Trojans grind out 3, beat Mt. Pleasant

MT. PLEASANT — The Fairfield boys soccer team had to work for every goal against a Mt. Pleasant squad that played almost everybody back, but the Trojans found three scores to earn a Southeast Conference victory.

After beating Mt. Pleasant 8-0 earlier this season, Fairfield won 3-0 on Thursday night at East Lake Park to complete the season sweep in the Highway 34 rivalry.

“It feels good, especially against a rival,” said Trojan senior Chance Swan. “It feels good to win, but it also helps to prepare for the next game.”

Swan had the second Fairfield goal on the night. Xavier Kapijimpanga scored the first, beating Mt. Pleasant goalkeeper Logan Lee to the right side with 30:56 left in the first half. Swan scored on a penalty kick just over 20 minutes later to make it 2-0 Trojans before halftime.

“I just tried to place it with power,” Swan said. “You just pick a spot and try and get it there.”

The Panther defense stayed strong, though, allowing just one more goal despite the Trojans dominating time of possession all night.

“You could feel the frustration,” said Fairfield head coach Felisto Guezimane. “We had a lot of possession, but we couldn't break that wall.”

It was sophomore Blake Jarmosco who finally broke through. He sent a hard shot that deflected off Lee and trickled over the line with 13:44 left.

Lee was busy in the net for Mt. Pleasant. The Panther keeper kept it interesting, fending off 10 shots in the first half and eight in the second to finish the game with 18 saves.

“All but about two of our games, we would have been beaten 10-0 without Logan back there,” said Mt. Pleasant head coach Neil Schmitz. “He's just so phenomenal.”

The Panthers fell to 2-8 overall and 2-5 in Southeast Conference play with the loss, but Schmitz says he sees big improvements in his squad.

“We're playing much better,” said Schmitz. “We've improved so much since the first part of the season.”

The Panthers will host Burlington on Monday night. At that same time, Fairfield will host their biggest game so far this season, a rematch against first-place Fort Madison.

Monday’s game in Fairfield will be a battle of Top 15 teams. Fort Madison comes in at No. 12 in the latest Class 2A rankings, and Fairfield is No. 15.

“They're motivated,” Guezimane said. “We just have to be ready for it, mentally and physically. It's going to be a tough game.”