Rauenbuehler shines as MP shuts out Fairfield

By Andy Krutsinger, Mt. Pleasant News

After a thrilling match earlier this year that didn?t quite go their way, the Panther boys got their revenge Thursday night over SEC-rival Fairfield.

The Panthers shut out the Trojans, 2-0, flipping the script from a loss in penalty kicks the last time these two teams took the field.

Dallas Peebler had the first quality chance of the game when he forced Panther keeper Nathan Rauenbuehler out of the net, but he couldn?t get a good angle on the shot and it went wide left.

The two teams continued to fail to convert chances throughout the next thirty minutes.

Mt. Pleasant?s Kyle Medina had a deep shot go just over the crossbar with 21:30 remaining in the half.

Fairfield good scoring opportunities from Brayden Miller and Leone Gichure-Marira with just under 15 minutes remaining but both shots sailed high and it remained scoreless.

The defenses held until halftime but the Trojans had one more quality attempt in the first half. Shawn Spurrier sent a rocket towards the net at 4:40 but Rauenbuehler made a nice save too keep it even.

The first goal of the game was finally tallied when Cade Warner sent a deep ball from outside the box towards the net. Fairfield goalkeeper Brandon Lunsford got a hand on it but a screen by Jadyn Vongsavath made it difficult to grab and the ball skipped off Lunsfords hand and into the net.

Spurrier nearly had the answer shortly after the Panthers made it 1-0. He sent a high screamer towards the top of the net that would have found its way in but Rauenbuehler made the save of the night, leaping up to swat the shot and grabbing it before it could hit the ground.

On the other end, Mt. Pleasant made Fairfield pay for the missed opportunity. With 35 minutes remaining, Payton Kelly launched a deep shot towards the top left corner of the goal that went just over the outstretched hands of Lunsford to make it 2-0 Panthers.

After the game, Coach Neil Schmitz talked about his team?s play, praising the defense, along with Rauenbuehler, for a shut out performance.

?I?ve said it before and I?ll keep saying it all year and probably for the next two years,? said coach Schmidt, ?(Rauenbuehler) is hands down the best keeper in the conference and probably in southeast Iowa. He knows exactly where to be and makes some fantastic saves.?

Fairfield continued to threaten to score throughout the rest of the second half. Chaysten Titus had a good opportunity with 12:30 remaining and Nicholas Frisbie has a run at one right afterwards but nobody could solve Rauenbuehler, who earned the shutout win.

Fairfield fell to 5-3 overall with the loss and 3-2 in conference play. They will compete in the Iowa Mennonite tournament in Kalona on Saturday, April 29 at 10 a.m.

Mt. Pleasant moved to 3-3 overall and 3-2 in conference play. They?ll have their second non-conference game today (Friday) at home against Albia at 4:30 p.m.