Last minute shot propels Mt. Pleasant over Fairfield

Fairfield and Mt. Pleasant trudged through 79 minutes of scoreless soccer Monday evening, but lucky for the Panthers, the game clock was set for 80 minutes.

David Litchfield broke away from the Trojan defense and found the net with 49 seconds to play to break a 0-0 tie and give Mt. Pleasant (1-2) its first win of the season.

The score was actually the first breakthrough in 179 minutes for Mt. Pleasant, which went without a goal for a full game plus two overtime sessions before losing in a shootout at Danville Friday.

?Last year, we played three games without scoring. We?re getting a lot more shots this year, but as we showed, we?re just one touch away from scoring,? said Panthers? coach Neil Schmitz. ?Hopefully tonight?s final goal will push us over the edge.?

Fairfield (0-4) could use a similar push as it continues to search for the first win of 2011. Even with a major advantage in shots on goal, the Trojans couldn?t find the mark and ended up empty handed.

?When you have that many chances and don?t put it in, you will pay for it,? said coach Felisto Guezimane. ?It happens time and time again.?

Fairfield peppered Mt. Pleasant with shots everywhere but inside the posts including a missed penalty kick with 7:28 remaining.

?It?s a combination of not enough teamwork and lack of concentration,? Guezimane added. ?When you have the opportunities, you have to keep your cool and put the ball in. We?ve been practicing well, and even practiced Sunday to prepare for this game. But we came in and didn?t show anything.?

Mt. Pleasant hosts Keokuk on Thursday, April 14, starting at 4:30 p.m.