Fairmont dominates 5-0
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FAIRMONT - The Fairmont Cardinals created opportunities and held possession all game as they fought for a 5-0 victory over the Tri-City Titans Thursday.
Even before the first goal at 17 minutes, Fairmont kept the ball on their side of the field for the majority of the time. Head Coach Matt Nielsen said this is one of their key rules.
"For our team we have three rules," he said. "Rule number three is to possess the ball, and we believe that if we possess the ball and win the time of possession, like in almost any sport, we’ve got a good chance to win. That’s what we gunned for, possessing the ball, and thought we did a good job tonight."
This created several opportunities for the Cardinals. The first goal came on an assist from Bethenny Long, who opened the door for Mollie Leiding to score easily and make it 1-0.
The Cardinals would continue to push the action, stifling any momentum the Titans had and taking advantage of some key mistakes. Right before the first half ended, Abbie Simpson created a lane for herself and stuck the landing with an unassisted goal, making it 2-0 at the half.
After halftime, the momentum the Cardinals had ran away as they scored two goals in six minutes. At minute 47, Mollie Leiding made the magic happen with a well-timed pass into Simpson. While Simpson's kick wasn't full steam, it dribbled and hopped past the goalkeeper to make it 3-0.
Then, two new players made their mark at minute 53. Olive Kawecki hit her mark and got the ball to McKenna Ludacer, who slammed the ball home to keep the pressure on the Titans and set the score at 4-0.
While a score like this makes it seem like an easy blowout, it was a hard-fought challenge every step of the way, and Nielsen said his team kept grinding away.
"The girls kept their focus all night," he said. "Really pleased with that from beginning to end. This team that we were playing against. They were grinding things out. They were clogging up passing lanes, and they didn’t stop working all night, nor did our girls."
The second half saw opportunities and possession time on each side, but Fairmont continued to steal the ball and get at the opposing goal. Having scored at the beginning of the game and assisted on another goal, Leiding made her mark one last time, this time unassisted, as she rocketed in the fifth and final goal of the game at the 66th minute, 5-0.
"This team that I have right now, they compete from beginning to end," Nielsen said. "Half the competition is competing against the other team, and the other half is competing against each other for who can have the most passes, the most assists, the best defensive stops. They just are competing all the time."
The Cardinals (5-2-2), who are riding a three-game winning streak and haven't lost since September 1, will have their next game Saturday, September 19 against Albert Lea at 1 p.m. on the Jeffrey Kot Fields.