Lynchburg-Clay Lady Mustangs dominate district semifinals; defeat rival Fairfield
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
LEESBURG – There are basically three guarantees in life, and those are death, taxes and the Lynchburg-Clay Lady Mustang soccer team reaching no less than the district finals.
The Lady Mustangs trailed 1-0 on Monday night to the host Fairfield Lady Lions, but six unanswered goals later, the giant was awakened, and it was LCHS not only winning by a 6-1 score, but qualifying for the district final game for an 11th consecutive year.
In the Monday night showdown at Fairfield High School, the two Southern Hills Athletic Conference rivals and Highland County counterparts each battled the elements, with rain, wind, damp weather, cool conditions and a water-soaked field present throughout the game.
For the first goal, it was Fairfield (11-4-1) scoring early on with 35:00 left in the first half with Caitlyn Quickle sending the ball past the keeper, with the assist from Cadence Saunders, for the 1-0 Lady Lions advantage.
The quick goal in the early stages of the Division III SE District Semifinal game woke up the visiting No. 5 seeded Lady Mustangs, according to both coaches, and that’s when the game completely turned in favor of LCHS, who are the defending district champions the past two seasons.
“I think we put that first goal in early and kind of woke Lynchburg up, put them back on their heels and back into a corner,” Fairfield head coach Jacob Alexander said. “When you put a team like that back in the corner, you better be ready for what they come back with, and once they scored that second goal, I think our demeanor changed. We kind of lost control of the game at that point.”
Lynchburg-Clay head coach Dennis West agreed, saying the Lady Mustangs’ offense “responded” after that goal.
“Tonight, our offense just responded, and it was fun to watch,” he said. “It was amazing to watch the way the girls executed, and it didn’t really matter who I put in there. They just played hard and got the job done midfield, up front, in the back.”
Lynchburg-Clay (9-2-7) answered that goal with their first goal with 22:45 left in the opening half, as senior Tiah McLean kicked the ball straight past the keeper from around 20 yards out, tying the score at 1-1.
Following a couple nice stops at goal by Fairfield’s Alayna McIntosh, including a sliding stop with around 5:00 left in the first half, the pressure of the Lady Mustangs offense broke away with their second goal of the match.
This time it was junior Karlie Tipton with the goal with 3:26 left in the first half, pushing LCHS in front at 2-1, as that was the score taken to halftime.
To start the second half, the Lady Mustangs wasted little time adding to their lead, because one minute into the final 40 minutes of play, it was freshman Miranda Smith of LCHS sending the ball to the back of the net for a two-goal advantage for a 3-1 score.
LCHS keeper, senior Philemina Toca, kept the lead at one goal as the senior made two outstanding stops consecutively, including a second stop at 37:20.
“Philly made a couple really tremendous stops there in that second half,” West said. “I felt sorry for the keepers because the goals were mud. You couldn’t get any footing, and your hands — playing in that kind of weather, it does not make a keeper feel good back there.”
Those big saves by Toca not only kept the lead at 2-1, but those saves, along with the strong play of the Lady Mustangs’ defense, allowed the offense to add to their advantage with sophomore Jade Massey scoring the goal with the assist from Tipton at the 29:46 mark of the second half, for a 4-1 lead.
Less than five minutes later, the LCHS lead grew another goal with sophomore Macy Etienne sending the ball to the back of the net, with the assist by senior Raelynn Ruble for a 5-1 lead with 25:30 left in regulation.
Lynchburg-Clay added one final goal, this one from around 25-yards out by Ruble with 3:25 left in the match for the final score of 6-1.
After the game, West spoke about the play of his offensive and defensive players in the district semifinal.
“Natasha Davidson is our sweeper, but that line in front of her — Ella Barber, I thought she had an outstanding game tonight,” West said. “She just seemed to be everywhere. Our center defender, Trinity Van Fleet, has been solid all year long. Sophia Balon is one that really responds to challenges. I thought all four of them played well tonight.
“Our midfield made life miserable for Fairfield tonight. The main two there were Tiah McLean and Raelynn Ruble. They really create problems for the other team to match up with. Then our forwards, wow. We just expect good things to come when Jade [Massey] and Karlie [Tipton] are out there. Good things happen.
