Fairfield ends Lynchburg-Clay’s 102-game SHAC non-loss streak

LEESBURG — All streaks come to an end, and the biggest non-loss streak the Southern Hills Athletic Conference has ever seen came to a close on Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025. The Fairfield Lady Lions defeated the Lynchburg-Clay Lady Mustangs, 2-1, ending a 102-game SHAC girls soccer streak of not having a loss in conference play. 

When the streak began back on Thursday, Sept. 30, 2010 — which was a 4-0 win over North Adams — the Lady Mustangs, unbeknownst to that team, began a 15-year period where they didn’t lose in conference play. Before Wednesday’s loss, the Lady Mustangs’ last loss in the SHAC was against the Eastern Lady Warriors in 2010 by a 2-1 score. 

Since beginning “The Streak,” the Lady Mustangs — who have been coached by Dennis West the entire streak —  have had nine 7-0 seasons in SHAC play, three 6-0-1 seasons, one 5-0-1 season, one 2-0-3 season, and the year the streak began (2010), the Lady Mustangs won their final three conference games that season. This year, LCHS gained the 100th consecutive game of the streak with a 2-1 win over the Eastern Lady Warriors, and since then they defeated Ripley (6-0) and tied North Adams (3-3). Their 99th consecutive game of the streak was a 3-1 win against Peebles earlier this season. 

“Nobody in this league will ever match that streak. Nobody. The girls are upset, but I said, it happens. Streaks end, then you just start another one, and that's what we'll try to do against Fayetteville Saturday evening,” West said. “You’ve just got to move on, play hard, learn from your mistakes and keep playing, and do better the next time.”

Then came the Lady Lions on Wednesday at Fairfield High School, and they had plans of creating their own bit of history, forever being the answer to a local sports trivia question of “Who was the team that defeated Lynchburg-Clay and snapped their 102-game non-loss SHAC streak?”

“This is one that was circled. I mean, it's a Highland County battle anyway, but the streak that they have. We're just very excited about this,” Fairfield head coach Jacob Alexander said.

Though Fairfield (5-1-0, 10-6-0) won the game, it was Lynchburg-Clay (3-1-1, 5-7-2) striking first on the scoreboard in the first half as they battled to keep pace in the SHAC standings as they still have a meeting with Fayetteville scheduled for Saturday. 

Lynchburg-Clay’s first and only goal of the contest came with 31:39 left in the first half when sophomore Lily Ferguson sent the ball past the keeper for a 1-0 Lady Mustangs lead, with the goal assisted by fellow sophomore Lily Layne. 

The first half ended with the score of 1-0 with the Lady Mustangs in front, but it was evident both teams were playing for more than just any regular-season win. 

Being senior night for Fairfield, and with them still in the running with Lynchburg-Clay and Fayetteville in the standings as the regular season nears an end, being county rivals, plus the aforementioned streak of LCHS, this game may have meant a little more to both teams, and it showed on the soccer field. 

Both teams had opportunities in the first half to add more goals to their side of the scoreboard, but the defenses of each team also made that a tough goal to achieve, so to speak. Keepers Meri Jackson of Fairfield and Caitlyn Collins of Lynchburg-Clay each made saves that kept the score at 1-0 when the halftime buzzer sounded, as not only the keepers, but the defenses made stops when needed. 

The Lynchburg-Clay defense made a big stop early in the second half getting the ball away from the net as Fairfield applied pressure, but with 34:44 left in regulation, the pace of the game changed with the Lady Lions being awarded a penalty kick due to being run into by the keeper. 

Fairfield took advantage of the opportunity, tying the score at 1-1 with the aforementioned 32:44  left on the scoreboard as senior Ava Hooper sent the ball past the keeper, evening things up, and the game continued. 

FHS almost took the lead on a couple occasions as they kept Lynchburg-Clay's defense working hard with a near goal that sailed wide with 30:46 on the clock. LCHS wasn’t done either, applying some offensive pressure too, including having a corner kick at 30:18, and later having a goal chance stopped off a save by the Lady Lions with 25:17 remaining in the game. 

Fairfield had a somewhat quiet scare that could have been a lot worse as junior Vivian Henninger kicked the ball for the Lady Lions with just under 24:00 left in the match and walked gingerly following the shot at the goal. 

