FAIRMONT — A leg-weary Fairmont Area girls soccer team overcame a number of obstacles to exit the Kot Soccer Complex with a hard-fought 2-1 Big South Conference victory over New Ulm on Tuesday night.

Sami Lenort ended a scoreless first half with a topspin goal 1:42 before intermission, Rayah Quiring curled home a second-half goal off a Lexi Kaufman entry pass, while keeper Cadence Becker and Carissa Saxton spearheaded the Cardinals’ late defensive stand to fend off the Eagles’ gallant comeback bid in Fairmont.

“No doubt that both teams coming into tonight’s game were tired after playing Monday night, so you could say that we were on equal footing,” said Fairmont Area head coach Matt Nielsen, whose lineup salvaged a 3-all tie against Waseca during an overtime contest 24 hours earlier. “The ‘wow’ factor came into play a couple of times when, as a coach, you’d say, ‘Wow, I can’t believe this player or that one was able to sprint during key moments of the game.'”

After New Ulm sophomore forward Livia Reinarts and Fairmont Area senior striker Joni Becker each were denied on two scoring opportunities apiece by Cardinals’ keeper Cadence Becker and Eagles’ goalie Kendra Nesvold, respectively, in a physical opening 40 minutes, Lenort broke the ice with time winding down.

Lenort collected the ball, squeezed through converging New Ulm defenders along the left point and skipped a topspinning shot toward an aggressive Nesvold. The ball took an odd carom, hopped over the Eagle keeper’s arm and trickled across the line for a 1-0 lead at the 1:42 juncture.

Quiring then extended Fairmont Area’s margin to 2-0 during the early stages of the second half. Kaufman weaved through the rugged New Ulm defense and threaded a right-wing entry pass to Quiring at the top of the box. Quiring drilled a curling shot that sliced through a narrow gap between Nesvold’s gloves and the right post for a critical goal at the 27:51 mark.

New Ulm, however, did not throw in the proverbial towel as midfielder Madison Roufs dribbled through defensive traffic to squeeze off an 8-yarder from the left wing to pare Fairmont Area’s lead in half with 14:55 remaining in regulation.

Fairmont Area keeper Cadence Becker proved worthy of New Ulm’s late offensive barrage on net, with Saxton lending her defensive skills to the effort by helping sweep away shots and clear the box with strong kicks near midfield.

Despite having eight consecutive fouls called on them, including three discretionary and uncharactistic yellow cards, in the second half, the Cardinals persevered to cap a four-game stretch over the last six days with a 2-1-1 record.

“To come away with a pair of wins and a tie against quality programs like Mankato East, New Ulm and Waseca in less than a week’s time is quite an accomplishment,” said Nielsen. “That’s about as tough as it gets during the regular season.”

Cadence Becker recorded a dozen saves to net the win for the Cardinals, while Nesvold tallied four stops on the night.

Fairmont Area (9-2-1, 6-2-1 Big South) is idle until traveling to Mankato Loyola next Tuesday. New Ulm (5-4-1, 3-3-1) plays host to Waseca on Thursday.

New Ulm 0-1–1

Fairmont 1-1–2

Scoring Plays

1st Half

FA–Sami Lenort (unassisted), 1:42.

2nd Half

FA–Rayah Quiring (Lexi Kaufman), 27:51.

NU–Madison Roufs (unassisted), 14:55.

Shots on goal: New Ulm 5-8–13; Fairmont Area 3-2–5. Corners: Fairmont Area 4; New Ulm 4.

Saves: Cadence Becker (FA) 12; Kendra Nesvold (NU) 4.

New Ulm zipped Fairmont Area, 1-0, during junior varsity action Tuesday at Kot Soccer Complex.

The Cardinals posted a 16-5 shots-on-goal edge over the Eagles.

Hannah Bergt and Angel Smith shared netminding duties for Fairmont Area.

Elayna Anderson and Kennedy Becker each scored a goal to power Fairmont Area to a 2-1 victory over New Ulm during C-squad action Tuesday.

Alex Martin delivered the assist on Anderson’s goal, while Kat Ogden doled out the pass on Becker’s score.

Goalie Madi Stromberg made 10 saves to net the win for the Cardinals.

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Boys Soccer

Fairmont Area 1, New Ulm 0 — Tyson Geerdes shut out the Eagles and powered the Cardinals to a Big South Conference soccer win Tuesday night in New Ulm.

Dan Brummond scored the lone goal of the matchup unassisted with 4:08 left before the halftime break.

Fairmont Area outshot New Ulm 9-3 with Juan Santana Sanz accounting for three shots on goal, Calvin Guritz and Brummond contributing two and Amos Broomfield and Joshua Bergt each getting one shot off.

Geerdes made three saves between the pipes to net the win.

Fairmont Area (4-5-1) travel to Edgerton to face Southwest Minnesota Christian at 5 p.m. Thursday.

New Ulm outshot Fairmont Area 7-2 to take a 2-0 win in junior varsity action Tuesday night in New Ulm.

Bryant Armitage made five saves in net for the Cardinals, while teammate Alexander Wannarka saved one shot.