McClain pulls away for win over Fairfield
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
LEESBURG — For most of the 80 minutes on the field, the McClain Tigers and Fairfield Lions played a closely contested contest, but in the final 15 minutes of play, it was the visiting Tigers who were able to pull away and gain a three-goal victory at Fairfield High School, Thursday night.
The Tigers (2-1) earned the 4-1 win by having a two-goal lead at halftime, as Braeden Bergstrom scored the first goal of the non-conference match at the 37:37 mark of the first half. That was later followed with a goal from Evan Hutchinson at the 13-minute mark of the same half for the 2-0 lead.
“I was very happy. The first half, we came out kind of slow. We had a lot of opportunities on goal but just struggled to finish. That’s the story of McClain right now. As soon as we did, we were getting opportunities and held on to their side of the field for a good majority of the game,” McClain head coach Nick McNeal said. “We ended the first half 2-0, and the boys came out in the second half ready to play and did well.”
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Fairfield (0-2) scored their lone goal on a nice shot — over the head of the keeper on a free kick — with 26 minutes left in the second half, slashing the Tigers’ lead in half at 2-1 off a shot by Jordan Cameron.
Fairfield head coach Jacob Alexander spoke about his team following their first two matches of the season.
“It was a rough one to swallow. We kept it close for a really long time, and then we just gave two up right there at the end. The last one was just laziness on our part. We played them tight. We played them well,” Alexander said. “We’re a young team, starting three freshmen already. We’re learning as we go. I’d like to see where we’re going to be if we could play this team later on in the season. They play a rougher style than we do. We’re trying to learn a finesse style. When you go up a team that’s a little bit stronger than you at times, especially with freshmen, it can cause you to lose your focus on finesse and technique.
“We had one scrimmage, so yesterday and today were our first two real games. For how early in the season it is, it’s promising. I’m not upset, I’m not dismayed. It’s promising. We’ve got a lot to build with, and we’ll get better as the season goes on.”
As the game continued to be more physical than finesse, the more the clock ticked away,the more McClain was able to pull away, with two goals at the end of the match for the three-goal win.
McClain made it a 3-1 score with 14:20 left on the Fairfield scoreboard with Hutchinson gaining his second goal of the match with a header. That was later followed with the final goal, which was scored by Caleb Goddard of McClain with 1:56 left on the clock, securing the win.
“They talked to each other well. They’re getting more and more opportunities on goal. Leesburg didn’t end up getting a good goal against us,” McNeal said. “That free kick (by Fairfield) was a nice free kick sinking in the back of the net. It was a pretty shot, a good shot. After that, we hung our heads a little bit and they got fired up.
“It turned into a good game. Leesburg came out and they were fired up. I loved it. Our boys came back, Hutchinson got that nice header and barely went under the goalkeeper. It was good.”
McNeal also spoke about his team’s overall play.
“I think it was a good learning experience for the boys. We were up 2-0, which 2-0 seems like you’re big-time ahead in the game, but then Leesburg got that goal and it was 2-1 and a close game again. It was very, very close,” McNeal said. “I think that was a good lesson learned. You’ve got to stay fired up and keep on fighting. You’ve got to get goals while you can. The pressuring, the attacking and everything is the best defense you can have as well. If you’re continuously attacking, they never get the opportunity to attack.
“I was pleased with tonight, I was pleased with the win and I was pleased with the effort the boys put in. The thing we saw that we needed to do more was communicate in the second half vs. the first half, and they came out and did that. I was very pleased with that. I’m very pleased that they are willing to get better and have that drive.”
Fairfield’s James Bentley finished the match with 10 saves, and Andrew Dingey had one save. For McClain, Noah Reeves had one save.
“James at goal did a great job. He’s done a very nice job from last year starting at this time to basically playing goalie for one calendar year now,” Alexander said.
The Tigers (2-1) earned the 4-1 win by having a two-goal lead at halftime, as Braeden Bergstrom scored the first goal of the non-conference match at the 37:37 mark of the first half. That was later followed with a goal from Evan Hutchinson at the 13-minute mark of the same half for the 2-0 lead.
“I was very happy. The first half, we came out kind of slow. We had a lot of opportunities on goal but just struggled to finish. That’s the story of McClain right now. As soon as we did, we were getting opportunities and held on to their side of the field for a good majority of the game,” McClain head coach Nick McNeal said. “We ended the first half 2-0, and the boys came out in the second half ready to play and did well.”
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Fairfield (0-2) scored their lone goal on a nice shot — over the head of the keeper on a free kick — with 26 minutes left in the second half, slashing the Tigers’ lead in half at 2-1 off a shot by Jordan Cameron.
Fairfield head coach Jacob Alexander spoke about his team following their first two matches of the season.
“It was a rough one to swallow. We kept it close for a really long time, and then we just gave two up right there at the end. The last one was just laziness on our part. We played them tight. We played them well,” Alexander said. “We’re a young team, starting three freshmen already. We’re learning as we go. I’d like to see where we’re going to be if we could play this team later on in the season. They play a rougher style than we do. We’re trying to learn a finesse style. When you go up a team that’s a little bit stronger than you at times, especially with freshmen, it can cause you to lose your focus on finesse and technique.
“We had one scrimmage, so yesterday and today were our first two real games. For how early in the season it is, it’s promising. I’m not upset, I’m not dismayed. It’s promising. We’ve got a lot to build with, and we’ll get better as the season goes on.”
As the game continued to be more physical than finesse, the more the clock ticked away,the more McClain was able to pull away, with two goals at the end of the match for the three-goal win.
McClain made it a 3-1 score with 14:20 left on the Fairfield scoreboard with Hutchinson gaining his second goal of the match with a header. That was later followed with the final goal, which was scored by Caleb Goddard of McClain with 1:56 left on the clock, securing the win.
“They talked to each other well. They’re getting more and more opportunities on goal. Leesburg didn’t end up getting a good goal against us,” McNeal said. “That free kick (by Fairfield) was a nice free kick sinking in the back of the net. It was a pretty shot, a good shot. After that, we hung our heads a little bit and they got fired up.
“It turned into a good game. Leesburg came out and they were fired up. I loved it. Our boys came back, Hutchinson got that nice header and barely went under the goalkeeper. It was good.”
McNeal also spoke about his team’s overall play.
“I think it was a good learning experience for the boys. We were up 2-0, which 2-0 seems like you’re big-time ahead in the game, but then Leesburg got that goal and it was 2-1 and a close game again. It was very, very close,” McNeal said. “I think that was a good lesson learned. You’ve got to stay fired up and keep on fighting. You’ve got to get goals while you can. The pressuring, the attacking and everything is the best defense you can have as well. If you’re continuously attacking, they never get the opportunity to attack.
“I was pleased with tonight, I was pleased with the win and I was pleased with the effort the boys put in. The thing we saw that we needed to do more was communicate in the second half vs. the first half, and they came out and did that. I was very pleased with that. I’m very pleased that they are willing to get better and have that drive.”
Fairfield’s James Bentley finished the match with 10 saves, and Andrew Dingey had one save. For McClain, Noah Reeves had one save.
“James at goal did a great job. He’s done a very nice job from last year starting at this time to basically playing goalie for one calendar year now,” Alexander said.