Trojans, Panthers trade blowouts

MT. PLEASANT — The pitch was tilted all evening at East Lake Park in Mt. Pleasant, but it tilted opposite ways in a boy-girl doubleheader.

Fairfield dominated the boys game from start to finish, coasting to a 9-0 win. Mt. Pleasant gave it right back in the girls’ game, as the Panthers won via mercy rule, 10-0.

The Trojan boys took a while to get the engine started, missing early opportunities against the wind, but a pair of goals in the final minutes gave Fairfield a 2-0 lead at the break.

“At halftime, I instructed the boys to be patient and more clinical with the final pass on the attacking third,” said Fairfield boys soccer coach Felisto Guezimane. “They did that and the goals came.”

The Trojans turned it on in the second half. Fairfield poured in seven goals to run away with their first victory of the year.

“We were ruthless in front of the goal in the second half,” Guezimane said. “Great performance from the boys.”

Andrew Twohill dropped a hat trick, scoring three goals on the day. Carter Stark put up two goals. Binh Truong, Everett Elliason, Jayvin Guezimane and Kohen Cass each scored one.

The Trojans were led in assists by Cooper Polonsky and Andrew Titze, who dished out two apiece. Kohen Cass and Thony Valdez each had one.

Mt. Pleasant’s Rudy Ruiz Motta finished the day with eight saves in net, turning away almost half of Fairfield’s 20 shots on goal.

Mt. Pleasant was ready to go in the girls’ game. The Panthers put up six goals in the first half, three of which came from Elly Manning.

Mt. Pleasant added four goals in the second half, eventually finishing it off on a goal from Charice Auwerda, with just under 30 minutes still remaining in the half.

“The girls figured it out today,” said Mt. Pleasant girls coach Scott Stribe. “They showed up tonight, and I'm real proud of their performance.”

Fairfield’s Delaney Breen, who stepped into the net in place of injured keeper Kiara Bickham, did everything she could in net to keep the game going, making a myriad of saves in the first half, but the Panthers finished the day with 19 shots on goal.

“She's going to do everything she can to try and give this team a chance to win,” said Fairfield girls coach Alex Cardenas. “Obviously, having Kiara out is hurting us, and not having Delaney out in the field is hurting us as well.”

Fairfield is now 1-4 on the boys’ side and 0-4 on the girls’ side. Mt. Pleasant’s girls are 4-2, and the boys are 2-6.