Henninger stayed in the game, and that proved to be a very worthwhile moment as the game continued. 

Again, the Lady Lions had a couple chances to take the lead, but they didn’t score off a corner kick chance with 18:09 on the clock, and then came a bit of confusion or technicality when it came time for an indirect kick by Fairfield. 

The indirect kick (two players have to touch the ball before taking a shot) began with around 10:40 left in the contest. Fairfield’s Henninger just touched the ball, and teammate Hooper then kicked the ball at the goal, and it went in for what was thought a 2-1 lead. 

The goal was waved off as the ball didn’t move enough to the official’s liking, and the Lady Lions got a re-do on the indirect kick. This time, the ball moved enough on the first kick — in the same sequence of events — with Henninger kicking the ball to Hooper, but this time the LCHS defense made the stop, and the contest continued with a 1-1 score. 

“The initial call was an obstruction on Lynchburg-Clay in the box, and that gives you an indirect kick in the box, which means two players have to touch it,” Alexander said. “The center official told us that the ball was touched but did not move, which is why it was called back. That was the explanation we were given.”

West also talked about the indirect kick in the game. 

“Our girls on the indirect inside the 15 down or the 18. We got a break, actually, when they had them re-kick it, which I didn't know was even an option, but obviously it must be,” West said. “The girls played it well, and we got away from that one, and I thought, man, it's looking good here. We just got through telling them, ‘you've got to play 80 minutes.’”

After more strong defense by both teams, Henninger took the game into her own hands, and the rest is history. 

Henninger took control of the ball around midfield and raced straight to the direction of the keeper with Lynchburg-Clay players racing with her. Henninger then got off the shot she needed, and it went past the keeper for a 2-1 FHS lead, as Henninger and her teammates showed great emotion in celebrating the 2-1 advantage. 

“The first [goal] was a PK by Ava Hooper, a senior leader,” Alexander said of their scoring. “We had all the confidence in the world for her to go in there and take that, and then the last goal, our striker up top in Vivian Henninger. We've been working on that for the past couple of weeks, and she did her part of just staying calm and putting the ball where it needed to go.”

West also spoke about the go-ahead goal against his team.

“We played good soccer for 77 minutes, and then we let the Henninger girl get loose, and we had done a great job on her up until that point,” he said. “I told the girls before the game, we had to cover her, and we had to take care of Ava Hooper, and we did a nice job on both of them. The PK, I'll just leave it at this … there were calls made tonight that I didn't understand. There were calls made that I have not seen in 27 years of coaching, so that happens. You’ve got to live with it. You move on.

“Fairfield’s got a good team. They played well. They're where they are in the district because of that, and we played well. The first half was probably as good a half as we played all year, and the second half, for 37 minutes, was going pretty good, then we just had a lapse, and she made a great play.”

FHS kept their energy up and fended off one last chance by the Lady Mustangs, as the final buzzer sounded and Fairfield had accomplished something no other team had achieved since ’10. 

“Our defense was huge. We let one in in the first half, kind of put us behind, and it was just a miscommunication, a little bit of flat feet, but we did a much better job in the second half, with Landry Teeters in the middle and Whitlee Morrow and Ashlyn Bellamy outside,” Alexander said. “Meri Jackson, at goal, has been great for us this year. She's really stood on her head at times. Our defensive mids have been helping out, with Isabelle Hale and Ruby Henninger and Rilee Quickle dropping back.”

The season continues for both teams as No. 1 Fairfield plays the winner of 8. Peebles vs. 9. Piketon on Wednesday, Oct. 15 at 6 p.m. in the Division V soccer tournament. 

Lynchburg-Clay finishes their regular season on Saturday, Oct. 11 at 6 p.m. in a home SHAC match against the Fayetteville Lady Rockets. The Lady Mustangs, who are ranked No. 2, will host the winner of 7. North Adams and 10. Zane Trace Oct. 15 at 6 p.m. in Division V tournament play.

The loss moves LCHS to an overall record of 5-7-2 with a SHAC mark of 3-1-1. Fairfield now stands at 5-1-0 in the SHAC standings and 10-6-0 overall. 

BOX SCORE
LCHS    1 0 — 1
FHS      0 2 — 2