Fairfield falls to Peebles in district semifinals
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
LEESBURG – It took one goal by the Peebles Indians, an offsides call late on the Fairfield Lions and a lot of great defensive play, but the Peebles Indians scored the only goal in the Division III SE District Semifinals to win at Fairfield High School by a 1-0 score Tuesday.
No. 13 seeded Peebles’ lone goal was scored with 25:10 left in the first half, as Evan Day sent the ball past the keeper of the Lions, off a pass by Mason Sims for the assist, to gain the 1-0 lead over No. 12 seeded Fairfield.
“They left it out there,” Fairfield head coach Jacob Alexander said of the Lions. “The team played hard. I can’t fault them for effort. Execution on a couple of things could have been a little cleaner, but that’s high school sports.
“Give credit to Peebles, they put the one in that they needed, and they hunkered down on defense and they kept us out.”
From that point on, there were multiple chances for both squads to add goals in the battle of Southern Hills Athletic Conference foes. For the host Lions, in the second half there was one missed chance that saw the ball sail past the keeper of Peebles, but it was called off by the three officials due to an offsides call on the Lions with 10:45 left in regulation.
As for the entire district semifinal match, as solid of play the first half had from both teams, the second half was even stronger and more intense, which showed by the play of the defenses of both teams.
One of the bigger saves by Peebles’ keeper Zane Porter came with around 28 minutes remaining in the match, as that save kept the score 1-0.
Fairfield keeper Hunter Burns made a one-on-one save against the Indians to keep the Lions within a goal of the Indians with 23:40 left in the second half.
Again, the Lions got to Peebles territory, but the defense of the Indians was strong as Dallas Wilkinson had a huge defensive stop at 11:29 as the Lions attempted to gain a goal.
After the aforementioned offsides call on the Lions that rescinded a goal by Fairfield, the Peebles defense continued to keep the Lions out of the net, even with the Lions keeping heavy pressure near the goal.
The Lions had an indirect kick opportunity with 3:20 left in the match, but a leaping stop by Porter continued to keep the Lions scoreless. That was the final real opportunity the Lions had at scoring a goal, as PHS kept the score at 1-0 until time ran out in regulation.
Fairfield ends their season as sectional champions and an overall record of 11-4-2. Alexander credited the leadership of his six seniors — Jon Bentley, Hunter Burns, Ryan Ludwick, Reese Teeters, Brayden Zimmerman and Koben Zink — in leading the team from an 0-14 record their freshman year to double-digit wins in their final season.
“I could not have asked more from that senior class,” Alexander said. “I could talk for hours about each one of them. They, as a class, have been a spark that has led to a wildfire for this program. The leadership, the passion — I can’t ask for a better group of seniors.
“We had Reese Teeters, a two-year captain, the only time I’ve ever had that as a coach. Koben Zink, who could take a shot from anywhere on this field. Brayden Zimmerman, one of the smartest and hardest-working players I’ve had. I told him he transformed himself from just an athlete playing soccer to a soccer player in three years, because he didn’t play his freshman year.
“We had Jon Bentley, who is an amazing athlete,” Alexander continued. “He’s faster than anybody we’ve seen out here. Hunter Burns at goal, we had one get by him tonight, but he also kept us in the game tonight with a one-on-one save against their top goal scorer. And then, Ryan Ludwick comes off the bench and puts some spark and physicality in the game when we need it. He brings some attitude with him.”
Looking forward to the future, Alexander said that this group of players has set “a new standard” for the Fairfield program.
“After the game, I was talking with the team, and I kind of explained to the younger guys that where this team had been to where it is now, we have a new standard,” he said. “Just because we got here once, we don’t want to keep it that way. You’ve got to work hard, you’ve got to take this and build off of it. You don’t just let it be a one-and-done thing.
“It’s going to be hard to replace those seniors. Across the field, we had fullbacks, our goalkeeper, forwards, midfielders — multiple spots across the field that we’re going to have to have people step up, but I know we have the people to do it.”
