Fort Madison fells No. 8 Fairfield boys

FAIRFIELD — The Fairfield boys soccer team, ranked eighth in Class 2A, lost to Southeast Conference rival Fort Madison Thursday.

The Trojans barely started playing when the visitors were awarded a penalty kick, which they converted.

“With only 1.3 minutes on the clock Kyle Jeffrey fouled Xander Wellman inside the penalty box,” Fairfield coach Felisto Guezimane said. “We kept our heads up and played a very good first half but missed a few good chances to take the lead.”

Xavier Kapijimpangamanda scored for Fairfield 12 minutes into the match and the halftime score was 1-1.

“The second half took a different turn after losing our dynamic duo in midfield late in the first half when Eli Moore and Juan Rojo were forced out due to injuries sustained from consistent aggressive plays from Fort Madison,” Guezimane said.

Five minutes into the second half, Jeffrey committed another foul inside the penalty box, and Mitchell Pothitakis converted the penalty kick for the 2-1 lead.

“We made two crucial defensive mistakes that cost us the game,” Guezimane said. “We didn't allow any goal from an open play, but handed them the game with two penalties and were not able to recover.”

After the second goal, Fort Madison loaded the defense with five players and the Trojans were stymied. Playing without their best midfielders made a comeback difficult.

Kyle Schubick had a “couple good saves,” and Jacob Bland made a “crucial” save in the second half by clearing a ball on the goal line after “Schubick was beat,” Guezimane said. “Fort Madison has a good team, but I believe we were the better team on the field. We played a clean game while they resorted to aggressive plays.”

Trojans edge past Bloodhounds

FORT MADISON — Fairfield’s girls scored their first win Thursday, defeating SEC foe Fort Madison 2-1 on its home field.

Clare Else and Lilian Buie each produced a goal and Trisha Westphal preserved the victory with 14 saves.

Hughes’ 4 goals helps Golden Hawks win

ALBURNETT — Mid-Prairie won its second girls match in a week by the same 6-1 score and three of its four games have ended 6-1. Cedar Valley Christian was Friday’s victim as the Golden Hawks pulled away from a 1-1 halftime score on the strength of Esther Hughes four goals.

Kaitlyn Martin’s offense included both a goal and an assist. Sophia Baker scored, and Evelyn Gerber had an assist for Mid-Prairie, which has a 3-1 record.

Columbus survives on penalty kicks

TIPTON — The Columbus girls were tied at 2-2 with Tipton Friday until the match went to penalty kicks, and the Wildcats came away with a 4-2 win. The boys improved to 4-1 with a 4-1 win over Tipton.

“It was an exciting game to watch as both teams played hard,” Columbus girls coach Alfredo Pineda said.

Juvixsa Valdez scored both Columbus goals during regulation time, one each half.

“She created her own shots, taking on two and three girls before putting it in the back of the net,” Pineda said.

During the penalty kick shootout to decide the game, Valdez and Miriam Ruvalcaba made their penalties while Alynna Leos, who had 16 total saves, blocked three Tipton kicks and one was shot over the crossbar.

Columbus girls are 3-1 and play at Notre Dame today.

Wildcats outscore Huskies

RIVERSIDE — The match was 6-3 after the first half, but Highland lost to Columbus 9-4 in a boys soccer match Thursday.

Ramses Vergara had two goals and an assist for the Huskies. Justin Rodriguez and Owen Donovan each kicked in a goal. Donovan assisted on two other scores. Eli Slaymaker had the other Highland assist.