Washington Evening Journal
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Fairfield pours it on vs. Centerville, advances
Once the rain died down in time for Fairfield?s substate girls? soccer opener vs. Centerville, another downpour started.
This downpour, however, was a perfectly produced Fairfield storm.
The Trojan girls poured in three straight goals in the game?s first four minutes and scored twice more by the 10th minute Tuesday, rolling to a 5-0 victory at Trojan Stadium in Fairfield.
The Trojans, who are now 8-6 and riding a ...
MICHAEL LEACH, Ledger sports editor
Sep. 30, 2018 9:50 pm
Once the rain died down in time for Fairfield?s substate girls? soccer opener vs. Centerville, another downpour started.
This downpour, however, was a perfectly produced Fairfield storm.
The Trojan girls poured in three straight goals in the game?s first four minutes and scored twice more by the 10th minute Tuesday, rolling to a 5-0 victory at Trojan Stadium in Fairfield.
The Trojans, who are now 8-6 and riding a three-game winning streak, advance to play Mid-Prairie (10-5-1) in the regional semifinals Friday in Wellman. Mid-Prairie got by Washington 8-1 in the region?s other substate opener.
The soggy, waterlogged soccer field couldn?t slow Fairfield down. Centerville couldn?t, and on this day, their head coach Michiel Hekker wasn?t sure anything could slow his players down.
?We had five goals from five different players. The midfield and forwards really stepped up their offensive play and took over 10 shots in the first half,? said Hekker.
Claudia Sloat was the first Trojan to score just two minutes after kick-off. The junior, who was assisted by Erica Winslow on the right wing, broke free of the defense to put Fairfield ahead 1-0. Senior teammate Katie Anderson continued the scoring onslaught with a solo effort 20 seconds later.
Then, less than a minute after Anderson?s goal, Fairfield had two straight shot attempts carom off the goal post before Winslow put the ball between the posts for a 3-0 lead.
The Trojans, perhaps aware that the game might come to a premature end, continued their urgent pacing with two more goals in the opening 10-minute stretch. Junior Huma Liptak scored at the seventh minute to push the lead to 4-0, and senior Kayla Septer capped the ferocious start with a goal from 20 yards away at the 10th minute.
The 5-0 score would hold up over the half?s remaining 30 minutes as Fairfield subbed in many of its second-string players. Lightning and rain returned at halftime and didn?t let up the rest of the night. After a 45-minute wait, the game was called to hand Fairfield the win.
?Although we were only able to play one half, we accomplished the team goals we had set for ourselves last week. These goals included pulling Centerville offsides and finishing in front of the net,? said Hekker, who also commended Brandi Rude for her part in pulling Centerville offsides.
?Brandi played an integral part communicating with the defensive line to push Centerville offsides a total of five times,? he said.
The Trojans had assists from Liptak, Sloat and Winslow.
Fairfield?s substate semifinal vs. Mid-Prairie starts at 5 p.m. Friday. Hekker expects a tough battle.
?Our game will be a great test to the overall strength and discipline of our team. We hope to play a very close game and come out ahead with a one-goal lead,? he said.