“Our bench was strong tonight,” West continued. “We’ve just got strong minutes coming out of them. It really worked out well for us.”
Fairfield seniors playing their final game were Ella Newkirk, Makenna Colwell, Braylynn Haines, Shaleigh Duncan and Cadence Saunders. Fairfield head coach Jacob Alexander spoke about their impact on the team over the past four years.
“Two years in a row now, we’ve won sectional and lost in the district semifinals,” Alexander said. “We’d like to get over that hump. Hopefully we can, but it’s going to be a lot more difficult without this group of seniors.
“Ella and Cadence up top have been a dynamic duo for four years now. They’re going to be tough to replace, but also Shaleigh Duncan, Makenna Colwell and Braylynn Haines. They’ve had their roles on this team as well. They might not be the prolific scorers that the other two are, but they’ve brought a lot of needed seniority and leadership to this team.
“This group of seniors has made this program better, from the first year they came in when I believe they had one win, to having 11 back-to-back their junior and senior seasons,” Alexander continued. “I’m so proud of what they’ve done for this program and what they’ll do with their lives.”
With the win, the Lady Mustangs will travel to Waverly on Thursday, Oct. 28 in the district finals to face No. 1 seeded Rock Hill at 5 p.m.
“We’ve got a tall order coming up Thursday night,” West said. “Rock Hill was the 1 seed in the Southeast District. We’re just looking forward to Thursday night at Waverly at 5 o’clock, and away we go.
“I know we won’t be tying anybody. Believe me, after seven of them, that is something to look forward to. At the beginning of the year, when we hit August, I told someone that this was one of the best teams I’d ever coached as far as depth and just ability. This was going to be really a team to watch. I feel like we’re back to that spot again.”
Rock Hill won their district semifinal game against Ironton St. Joseph by a 3-1 score. In the regular season LCHS also defeated Ironton St. Joseph by an 8-0 score on Oct. 9 at Lynchburg-Clay High School.
Rock Hill enters the district final match at 15-1-2 overall, winning their past four matches. LCHS has won or tied their past 12 matches with seven wins and five ties. This postseason in two matches, Lynchburg-Clay has outscored their opponents, 19-1. Rock Hill in two postseason games has outscored their opponents (New Lexington and St. Joseph), 17-1.
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The Lady Mustangs trailed 1-0 on Monday night to the host Fairfield Lady Lions, but six unanswered goals later, the giant was awakened, and it was LCHS not only winning by a 6-1 score, but qualifying for the district final game for an 11th consecutive year.
In the Monday night showdown at Fairfield High School, the two Southern Hills Athletic Conference rivals and Highland County counterparts each battled the elements, with rain, wind, damp weather, cool conditions and a water-soaked field present throughout the game.
For the first goal, it was Fairfield (11-4-1) scoring early on with 35:00 left in the first half with Caitlyn Quickle sending the ball past the keeper, with the assist from Cadence Saunders, for the 1-0 Lady Lions advantage.
The quick goal in the early stages of the Division III SE District Semifinal game woke up the visiting No. 5 seeded Lady Mustangs, according to both coaches, and that’s when the game completely turned in favor of LCHS, who are the defending district champions the past two seasons.
“I think we put that first goal in early and kind of woke Lynchburg up, put them back on their heels and back into a corner,” Fairfield head coach Jacob Alexander said. “When you put a team like that back in the corner, you better be ready for what they come back with, and once they scored that second goal, I think our demeanor changed. We kind of lost control of the game at that point.”
Lynchburg-Clay head coach Dennis West agreed, saying the Lady Mustangs’ offense “responded” after that goal.
“Tonight, our offense just responded, and it was fun to watch,” he said. “It was amazing to watch the way the girls executed, and it didn’t really matter who I put in there. They just played hard and got the job done midfield, up front, in the back.”
Lynchburg-Clay (9-2-7) answered that goal with their first goal with 22:45 left in the opening half, as senior Tiah McLean kicked the ball straight past the keeper from around 20 yards out, tying the score at 1-1.
Following a couple nice stops at goal by Fairfield’s Alayna McIntosh, including a sliding stop with around 5:00 left in the first half, the pressure of the Lady Mustangs offense broke away with their second goal of the match.