Peebles will play in their first district finals match since 2012 on Saturday, Oct. 29 at noon against No. 1 seeded Minford at Waverly.
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No. 13 seeded Peebles’ lone goal was scored with 25:10 left in the first half, as Evan Day sent the ball past the keeper of the Lions, off a pass by Mason Sims for the assist, to gain the 1-0 lead over No. 12 seeded Fairfield.
“They left it out there,” Fairfield head coach Jacob Alexander said of the Lions. “The team played hard. I can’t fault them for effort. Execution on a couple of things could have been a little cleaner, but that’s high school sports.
“Give credit to Peebles, they put the one in that they needed, and they hunkered down on defense and they kept us out.”
From that point on, there were multiple chances for both squads to add goals in the battle of Southern Hills Athletic Conference foes. For the host Lions, in the second half there was one missed chance that saw the ball sail past the keeper of Peebles, but it was called off by the three officials due to an offsides call on the Lions with 10:45 left in regulation.
As for the entire district semifinal match, as solid of play the first half had from both teams, the second half was even stronger and more intense, which showed by the play of the defenses of both teams.
One of the bigger saves by Peebles’ keeper Zane Porter came with around 28 minutes remaining in the match, as that save kept the score 1-0.
Fairfield keeper Hunter Burns made a one-on-one save against the Indians to keep the Lions within a goal of the Indians with 23:40 left in the second half.
Again, the Lions got to Peebles territory, but the defense of the Indians was strong as Dallas Wilkinson had a huge defensive stop at 11:29 as the Lions attempted to gain a goal.
After the aforementioned offsides call on the Lions that rescinded a goal by Fairfield, the Peebles defense continued to keep the Lions out of the net, even with the Lions keeping heavy pressure near the goal.
The Lions had an indirect kick opportunity with 3:20 left in the match, but a leaping stop by Porter continued to keep the Lions scoreless. That was the final real opportunity the Lions had at scoring a goal, as PHS kept the score at 1-0 until time ran out in regulation.
Fairfield ends their season as sectional champions and an overall record of 11-4-2. Alexander credited the leadership of his six seniors — Jon Bentley, Hunter Burns, Ryan Ludwick, Reese Teeters, Brayden Zimmerman and Koben Zink — in leading the team from an 0-14 record their freshman year to double-digit wins in their final season.
“I could not have asked more from that senior class,” Alexander said. “I could talk for hours about each one of them. They, as a class, have been a spark that has led to a wildfire for this program. The leadership, the passion — I can’t ask for a better group of seniors.
“We had Reese Teeters, a two-year captain, the only time I’ve ever had that as a coach. Koben Zink, who could take a shot from anywhere on this field. Brayden Zimmerman, one of the smartest and hardest-working players I’ve had. I told him he transformed himself from just an athlete playing soccer to a soccer player in three years, because he didn’t play his freshman year.
“We had Jon Bentley, who is an amazing athlete,” Alexander continued. “He’s faster than anybody we’ve seen out here. Hunter Burns at goal, we had one get by him tonight, but he also kept us in the game tonight with a one-on-one save against their top goal scorer. And then, Ryan Ludwick comes off the bench and puts some spark and physicality in the game when we need it. He brings some attitude with him.”
Looking forward to the future, Alexander said that this group of players has set “a new standard” for the Fairfield program.
“After the game, I was talking with the team, and I kind of explained to the younger guys that where this team had been to where it is now, we have a new standard,” he said. “Just because we got here once, we don’t want to keep it that way. You’ve got to work hard, you’ve got to take this and build off of it. You don’t just let it be a one-and-done thing.
“It’s going to be hard to replace those seniors. Across the field, we had fullbacks, our goalkeeper, forwards, midfielders — multiple spots across the field that we’re going to have to have people step up, but I know we have the people to do it.”
Peebles will play in their first district finals match since 2012 on Saturday, Oct. 29 at noon against No. 1 seeded Minford at Waverly.
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