Carson Francis, Staff Writer
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by Holzer Health System.
CHILLICOTHE — Every last kick mattered.
Fayetteville-Perry and Fairfield, quite literally, played down to the final kick of Tuesday’s Division V regional semifinal in Chillicothe.
Both squads exchanged blow after blow, fighting to a 2-2 tie after 110 minutes, before the match would be decided by penalty kicks. And when the lights were the brightest, the Rockets (13-4-2) rose to the occasion one more time.
With a 2-1 advantage in the penalty kick count, a do-or-die PK awaited Fairfield. However, Fayetteville keeper Jada Kassner knocked away the final attempt to seal a Sweet 16 win for the Rockets over their SHAC foes.
“We wanted it more, plain and simple. We came into this game knowing we needed this,” Kassner said. “We wanted this, and nobody comes as hype as Fayetteville.”
CREDIT: Raymond Gleadle/SOSA
The season of firsts continues, as the win clinches Fayetteville’s first-ever trip to the Elite 8.
“This is an amazing group of girls. Not only do they have that grit, but they always cheer for each other,” Fayetteville-Perry head coach Jenny Rosselot said. “They are always behind each other, they always step up for each other, and that’s what makes this team amazing. They are just a well-oiled machine.”
Fairfield (12-6-3) put the Rockets in a hole to start the match.
After an uneventful first 30 minutes of play, Vivian Henninger got the scoring started for the Lions. With a defender at her side, she floated the ball over the keeper’s head and found nylon with 8:32 left in the first to give Fairfield a 1-0 lead.
Not to be outdone, Fayetteville’s Jaylee Wessel was prepared with a counterpunch.
With 4:38 remaining, Wessel lined up wide of the left hash and sailed the ball high into the far-right corner, knocking through the equalizer to even the score at 1-1 — a tally that remained into the halftime break.
“[Wessel’s goal] was very big. We tell her all the time, ‘Jaylee, you can shoot, just don’t play with the ball, but please shoot,’” Rosselot said. “And when she shoots, she hits the back of that net, and she’s got it.”
The Lions’ offense came out of halftime and kept swinging, though.
Still winning the possession battle, the Lions were set up with a corner kick with 29:42 left. There, Fairfield caught a much-needed break and capitalized.
After Fayetteville’s keeper seemed to corral the initial shot, the ball rattled around in the turf before Fairfield’s Landyn Hodson tapped it in off the rebound, putting the Lions back in front by a 2-1 count.
PHOTOS: Images from Fayetteville’s regional semifinal win over Fairfield
But just like in the first half, the Rockets turned back to Wessel again for an answer.
She delivered again when her number was called.
With 8:22 on the clock, Fayetteville’s Cara Rummel was on the receiving end of a free kick before she dished it out to Wessel. From the left side, the junior then fired a roll shot into the right side of the net to even the score at 2-2.
Fairfield’s defense then withstood one final Rocket attack when Meri Jackson hauled in a corner kick before a successful clearance led to time expiring in regulation.
Both sides had equal opportunities in each extra period, but each defense would stand its respective ground as the match would need penalty kicks to decide a winner.
The two squads exchanged misses before Fayetteville’s second attempt, courtesy of Lindi Carlier, flew into the top right of the net.
Henninger answered for Fairfield on the ensuing kick, rolling it into the bottom left corner. But Avery Wolf responded right away in that exact spot, giving the Rockets a 2-1 advantage in the PKs.
And finally, on Fairfield’s fifth and final chance, the line-drive kick was batted away with both hands by Kassner, closing out a full-length marathon victory for the Rockets to send the program to its first-ever regional final.
“[Fairfield]’s a great team. They’ve been here however many times and this is our first time here, and we knew we would come up against them,” Rosselot said. “We knew that [Fairfield] would want to get it, but like our girls said, we’re not done yet.”
“I’m not going to lie, that was one of the scariest moments of my life. Meri’s an amazing goalie, and the whole time I was like, ‘I’m just not going to be able to top her,’” Kassner said. “But I pulled it out. Somehow, I did it. That one goal, I was like, ‘OK, it’s fine, I got the next two.’ And I did.”
For Fairfield, the 2026 campaign comes to a close after the program’s third regional appearance in four years. The Lions say goodbye to a squad of eight seniors — Meri Jackson, Miley Brown, Emerson Zink, Kaylee Hurless-Miller, Landry Teeters, Vivian Henninger, Isabelle Hale and Whitlee Morrow.
The Rockets will now meet with Berlin Hiland, a 1-0 overtime winner over Creston Norwayne, in Saturday’s Division V regional final.
That match is scheduled for 12 p.m. at Pickerington North High School.
“It means a lot to Fayetteville. All of our sports have been pretty good,” Wessel said when discussing the chance to play for a regional title. “And along with the boys team, they’re pushing with us. I think it definitely helps to have a good support group.”
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