Lynchburg-Clay wins 6th consecutive district championship; shuts out Fairfield

WAVERLY — For the sixth consecutive season, and for 11 of the past 12 years, the Lynchburg-Clay Lady Mustangs hoisted a district championship trophy, and in 2024 it came via a 3-0 win over the Fairfield Lady Lions at Waverly High School on Thursday evening.

This year, the Lady Mustangs won their first Division V SE District championship with the restructuring of divisions in OHSAA soccer starting this season, but the victory was just the same. They led 1-0 at halftime and added two more goals in the final 40 minutes of play in the second half of their physical battle with their Southern Hills Athletic Conference counterpart.

“For this group, it's very exciting, because they have struggled all year to get an identity, and the identity I think we're coming up with is they scrap,” Lynchburg-Clay head coach Dennis West said of the district title. “In the second half, they come out and play harder than they did in the first half. Even though we try to get them to play 80 minutes, their second halves all year have just been outstanding. They just come out and outwork teams in the second half, and they did tonight.

“We just played well. We had a lot of kids coming off the bench tonight who gave us some really serious minutes.”

LC’s win over the Lady Lions had a first half of top plays by not only Lynchburg-Clay, but Fairfield as well. The opening 12 minutes of the game saw a very competitive soccer contest, setting the tone for the remainder of the game, as each team fought to gain the upper hand with each Highland County school working to have consistent momentum.

“It was one of those nights balls just didn't bounce your way, or you make an amazing save, and then it's just laying there in front of you and can't get up to get it, and they are,” Fairfield head coach Jacob Alexander said. “It's just one of those nights where the ball just didn't bounce our way.

“Give credit to Lynchburg, they had an excellent game plan. Dennis is a great coach.”

The Lady Mustangs were the more physical team early on when battling for possession of the ball in the first half, but FHS came back with a very strong defensive effort, including a big defensive play by Landry Teeters, fending off pressure by LCHS at the goal.

The Lady Lion defense continued to hold up against the pressure from the Lady Mustangs with the Lady Lions getting the ball out of play off a shot at the goal by LCHS. That sequence included a defensive stop by Khloe Welling of FHS with 19:20 left in the opening half.

Fairfield senior keeper Claire Newkirk — who totaled 12 saves — made a big save with 11:26 left in the first half, and again the defense of Fairfield kept battling with another stop on an LCHS corner kick with around 7:33 left in the first half.

Again, there was another defensive stop by the Lady Lions with 4:24 left in the opening half, but the Lady Mustangs eventually struck with a goal late as halftime neared.

The first Lynchburg-Clay goal was scored by senior Aubrey Slack off a cross kick from senior Olivia VanFleet with 2:34 on the scoreboard for the 1-0 lead, as that score stood when halftime arrived.

“The goal we got in the first half was a real big one, because it kind of broke the tension, and we were playing a little nervous, maybe, I think,” West said. “Then in the second half, we just started really getting everything going well and had a couple of goals.

When the second half started, the two teams from Highland County continued to play physical soccer, and it was the defense of LCHS that also battled tough, fending off pressure by the Lady Lions, including a spot at 33:55 where multiple members of the LCHS defense kept the ball out of the net.

Lynchburg-Clay scored their second goal with 16:02 left in regulation with junior Caitlyn Collins scoring off a cross kick by sophomore Savannah Bell for the assist, putting the Lady Mustangs ahead by two goals.

The Lady Mustangs added one last goal with 14:10 left on the clock when sophomore Caraline West made it a 3-0 lead with her goal off a cross kick and assist from senior Miranda Smith.

In the shutout, LC senior keeper Allie Waits finished with one save. LCHS took a total of 25 shots in the match, while Fairfield totaled one shot. Earlier this season, LCHS defeated Fairfield, 4-0.

The loss ends Fairfield’s season as district runners-up with an overall record of 13-5-1 this season, as they also had a 4-1-1 record in the SHAC, tied for second place.

Seniors for Fairfield are: Claire Newkirk, Hannah Hamilton and Kendal Welling.  

“We were talking about their success here at the end,” Alexander said. “I believe they had two district semifinals, a district championship last year, and then made another district finals this year. I said for Fairfield women's soccer, that's rare air. It's been a journey.

“They've put in the work. Our seniors, year in and year out, are pushing each other. This year is no different, even with a smaller class with the three, with Claire Newkirk at goal, Hannah Hamilton at defensive mid or center back, and Kendal Welling out wide. They were there every step of the way, pushing these girls.”

The Lady Lions were also without their leading scorer in sophomore Vivian Henninger, who was on the bench due to injury, as noted by both head coaches.

“Fairfield put up a really, really good battle out there,” West said. “It's tough for them missing Vivian. I mean, you lose your leading scorer, you have to make adjustments. This late in the season, that really is tough.

“Jacob does a tremendous job with that group of girls. They play hard, and they did tonight. They just improved all year long, and it showed out there. Our girls had to step up and really get after it.”

Alexander said losing Henninger “forced changes” late in the season.

“We missed Viv, we miss having that offensive threat, but it made us play a different style soccer,” Alexander said. “It made us play a closer game with them, this game. We miss Vivian, but it brought out some good things in other players, and gave them the opportunities to show what they could do.”

West also sent a message to a senior on the Lady Mustangs team who suffered an injury this season as well.

“I just want to give a shoutout to Haidyn Wolfe, one of my seniors,” West said. “She underwent surgery today on her knee that got hurt way early in the season. I’m hoping she was watching and listening, and we've got a medal for her.”

Lynchburg-Clay improves to 11-6-2 this season, winning the SHAC along the way with a 5-0-1 conference record this season.

Next for the Lady Mustangs is a Division V Regional Semifinal game against the other SE District champions, the Minford Lady Falcons, on Tuesday, Oct. 29 at Chillicothe’s Herrnstein Field at 7 p.m. No. 1 seeded Minford (16-2-0) defeated Eastern Brown 6-0 on Thursday for their district championship.

In the season opener this year, Minford defeated Lynchburg-Clay, 2-1 at LCHS on Aug. 17.

Publisher's note: A free press is critical to having well-informed voters and citizens. While some news organizations opt for paid websites or costly paywalls, The Highland County Press has maintained a free newspaper and website for the last 25 years for our community. If you would like to contribute to this service, it would be greatly appreciated. Donations may be made to: The Highland County Press, P.O. Box 849, Hillsboro, Ohio 45133. Please include "for website" on the memo line.