Brock Netter, Editor
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by Holzer Health System.
HILLSBORO — As the final horn sounded on Thursday, Fairfield’s girls ran straight to their head coach, Jacob Alexander, with smiles on their faces and love in their hearts.
That team hug wasn’t just about what the Lions had just accomplished. It was about delivering a moment of happiness through tragedy.
On the one-year anniversary of his father’s passing, Alexander’s Lions (12-5-3) checked off another goal on their list with a 2-1 victory over Eastern Brown (14-2-3) to win their second consecutive district title.
“We knew what today was and what it meant for him personally, so in our team huddle before the game started, we told each other, ‘Let’s do this for Jacob,'” Fairfield’s Vivian Henninger said. “It was a hard day, and we wanted to be there for him, so winning a district title was the best way to do that.”
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“These seniors are so special, and it’s their third district title in their careers. They’re grown so much since experiencing the first-ever title as freshmen,” Alexander said. “They’ve been the calm in the middle of the storm sometimes, and been the storm at times for the other team. I’m just so proud of them. They earned it.”
Having already played Eastern Brown earlier this season, and finishing in a 0-0 tie, the Lions had an idea of how the Warriors were going to attack.
Both teams battled for the opening 38 minutes, trying to find an opening to get the early advantage.
Both had their chances, but it was Fairfield that first capitalized on an opportunity.
With 1:28 left in the first half, a ball took a perfect bounce right to Emerson Zink. The senior forward played it off the bounce, sending a shot perfectly over the keeper and into the back of the net for a 1-0 lead.
“I remember the ball just being in the air and volleying it in,” Zink said. “It was super exciting, and just seeing all of my teammates excited and rushing towards me was incredible.”
The sense of urgency began to kick in during the second half for the Warriors as they began to push up into Lion territory.
But that also made them a little vulnerable as well, which is exactly what Fairfield wanted to take advantage of.
A ball was played to Vivian Henninger at midfield and, despite three defenders near her, she purchased insurance.
She turned on the jets, outracing all three defenders towards the goal before sending her shot into the bottom right corner for a 2-0 lead.
“We are a second-half team, and I knew that we needed at least one more goal,” Henninger said. “I know that when I have an opening, I’m fast enough to outrun someone, so I take it and I’m off. Once I saw that opening, it was barbeque chicken from there.”
However, the Warriors weren’t finished fighting yet.
Six minutes later, Makena Corbin had control of the ball and found Kaitlyn Pfeffer, who provided an answer with a goal to cut the deficit to 2-1.
In the end though, the Warriors weren’t getting another shot past Meri Jackson in goal as she came up with a handful of saves in the final 15 minutes to help the Lions close out the win.
“We’ve got a lot of goalie drills over the last few days, especially making sure that I came out and attacked the ball instead of sitting back,” Jackson said. “It really helped my confidence to be able to make plays and help get the win.”
As Eastern Brown’s season comes to a close, Fairfield advances to a Division V regional semifinal at 7 p.m. on Tuesday against Fayetteville.
That game will be played at Chillicothe’s Herrnstein Field.
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