulder issue as he landed awkwardly after making a big stop.
“We played hard, they played hard, and I think injuries caught up with us a little bit too at the end,” Fairfield head coach Jacob Alexander said. “We had Justin Sowders go down, and James had his shoulder there, and once they saw that they were going for blood, they capitalized on it, and that is what good teams do.
“Jordan’s goal was a great left-footed shot, and it was one of those that you saw develop and he put it in the goal. That is what senior captains do — they rise to the moment, and he did.”
Bentley finished the sectional semifinal match with 25 saves, as he had a career season by totaling 186 saves this season, averaging nearly 10 saves per game.
“James had someone who has watched more soccer than I’ll ever see come up to him after the game and say that James played one of the best games he’s ever seen from a goalkeeper,” Alexander said. “James was everywhere, and he had a great night.”
Back to the Mustangs, they were the first team to score a goal on Wednesday night. They did so by having a goal from sophomore Harrison Burge with 27:14 left in the first half, and the 1-0 score stood until halftime arrived. Burge now has six goals this season.
Near the middle of the second half, the Lions began putting pressure on the defense of the Mustangs with a near goal at the 31:00 mark. Just four minutes later, with the clock reading 26:11, Fairfield scored their lone goal off a kick by senior Jordan Cameron for the 1-1 score that stood until Waits put the Mustangs ahead with 3:01 left in the match.
Before this season, in the previous two years the Lions didn’t win a regular-season contest and had just one win (in the postseason). This year, the Lions turned the corner and finished with an overall record of 7-11 with a 2-5 mark in the SHAC. In the postseason, the Lions finish 1-1 with the sectional semifinal win coming against Portsmouth by an 8-0 score on Saturday, Oct. 12.
Cameron led the Lions in goals this season with eight, and next was fellow senior Ethan Saunders with seven. Sophomores Koben Zink and Reece Teeters each end the season with four goals. Cameron also led the Lions with eight assists in ’19, while Zink and Jon Bentley each finished with four assists for the season.
“This season was reassuring that the program is heading in the right direction by what we saw from the young guys this season,” Alexander said. “We have a good foundation with Reece Teeters, Koben Zink and Tucker Watson and getting Cody Ayers and Bryce McVay, there is a lot to build on next year.”
Alexander also spoke about his seniors.
“I’m going to miss this one because the first freshman I had was from this senior class in Brayden Grooms, then we added more their sophomore year in Justin Sowders, James Bentley, Jordan Cameron, Corey Allen and Braighton Wise coming out his senior year,” Alexander said. “There is also Ethan Saunders and Wyatt Willey coming out this season as well, and this class are workhorses. They are good kids and will do good things in life.”
The defense of the Mustangs stood up strong as well when the Lions had their few scoring opportunities. This season, LC keeper Gavin Stroop has 50-plus saves.
“As always, our defense starts in the midfield by not allowing the transition from our opponent not playing the ball from out of the back,” West said. “We don’t allow the ball very often over the midfield line because that is part of our deal. We play the flat back line and push forward, and we don’t have to run backward often if we maintain possession of the ball.”
Next for the Mustangs is a Division III SE District Semifinal match on Saturday, Oct. 19 at 7 p.m. as they’ll be facing Minford in Waverly. Minford (11-4-1) won their sectional title by defeating New Boston by a 2-1 score on Wednesday night.
“Getting back to the district again is an honor,” West said. “They understand they didn’t play very well tonight, and some of them realize that whether we were at our best or not, the other team came to play and we are fortunate to come away with the victory. We’ll talk about how to handle that the next couple practices.”