Kennedy Zink’s OT goal sends Fairfield to first-ever district championship

LUCASVILLE — Following 80 minutes of regulation soccer, including a 40-minute scoreless second half, all it took for the Fairfield Lady Lions was one final goal — though it took a little long for the officials to make a ruling — by Fairfield senior Kennedy Zink to crown the Lady Lions champions of the Southeast District for the first time in program history, defeating Minford, 2-1 at Valley High School.

The game-winning and history-making goal for the Lady Lions started with senior Faith Donley taking the ball downfield, and eventually a shot went off the Minford keeper on a save. That’s when Zink kicked the ball to the back of the net for the game-winning goal, but there was no instant celebration.

Officials took some time to get the call correct, as Minford and fans of the Lady Falcons were saying Zink was offsides, but the only final decision that mattered — no matter how much noise was made before and even after the final ruling — was the ruling made by the officials. They eventually determined that Zink wasn’t offsides, and the Lady Lions were champions of the SE District for the very first time at the 11:11 mark of overtime.

Once that ruling was made official, the celebration began as the Lady Lions — including Zink — raised their arms in victory as they were history makers for Fairfield, as the Lady Lions improved to 15-3-1 overall.

“It was honestly just really breathtaking. I couldn't breathe. I have the best chemistry with Faith Donley, number two, up top with me. I called her name once, and she knew immediately to pass it to me,” Zink said. “I was actually trying to cross it back to her because I knew to set the goalie off, she would have a wide-open shot, but it went off my toe. Honestly, not the best shot, hit the goalie, went in, and time stopped for a minute.

“I looked over at the ref. I was like, ‘Was I onsides or offsides?’ because everyone was going every which way. The crowd was going crazy. All I heard was the three slow whistles ending the game, and it was honestly a feeling I'll never forget.”

Fairfield head coach Jacob Alexander spoke about the game-winning goal.

“Kennedy made a great run down the left side. She put a cross in. I'm not exactly sure how it went in,” he said. “I believe it hit off their keeper and went in, but from our angle, it wasn't clear. I'm looking at both refs, and finally they gave the signal, and we went crazy. Exhale, big exhale.”

Minford was first to score a goal in the game, as they scored the first goal of the game with 26:41 left in the first half, as Ava Corbin scored the goal with the assist by Lexi Conkel.

Then came a defensive battle for the ages between both teams, but Fairfield got on the board with only 28 seconds left in the first half, tying the score at 1-1 with Zink scoring her first goal of the game, maneuvering past the defense of Minford and kicking the ball past the keeper.

The second half saw an early save by Claire Newkirk, followed by Fairfield putting pressure on the Lady Falcons 10 minutes into the second half, but to no avail in breaking the tied score.

Fairfield had a couple shots at the goal that were stopped with 25 minutes left in the half, but on defense Fairfield was strong, as players stepped up and didn’t allow a goal while under some fierce pressure with 18:05 left on the clock.

Minford came back with a corner kick, but Newkirk was there at goal to stop the ball in its path, followed by the FHS defense continuing on the save by kicking the ball out of play and away from the goal.

Newkirk had another timely stop with 12:05 left in the second half — finishing with six saves — and Minford did the same on defense by not allowing the Lady Lions to take the lead with 11:22 on the clock following some intense moments by their goal.

That was how things continued into the final moments of regulation, eventually seeing the score tied at 1-1 after 80 minutes.

“Minford went up early, and I'd warned the girls. I said hey, they're good team, there's a chance they're going to score. You've got to keep your heads up. I said, we will get our chances, we just have to capitalize,” Alexander said. “I mean, with under a minute left in the first half, that was a change in momentum. We had been knocking on the door multiple times prior to that, but to put that one away just 28 seconds left, it was a huge boost going into halftime.

“Then I felt like we were dominant in the second half. Their keeper — give her all the credit in the world, I know that last one breaks her heart — but she made some really great saves. Faith had a killer left foot that she got to. Kennedy had one that I don't know how she got to it, but she did.”

Fairfield senior Avery Teeters talked about playing defense in the game. Members of the Fairfield defense who were difference makers on Thursday included: Teeters, Emmi Vance, Landry Teeters, Isabelle Hale, Hannah Hamilton and keeper Newkirk.

“I know my role on this team. I have played sweeper, and I know that I can control the defense. We all work really well together, so I think me and Emmi (Vance), we have done soccer ever since we were very little. We knew that (Minford) had a very strong player on either side, but she loves to use her right foot. We shut her off,” Teeters said. “If they got any crosses, we were there with communication, and communication is key, especially going forward. We know we have a tough game coming up, but we're ready.”

Teeters also talked about it being a team win.

“We have gone out at the same time every year, district semifinal, so we knew coming in we were not done,” she said. “We knew what they had, and we knew what they had to offer, but it was a really great thing to pull off as a team.”

Zink said the win was exciting.

“It's very exciting. I honestly just can't describe it. We were all so happy,” Zink said. “This is what we’ve worked for. It’s what we seniors have worked for the past four years. We've been loyal to this team, and we've just been working hard in practice, and it shows.”

Teeters agreed.

“It's crazy. Honestly, the defense, from our point of view, we thought it did not even go in the goal, so we went berserk when we saw that,” Teeters said of the win. “We were a little bit confused for a second, but all our hard work has definitely paid off, and the countless hours and months we've worked toward this is crazy. It doesn't feel real.”

Alexander — who has coached the seniors since their freshman season — said the district final win was a long time coming.

“This has been a long time coming for these girls. I mean, we've been to the district semifinals four years in a row, prior to this, so this senior class is special,” he said. “They've been around some great seniors leading up to this. I can't discount that, because the program leading up to this before I took over, we had some good years, but we weren't consistent.

“The seniors, they've got a sectional title every year, they've made district semifinals and now they're making an amazing run. The support from the fans has been great. Give Minford all sorts of credit. I was talking with one of my assistants, this is like a heavyweight fight with two boxers that just — they throw a punch, you throw a punch, just back and forth, goal to goal. It worked out well. The program itself has come a long way to get to this point, and hopefully this just keeps continuing. We've got some juniors, freshmen, sophomores coming up, and hopefully this inspires them, too.”

Next for the Lady Lions is a Division III Regional Semifinal game on Tuesday, Oct. 31 when they will face the other SE District champion, the Lynchburg-Clay Lady Mustangs, at 7 p.m. at Zane Trace High School. Earlier this season at FHS (Oct. 6) the Lady Lions lost to Lynchburg-Clay in a Southern Hills Athletic Conference game by a 5-1 score.

BOX SCORE
MHS    1 0 (0) — 1
FHS    1 0 (1) — 2