John Bruce, Editor
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by Holzer Health System.
WINCHESTER — In a matchup of unbeaten SHAC teams on Monday night, Fayetteville made the most of its few chances to defeat Eastern and stay atop of the standings.
Sophomore Levi Espinoza scored a pair of goals and assisted on a late score from senior Hayden Coyle as the Rockets soared to a 3-0 darkness-shortened road win over the Warriors.
“It’s really important because it’s what gets us the game-winning goals,” Coyle said of the connection between Espinoza and himself. “The two of us see each other and make a valuable pass and that’s what turns the game around.”
The duo made their first big impact on the game at the 27:11 mark in the opening half with Coyle bringing the ball down the left wing. Coyle sent a low, left-footed cross into the box, finding a sprinting Espinoza, who slid in and finished the cross into the net with a slick finish.
CREDIT: Brock Netter/SOSA
Eastern shook off the early goal and began to pressure Fayetteville’s back line as senior Jayse Riggs used his speed and elusiveness to get multiple opportunities on goal. His best chance came late in the first half, but the Rockets’ Charlie Jordan knocked the shot down and corralled it to keep the Warriors off the board.
Following Riggs’ effort, the Rockets’ defense of Keaton Strong, Korbin Strong, Tavan Pride, AJ Johnson and Parker Pfankuch used their speed and physicality to slow Eastern’s attack.
Fayetteville (9-1-1, 4-0-1 SHAC) took its 1-0 lead into the break, but the opening half was fairly even overall.
Eastern (5-2-2, 3-1-2 SHAC) came out with energy to start the second half, looking for the equalizer, which opened up its stingy defense to the long ball.
That long ball came just over 10 minutes into the half when Jacob Rosselot found Espinoza with a ball over the top of the Warriors’ back line. The sophomore settled the pass, took a controlling dribble and hammered the shot into the side netting to give the Rockets a 2-0 advantage with 29:36 to play.
Fayetteville slammed the door shut with 10:50 remaining when Espinoza returned the favor to Coyle, who got loose and finished the pass into the netting to give the Rockets a 3-0 lead. That lead was intact when the game was called due to darkness with 9:11 remaining in the contest.
“Every practice is productive and every game we learn something new,” Espinoza said of his team’s growth throughout the season. “We do it in practice, learn from it and use it in games.”
With the win, the Rockets are now a step closer to repeating as the SHAC champion, a title they shared with North Adams a year ago. That task will be difficult with a trip to Peebles on Wednesday and a marquee contest on Monday against Lynchburg-Clay.
“It’s a big thing, especially for the seniors trying to have a good season because we know that this is it and we want to be able to leave on a good note,” Coyle said of the Rockets’ chemistry. [We want to] help the underclassmen make sure that they have a good season coming up next year, and the years to follow.”
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