Lady Lions move to 3-0 in SHAC; shut out Eastern
Members of the Fairfield Lady Lions soccer team celebrate Rilee Quickle's second-half goal against Eastern. (HCP Photos/Stephen Forsha)
LEESBURG — A goal in the second half was all that was needed by the Fairfield Lady Lions offense on Wednesday night, as they used a very strong defensive effort to defeat the visiting Eastern Lady Warriors by a 1-0 score.
The game-winning goal came off a 20-yard kick by senior Rilee Quickle past the Eastern defense for what became the final 1-0 score.
“That was a battle tonight. I mean, Eastern, you're always going to get their best. The girls are well coached by Dan (Silvis), but they battled, and I'm very proud of our girls,” FHS head coach Jacob Alexander said. “It wasn't our cleanest effort offensively. We really didn't have as many shots on goal as I would have liked, but the one that counted was Rilee Quickle’s, and it was a great left-footed shot that got over the keeper.”
The Lady Lions’ defense and keeper played a big role in the win, as the group shut out the Lady Warriors, with keeper senior Claire Newkirk making multiple spectacular saves. She totaled seven overall for the game.
“Our defense stepped up tonight to have a shutout, and (keeper) Claire Newkirk had two or three real good saves, especially at the end with a full extension save that really saved the game there to make it a win,” Alexander said. “We had a group effort with Isabelle Hale, Hannah Hamilton, Ashlyn Bellamy and Landry Teeters, with Rilee Quickle as a defensive-mid.
“(Rilee) was everywhere tonight, and that was a big thing for us. Then we also had some subs back there that helped, and they did an excellent job, too.”
For the Lady Warriors, they had 11 shots in the game, and EHS keeper Chloe Hauck totaled nine saves.
The loss moves Eastern to 2-5-1 overall and 2-2-0 in the SHAC standings.
Fairfield stays undefeated in the SHAC at 3-0-0, and overall they are now 6-1-0.
The Lady Lions are scheduled to play next Wednesday, Sept. 18 at home in a non-conference game against the Clermont Northeastern Lady Rockets at 7 p.m.
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