Trojans handed crushing loss in final minute

Fairfield and Mount 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 snuck past the Trojan defense and found the net with 49 seconds to play to break a 0-0 tie and give Mount Pleasant (1-2) its first win of the season.

The score was actually the first breakthrough in 179 minutes for Mount 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? head 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 head coach Felisto Guezimane. ?It happens time and time again.?

Fairfield peppered Mount 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.?

Fairfield will hope to turn its season around as another Southeast Conference opponent comes to Trojan Stadium Thursday. The JV-varsity doubleheader with Washington will kick off at 5:30 p.m.