John Bruce, Editor
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by Holzer Health System.
WINCHESTER — Even after Eastern gave up the lead against the Fayetteville Rockets on Monday night, senior Makena Corbin had full confidence that her Warriors could still get the win.
“We did a really good job of keeping it on our half. So when we got it down here, I was like, ‘OK, I know we can score,'” the senior said following the win. “We just played with the passes a little bit and we got a corner, and we finished the corner obviously.”
With the clock ticking, the Warriors were awarded a corner kick in the left corner.
Corbin stepped to send an inswinger towards the six-yard box, but hooked the ball a bit more. As the ball hooked to the back post, it was deflected, but not with enough power to push it wide, knocking the ball off the post and into the net for a go-ahead Olympico.
CREDIT: Brock Netter/SOSA
It came with just 5:09 to play.
Entering the match, Eastern (7-0-2, 3-0-1 SHAC) knew that it would need a win to be able to control its own destiny. While searching for their first SHAC title since 2021, a tie would’ve still given Fayetteville a slight edge due to the Warriors’ previous tie with Fairfield.
Neither team came into the match looking for a draw, either, as both offenses attacked early and often.
The Warriors’ defense had recently kept Fairfield’s Vivian Henninger, the league’s leading scorer, off the board in that aforementioned 0-0 tie and looked to do the same against Fayetteville’s Aubrey Barber.
Barber, the SHAC’s second-leading scorer, is a dynamic player that came into the game leading the Rockets in scoring and assists, while playing down the left wing. The task of marking Barber went to Eastern junior Autumn Fahrian, who did a marvelous job of slowing down the striker.
“Aubrey [Barber] is a great soccer player. Her foot skills are amazing, and Autumn being able to be on her and stopping her from getting shots on me really helped,” junior goalkeeper Chloe Hauck said of her classmate. “I know she [Barber] could shoot the ball and she’s able to make hard shots with pressure, so Autumn being able to stay on her really helped us a lot.”
While slowing down Barber was one thing, the Rockets, as a team, are outstanding on the attack. That meant a full night for the Warriors’ defense.
Led by Alayna Musselman, Kinze Dailey, Addalynn Perkins and Alyssa Fisher, the Warriors kept Fayetteville (6-3-2, 2-1 SHAC) from making many real threats inside the box. But, on the rare occasion that they did breakthrough, the ultra-aggressive Hauck was there to pounce and clean up any loose balls.
“I typically do that every game, when my team is playing aggressive, I might as well be back there working as well,” Hauck said of her aggressiveness in goal. “I go at the ball, pressuring them when they’re coming into take a shot and I know that my defense is back there backing me up, too.”
While Eastern’s defense was playing at a high level, the offense was working on the counter-attack throughout the first half. The Warriors couldn’t break through until Corbin appeared to bust through the Rockets’ back line with around two minutes to play in the first half.
However, the assistant referee lifted their flag to signal that Corbin was offsides, negating the attacking opportunity.
Eastern didn’t hang their heads, though, getting a quick steal and leading a pass to freshman Kaitlyn Pfeffer, who played a through-ball to Corbin. Once Corbin broke free from the defense, all she had to do was calmly find the net, which she did with a right-footed shot at the 1:23 mark to give the Warriors a 1-0 lead.
Eastern was able to run large chunks of clock in the second half with Corbin, Pfeffer and Briley Roush controlling possession and keeping the Rockets at bay.
But, the defending SHAC champs were not going down without a fight.
Late in the contest, Barber finally got a free touch before sending a pass ahead to junior Ella Wolfer. Wolfer beat two defenders on the left side before Hauck sprinted out to pressure her. Wolfer then sent a left-footed cross into the six-yard box, where Kenna Stratton was there to finish at the 7:31 mark to tie the match.
Obviously undaunted, the Warriors rebuilt their attack, eventually leading to Corbin’s heroics on the corner with 5:09 to play.
Fayetteville, playing with the heart of a champion, still gave themselves one final chance in the closing moments.
Barber was able to secure a corner kick for her team, which was sent in by Wolfer and deflected by Hauck towards the goal line. With the ball barrelling towards the net, Fisher got a touch on the ball before Musselman played it off the line. Musselman’s attempt at a clearance was deflected and before a Rocket could get a foot on the ball, Hauck pounced on the ball to eliminate the threat and send the Warriors off to a victory.
“We knew we had to win to get in first place,” Corbin said after the win. “We came into practice Sunday and worked hard and we came out here and gave it 110 percent.”
Eastern is back in action on Wednesday, traveling to North Adams, while Fayetteville attempts to bounce back the same evening, going to Peebles.
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