This time it was junior Karlie Tipton with the goal with 3:26 left in the first half, pushing LCHS in front at 2-1, as that was the score taken to halftime.
To start the second half, the Lady Mustangs wasted little time adding to their lead, because one minute into the final 40 minutes of play, it was freshman Miranda Smith of LCHS sending the ball to the back of the net for a two-goal advantage for a 3-1 score.
LCHS keeper, senior Philemina Toca, kept the lead at one goal as the senior made two outstanding stops consecutively, including a second stop at 37:20.
“Philly made a couple really tremendous stops there in that second half,” West said. “I felt sorry for the keepers because the goals were mud. You couldn’t get any footing, and your hands — playing in that kind of weather, it does not make a keeper feel good back there.”
Those big saves by Toca not only kept the lead at 2-1, but those saves, along with the strong play of the Lady Mustangs’ defense, allowed the offense to add to their advantage with sophomore Jade Massey scoring the goal with the assist from Tipton at the 29:46 mark of the second half, for a 4-1 lead.
Less than five minutes later, the LCHS lead grew another goal with sophomore Macy Etienne sending the ball to the back of the net, with the assist by senior Raelynn Ruble for a 5-1 lead with 25:30 left in regulation.
Lynchburg-Clay added one final goal, this one from around 25-yards out by Ruble with 3:25 left in the match for the final score of 6-1.
After the game, West spoke about the play of his offensive and defensive players in the district semifinal.
“Natasha Davidson is our sweeper, but that line in front of her — Ella Barber, I thought she had an outstanding game tonight,” West said. “She just seemed to be everywhere. Our center defender, Trinity Van Fleet, has been solid all year long. Sophia Balon is one that really responds to challenges. I thought all four of them played well tonight.
“Our midfield made life miserable for Fairfield tonight. The main two there were Tiah McLean and Raelynn Ruble. They really create problems for the other team to match up with. Then our forwards, wow. We just expect good things to come when Jade [Massey] and Karlie [Tipton] are out there. Good things happen.
“Our bench was strong tonight,” West continued. “We’ve just got strong minutes coming out of them. It really worked out well for us.”
Fairfield seniors playing their final game were Ella Newkirk, Makenna Colwell, Braylynn Haines, Shaleigh Duncan and Cadence Saunders. Fairfield head coach Jacob Alexander spoke about their impact on the team over the past four years.
“Two years in a row now, we’ve won sectional and lost in the district semifinals,” Alexander said. “We’d like to get over that hump. Hopefully we can, but it’s going to be a lot more difficult without this group of seniors.
“Ella and Cadence up top have been a dynamic duo for four years now. They’re going to be tough to replace, but also Shaleigh Duncan, Makenna Colwell and Braylynn Haines. They’ve had their roles on this team as well. They might not be the prolific scorers that the other two are, but they’ve brought a lot of needed seniority and leadership to this team.
“This group of seniors has made this program better, from the first year they came in when I believe they had one win, to having 11 back-to-back their junior and senior seasons,” Alexander continued. “I’m so proud of what they’ve done for this program and what they’ll do with their lives.”
With the win, the Lady Mustangs will travel to Waverly on Thursday, Oct. 28 in the district finals to face No. 1 seeded Rock Hill at 5 p.m.
“We’ve got a tall order coming up Thursday night,” West said. “Rock Hill was the 1 seed in the Southeast District. We’re just looking forward to Thursday night at Waverly at 5 o’clock, and away we go.
“I know we won’t be tying anybody. Believe me, after seven of them, that is something to look forward to. At the beginning of the year, when we hit August, I told someone that this was one of the best teams I’d ever coached as far as depth and just ability. This was going to be really a team to watch. I feel like we’re back to that spot again.”
Rock Hill won their district semifinal game against Ironton St. Joseph by a 3-1 score. In the regular season LCHS also defeated Ironton St. Joseph by an 8-0 score on Oct. 9 at Lynchburg-Clay High School.
Rock Hill enters the district final match at 15-1-2 overall, winning their past four matches. LCHS has won or tied their past 12 matches with seven wins and five ties. This postseason in two matches, Lynchburg-Clay has outscored their opponents, 19-1. Rock Hill in two postseason games has outscored their opponents (New Lexington and St. Joseph), 17-1.
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