GOAL SCORERS — Fairmont Area strikers Prince Lebbi (middle) and Matthew Kotewa (6) celebrate Lebbi’s second goal against New Ulm during Big South Conference soccer action Monday night at Kot Soccer Complex in Fairmont. Kotewa went on to score the Cardinals’ third goal. New Ulm’s Benjamin Brownfield (4) reacts to the goal. (Photo by Greg Abel)

FAIRMONT — Forward Prince Lebbi sparked Fairmont Area’s offense, goalkeeper Jonathan Heinze ignited the Cardinals’ defense and lightning strikes a mile south of Kot Soccer Complex cut short Monday night’s clash with the New Ulm Eagles.

Lebbi hammered home two goals and assisted Matthew Kotewa’s twine-finding shot, while Heinze made seven saves between the pipes in posting a shutout to propel Fairmont Area to a 3-0 Big South Conference decision over New Ulm.

Officials called for an initial 30-minute delay after seeing a bolt of lightning with 15:07 remaining in the second half. After consulting with Fairmont athletic director Mat Mahoney and looking at the weather radar’s forecast for rain and possible thunderstorms another 20 minutes away, officials called the game.

Lebbi’s golden spikes sparked the Cardinals’ first-half offensive barrage before yellow became the prominent color of the first 25 scoreless minutes of the second half. New Ulm received three consecutive yellow cards before Fairmont Area was dealt one.

“I was pleased with the way we applied a lot of pressure up high and did a nice job of controlling the ball, especially during the first half,” said Fairmont Area head coach Brady Meyer, whose lineup outshot the visiting Eagles by a 10-7 margin.

Lebbi displayed a combination of power and finesse in producing the league clash’s intial goal at the 27:32 juncture of the opening half. The junior striker made a hard drive along the right wing, stutter-stepped an Eagle, juked another defender and nailed a right-to-left low liner past New Ulm goalie Ethan Goff for a 1-0 Fairmont Area lead.

Lebbi then muscled home a 25-yard blast that rocketed untouched inside the right post for a 2-0 advantage with 22:26 remaining in the first segment.

Lebbi, who just missed a hat trick earlier when his curled shot from a left-corner kick ricocheted off the right pipe, threaded a pass through traffic to a slicing Kotewa. The junior forward nailed a right-wing riser that found the net for a 3-0 edge with 3:46 to go before halftime.

Jonathan Heinze then displayed his agility by batting away New Ulm striker Samo Barbosa’s free kick at the 37-minute mark of the second half.

Fairmont Area (1-1) travels to Edgerton today to play Southwest Minnesota Christian in a 4:30 p.m. game.

New Ulm downed Fairmont Area, 8-1, in junior varsity boys action Monday in Fairmont.

Isaiah Lockwood accounted for the Cardinals’ lone goal off an assist from Tomas Perez Perez, while goalkeeper Matthew Malo amassed an incredible 34 saves for the home team.

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Girls Soccer

Fairmont Area 6, New Ulm 1 — Senior striker Rayah Quiring continued her high-scoring ways by tallying five points to help power the Cardinals to a five-goal margin of victory over the Eagles on Monday night in New Ulm.

Quiring and Mackenzie Householder traded roles as scorer and passer to help Fairmont Area build a 2-1 halftime margin. Householder netted the first of her two goals of the game off a Quiring assist at the 12:44 juncture to knot the game at 1-all. Quiring then cashed in a Householder assist for the first of her two goals for a 2-1 lead only 16 seconds later.

Kate Busche scored Fairmont Area’s first of four second-half goals off the first of two Anna Utermarck assists only 56 seconds into the final 40 minutes.

Utermarck then converted a Quiring assist into a goal for a 4-1 lead with 12:04 left in regulation before Quiring and Householder closed out the game with back-to-back goals, respectively. Utermarck assisted on Quiring’s second goal of the game before Sami Lenort and Quiring delivered the setup passes on Householder’s final net-finding kick.

Cadee Becker made eight saves to earn the win between the pipes for Fairmont Area (3-0), which plays host to Mankato Loyola at 6:45 p.m. Thursday at Kot Soccer Complex in Fairmont.

New Ulm edged Fairmont Area, 1-0, during junior varsity action Monday in New Ulm.

The Cardinals generated six shots on goal and four corners, while netminder Madi Stromberg turned away six Eagle shots.