Panther boys trump Trojans

FAIRFIELD - One of the biggest boys' soccer games of the year came early in 2019. Mt. Pleasant went to Fairfield in a game that could have major Southeast Conference championship implications and knocked off the defending champions 4-3.

The Panthers scored all four goals in the first half. Jayden Vongsavath scored in the first minute off a Noel Lopez assist. Nathan Rauenbuehler scored with 32:07 left in the half off an assist from Avery Scandridge. Vongsavath scored one with 13:30 remaining, getting the assist from Rauenbuehler, and Cade Warner scored with 30 seconds left off an assist from Lopez.

Fairfield tallied two goals in the first half. Warner's goal at the end of the first half stretched the Panther lead to 4-2.

Fairfield's Dagan Burnett scored a goal late in the second half to cut the lead to 4-3, but the Trojans ran out of time and Mt. Pleasant walked out with a huge conference victory.

'With Fairfield winning the SEC the last two years, this was a big win to get one up on them,” Mt. Pleasant head coach Neil Schmitz said. 'This is definitely the biggest win of the season for us.”

Schmitz says he would still like to see the defense step up a little more, stating that Fairfield got too many uncontested shots, but praisedt he team for getting the ball to its forwards to give them more opportunities.

The Panthers currently sit at 4-1 overall and 1-0 in the conference. They'll look to pick up another SEC win on Thursday, April 11, when they host Keokuk in their home opener.