Smith nets hat trick for McClain in rivalry win over Fairfield

It was a chilly night on the McClain field Monday night when the Tigers boys varsity soccer team played county rival Fairfield, and after 80 minutes of exciting, competitive action, McClain emerged with a hard-earned 3-1 victory.

Senior Westley Smith scored all three goals for the Tigers, with the first coming with only 9:50 showing to be played on the opening-quarter clock, from a great thrown-in assist by Seth Weller. It was the only goal of the opening half ,and McClain took the slim 1-0 lead into the halftime break.

“We had a little setback before the game started when our starting goalkeeper Carson Jenkins was injured during warmups, so big props to Zane Matthews for stepping in,” Fairfield head coach Jacob Alexander said.

In the second half, Fairfield tied the game at 1-1 at the midway point (20:41) on an impressive header goal by Larkin Friend.

But the tie was short lived, because moments later Smith netted his second goal of the match at the 16:22 mark to give McClain back the lead at 2-1. Both teams had numerous opportunities to score down the stretch, but the Tigers got the only one more goal, the third of the night by Smith (hat trick) with just 5:52 left in regulation.

The Lions did have a couple of great chances to score and cut the lead or tie, including when Aiden Teeters had a ball hit off the left post on a shot, and the other when Friend had a penalty-kick attempt hit off the right goal post.

“We had our chances tonight, we just need to execute a little more up top,” Alexander said. “I think we’re starting to put things together it’s just been a process of getting our players in the right positions.

“I thought we wore down a little as the game went on, but our kids continued to battle and even had a chance there at the end to score a couple of goals. Sometimes the ball hits in and sometimes it hits out, and that’s what it did both times when it hit the post.

“Our defense really stepped up tonight, and I think we can build from this game,” Alexander continued. “We’re getting there, just need to get there before tournament starts.”

McClain’s head coach Nick McNeal had a lot of individuals he wanted to compliment after the victory and had praise for the Fairfield effort.

“Fairfield did a great job of stacking the back line on us tonight, it was very impressive,” said McNeil. “It’s always a battle when we play them because they never give up, and tonight, they really made us work for those three goals.

“We had two starters out tonight, which really hurt us, but we had some other players step up to some key positions and do a great job.

“I want to give a big shout-out to Rayden Daugherty, who started out the season on the bench, but now he’s one of our key guys who can play everywhere and do anything.  He’s a great teammate who’s doing a phenomenal job for us.

“Seth Weller was also impressive tonight,” McNeil continued. “We dropped him back to an attacking mid, and he did a nice job of holding up play, and he also had two assists. Wes Smith had a big offensive night scoring the three goals for us, and even though we are loaded up with seniors, it’s still been a learning season for most of our kids.

“Ethan Hill, our keeper, did a fantastic job at the net tonight, but he is still learning some things too. Everyone seems to be stepping up at the right time just before the tournament starts, and that’s really good to see.”

Fairfield was scheduled to play West Union at home Wednesday, Oct. 11 and then will entertain Zane Trace on Saturday, Oct. 14.

McClain was scheduled to finish the regular season and host senior night Wednesday, Oct. 11 against Westfall. McClain plays Waverly at home Monday, Oct. 16 in a play-in tournament game.