Rockets take down Lions
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
LEESBURG — The Fairfield Lions defended their home field on Senior Night with great effort, but ultimately it was the Fayetteville Rockets who left the Southern Hills Athletic Conference match with the win.
Fayetteville was able to score a goal in each of the 40-minute halves for a 2-1 victory over Fairfield Tuesday.
“The biggest difference of the game was the mental aspect of it,” Fairfield head coach Jacob Alexander said. “We weren’t prepared in the sense we started playing with a sense of urgency, and once we started do that, we lost our mental edge. We didn’t play the ball where we should have.
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“We were in the midst of ‘we’ve got to get a goal’ and pressed. In that sense, we got out of our element, and getting a goal was our only thought. We pressed to get the goal, and the basics went out the window.”
Alexander continued to speak about his team and how he’s seen improvement at times this season.
“We take one step forward and two steps back. I’ll see vast improvement in one area and then another area will suffer,” Alexander said. “We are a young team, and we have a lot of first-year players, so it is still a learning experience.
“We lack the concentration, but that will come for a lot of these guys with maturity and focus. Right now I’m seeing improvement on what we focus on, but the things we once focused on before, we have to circle back to it.”
Although the Rockets were first to score a goal within the first 20 minutes of action, the Lions didn’t back down and eventually tied the score at 1-1 with a goal off a penalty kick by Jordan Cameron as the score remained 1-1 when halftime arrived.
In the second half, the Lions had opportunities for goals but just were off on the shots that were taken. The Rockets were able to make one shot for a goal to take a 2-1 advantage, with that goal coming at the 29:14 mark of the second half.
The Lions had a couple final chances to tie the game, missing a penalty kick opportunity at the 2:15 mark, and they also had a direct kick chance but were unable to convert a goal on those chances as well.
Fairfield celebrated their seniors following the match, with those players being Wyatt Fent, Zach Ison, Tanner Collins, Nick Evans and Andrew Dingey.
“I have a special place in my heart for Zach and Tanner because they’ve been with me the longest,” Alexander said. “When we were struggling to get numbers in the past, they stepped up, and they are both senior captains. They’ve been instrumental in us going from 14 players last year to 19 players this year, which is a big difference in soccer.
“Wyatt, Zach and Nick were very welcome additions and are starters at this point of the season. They are all guys you want on your team.”
The loss sends FHS to an 0-10 overall record and 0-6 mark in the SHAC.
Fayetteville was able to score a goal in each of the 40-minute halves for a 2-1 victory over Fairfield Tuesday.
“The biggest difference of the game was the mental aspect of it,” Fairfield head coach Jacob Alexander said. “We weren’t prepared in the sense we started playing with a sense of urgency, and once we started do that, we lost our mental edge. We didn’t play the ball where we should have.
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“We were in the midst of ‘we’ve got to get a goal’ and pressed. In that sense, we got out of our element, and getting a goal was our only thought. We pressed to get the goal, and the basics went out the window.”
Alexander continued to speak about his team and how he’s seen improvement at times this season.
“We take one step forward and two steps back. I’ll see vast improvement in one area and then another area will suffer,” Alexander said. “We are a young team, and we have a lot of first-year players, so it is still a learning experience.
“We lack the concentration, but that will come for a lot of these guys with maturity and focus. Right now I’m seeing improvement on what we focus on, but the things we once focused on before, we have to circle back to it.”
Although the Rockets were first to score a goal within the first 20 minutes of action, the Lions didn’t back down and eventually tied the score at 1-1 with a goal off a penalty kick by Jordan Cameron as the score remained 1-1 when halftime arrived.
In the second half, the Lions had opportunities for goals but just were off on the shots that were taken. The Rockets were able to make one shot for a goal to take a 2-1 advantage, with that goal coming at the 29:14 mark of the second half.
The Lions had a couple final chances to tie the game, missing a penalty kick opportunity at the 2:15 mark, and they also had a direct kick chance but were unable to convert a goal on those chances as well.
Fairfield celebrated their seniors following the match, with those players being Wyatt Fent, Zach Ison, Tanner Collins, Nick Evans and Andrew Dingey.
“I have a special place in my heart for Zach and Tanner because they’ve been with me the longest,” Alexander said. “When we were struggling to get numbers in the past, they stepped up, and they are both senior captains. They’ve been instrumental in us going from 14 players last year to 19 players this year, which is a big difference in soccer.
“Wyatt, Zach and Nick were very welcome additions and are starters at this point of the season. They are all guys you want on your team.”
The loss sends FHS to an 0-10 overall record and 0-6 mark in the SHAC.