Indians’ attack turned away in sectional boys soccer final

Three first-half goals by the Crusaders deny FHS a sectional title to go with the GMC crown.

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By Jay Morrison, Staff Writer 12:55 AM Tuesday, October 26, 2010

HAMILTON — The Fairfield High School boys soccer team’s six-game winning streak came to an emphatic end Monday night.

No. 6 seed Moeller broke loose for three first-half goals against the third-seeded Indians on the way to a 3-0 victory in a Division I sectional championship game at Hamilton’s Virgil Schwarm Stadium.

The Crusaders (13-2-4) will play Lakota East — a 2-1 winner against Loveland on Monday — for the district championship at 6 p.m. Thursday at Princeton.

“We made some mistakes early and they certainly capitalized on them,” Fairfield coach Chad Reed said after watching his team end its season with a record of 11-3-4.

“Give Moeller credit,” Reed added. “They looked phenomenal in the first half.”

Moeller got on the board quickly, scoring 11 minutes into the game on a 33-yard direct kick by Joseph Veatch.

Undeterred, the Indians continued to attack and had several scoring opportunities. But the Crusaders got a huge goal with 8:42 left in the first half when Raymond Roberts took a pass from Luke Guju to make it 2-0. And then three minutes later, Christopher Nartker inserted the dagger on a breakaway.

“When we come out and do the things we’re capable of doing, we can play like this,” Moeller coach Randy Hurley said after watching his team run its unbeaten streak to 13 games. “We knew Fairfield would be a very tough team defensively. But we thought because of their aggressiveness we could get it behind them, and it worked.”

The loss was a disappointing end to what had been an impressive season for Fairfield. Following a 1-1-4 start, the Indians won 11 of their next 12 games to capture their first Greater Miami Conference title since 2006.

“We had a great season, and I’m proud of the guys,” Reed said. “At the beginning of the year, we were picked seventh in (Cincinnati) and at one point, we were 11th. But to come back and win the league and get the third seed in the tournament was a nice accomplishment.”

Monday’s loss marked the final prep soccer game in the careers of 10 FHS seniors — T.J. Newbright, Ben Hasselbeck, Adamier Asmat, Matt Feller, Troy Wintermeyer, Alex Flores, Jerry Solorio, Austin Hale, Addison Hocter and Josh Pfaff.

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2193

or jmorrison@coxohio.com.

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