Two area boys soccer programs secured their first wins of the 2026 season this week, as Fairfield defeated WACO on Monday, April 6th and Sigourney-Keota claimed a victory on Tuesday, April 7th.
Fairfield 5, WACO 1 — Monday, April 6th
Monday’s match served as the season opener for both Fairfield and WACO, as both teams had their original April 2nd openers postponed due to weather. Fairfield was originally scheduled to open at Central Lee, a game that has been rescheduled for April 14th. WACO had been slated to open against Sigourney-Keota on the same date.
Fairfield wasted little time getting on the board. Caleb Huff scored twice in the first half, finding the net quickly within the first nine minutes at 34:55 and 31:44. Chaz Wohnoutka added a third goal at 19:19 to give Fairfield a commanding 3-1 halftime lead, with WACO’s only score coming from Tristan Luitjens at 9:15.
Fairfield kept the pressure on in the second half. Cormac Van Pelt scored at 24:49 and Oliver Siemsen added the final goal at 6:58 to seal the 5-1 victory. Van Pelt, Jaxon Kurka, and Ben Strickland each recorded one assist. Goalkeeper Henry Swan also turned in a strong performance, coming up with one notably impressive save.
Fairfield improves to 1-0 on the season. WACO falls to 0-1. The Trojans will be back in action Thursday, April 9th, hosting Burlington in their first conference game of the season.
Sigourney-Keota 2, Highland 1 — Tuesday, April 7th
While most area schools called off their sporting events Tuesday due to the cold and wind, Sigourney-Keota and Highland chose to play on. It turned out to be the only area sporting event of the night, and the Cobras made it count — bouncing back from a season-opening loss to PCM on March 31st to earn their first win of the year, defeating Highland 2-1 and improving to 1-1 on the season. Highland drops to 0-3.
Wells Clark was the hero of the night, scoring both of Sigourney-Keota’s goals in the first half. He found the net with 33:16 left in the half and added a second goal off a penalty kick with 10:39 remaining in the first half. Jackson Vittetoe recorded an assist on the night.
Highland made things interesting, scoring with a little more than seven minutes remaining in the game, but Sigourney-Keota’s defense held firm to preserve the victory.
Head coach Alex Holt was encouraged by the win while acknowledging there is still plenty of work to do. “We played good,” Holt said. “We struggled finishing at the goal, had lots of opportunities, but need to work on our touch around the goal. Have to get our first touch down as well. Too many balls got away from us. We did good moving the ball to the wings and opening up the defense, still have a lot to work on, but it was a good first win of the season and gives us a lot to build off of as we continue plugging away.”
Holt had high praise for his defensive unit, singling out Owen Clark, Aidan Greiner, Jackson Vittetoe, and Chase Haifley for their efforts. “Owen Clark played a great game as did Aidan Greiner and Jackson Vittetoe,” Holt said. “Chase Haifley played great in the midfield helping facilitate on both sides of the field. Our defense did a great job holding the line and getting back and cutting off pressure all night long. We just had the one hiccup, but aside from that they played a terrific game with very little rest for those four.”
Holt also gave credit to Highland’s Jose Ramirez, who scored the team’s lone goal. “That Jose Ramirez — number 22 — is a really good player and he was one kick away a couple of times those last ten minutes from tying things up,” Holt said. “Highland played tough and we will get them again real soon.”
Sigourney-Keota will next be in action Friday, April 10th at Central Lee.
Photos by A.J. Roe and Lonni Goldman.
