Lions hand Mustangs 2nd loss of season
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
The regular-season series between the Fairfield Lions and the Lynchburg-Clay Mustangs will be tied as the Lions defeated the newly crowned Southern Hills Athletic Conference champion Lynchburg-Clay Mustangs, 4-1 in their non-conference match.
Fairfield ambushed the Mustangs at LCHS on Monday as they scored three goals in the first 14 minutes of the match for a first-half lead of 3-0.
Form there, in the second half, the Mustangs and Lions tied at 1-1 in goals scored. The Mustangs now are 12-2-1 overall. LC won the Southern Hills Athletic Conference title last Friday, as they finished 7-0 in SHAC matches.
"We got out to a real quick start … the boys have been working on passing, which contributed to the quick start," FHS coach Brian Ortlieb said. "We controlled the infield by passing and moved the ball where we needed to move it."
The start by the Lions was full of energy as they scored first on an own goal by the Mustangs as the ball bounced off a player following a stop near the net at the 33:57 mark.
From there, senior Jon Crabtree put FHS ahead 2-0 with a goal near the net at the 28:25 mark of the first half.
FHS increased their lead to 3-0 when junior Paul Dean added to the advantage with 26:10 left in the opening half.
"Lynchburg-Clay has a really good program," Ortlieb said. "Dennis (West) does a great job, and we enjoy competing against them.
"We bring out the best in each other soccer-wise, and that is a testament to their coach and their program."
LC head coach Dennis West was far from pleased with the Mustangs' first-half play.
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"That's what I call coming out flat," he said. "We can't give a team like Fairfield that kind of lead and expect to come back.
"They were beating us off the ball in the first half, but we played better in the second half."
In the early stages of the second half, at the 31:32 mark, sophomore midfielder Brandon Storer scored what was the lone Mustang goal on a header.
Blake Hildebrant eventually put the Lions ahead by three goals for the 4-1 final when he placed the ball in the back of the net with 21:06 left in the second half for the final goal of the match.
Coach Ortlieb wanted to talk about others on his team who made a big difference.
"On our back line, Seth Case (a junior) had a nice game. He showed patience, worked the ball well from right side of the field to the middle.
"Trey Current (a sophomore) played well in the middle of the field, and our trio up front of Ryan Bates, Blake Hildebrant and Jon Crabtree (all seniors) played well together."
At goal for FHS, senior Joey Wilson totaled seven saves, five in the first half.
"Joey had several nice saves, and he continues to amaze me this year," Ortlieb said.
LC keeper Devin Pierson totaled three saves, two in the first half.
Fairfield ambushed the Mustangs at LCHS on Monday as they scored three goals in the first 14 minutes of the match for a first-half lead of 3-0.
Form there, in the second half, the Mustangs and Lions tied at 1-1 in goals scored. The Mustangs now are 12-2-1 overall. LC won the Southern Hills Athletic Conference title last Friday, as they finished 7-0 in SHAC matches.
"We got out to a real quick start … the boys have been working on passing, which contributed to the quick start," FHS coach Brian Ortlieb said. "We controlled the infield by passing and moved the ball where we needed to move it."
The start by the Lions was full of energy as they scored first on an own goal by the Mustangs as the ball bounced off a player following a stop near the net at the 33:57 mark.
From there, senior Jon Crabtree put FHS ahead 2-0 with a goal near the net at the 28:25 mark of the first half.
FHS increased their lead to 3-0 when junior Paul Dean added to the advantage with 26:10 left in the opening half.
"Lynchburg-Clay has a really good program," Ortlieb said. "Dennis (West) does a great job, and we enjoy competing against them.
"We bring out the best in each other soccer-wise, and that is a testament to their coach and their program."
LC head coach Dennis West was far from pleased with the Mustangs' first-half play.
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"That's what I call coming out flat," he said. "We can't give a team like Fairfield that kind of lead and expect to come back.
"They were beating us off the ball in the first half, but we played better in the second half."
In the early stages of the second half, at the 31:32 mark, sophomore midfielder Brandon Storer scored what was the lone Mustang goal on a header.
Blake Hildebrant eventually put the Lions ahead by three goals for the 4-1 final when he placed the ball in the back of the net with 21:06 left in the second half for the final goal of the match.
Coach Ortlieb wanted to talk about others on his team who made a big difference.
"On our back line, Seth Case (a junior) had a nice game. He showed patience, worked the ball well from right side of the field to the middle.
"Trey Current (a sophomore) played well in the middle of the field, and our trio up front of Ryan Bates, Blake Hildebrant and Jon Crabtree (all seniors) played well together."
At goal for FHS, senior Joey Wilson totaled seven saves, five in the first half.
"Joey had several nice saves, and he continues to amaze me this year," Ortlieb said.
LC keeper Devin Pierson totaled three saves, two in the first half.