Area soccer programs had a strong Thursday, April 16th, with Fairfield’s boys and girls both posting lopsided victories over Keokuk and Sigourney-Keota rolling past Highland.
Fairfield Girls 9, Keokuk 1
The Fairfield girls put on an offensive showcase Thursday, cruising to a 9-1 victory over Keokuk behind another dominant performance from Emma Metcalf, who scored six goals to bring her season total to 10 — already surpassing her total of nine goals from all of last season in just three games.
Metcalf opened the scoring at 18:17 in the first half and added goals at 14:35, 9:38, and 0:39 to give Fairfield a 5-0 halftime lead. Fernanda Baez added a goal at 13:30 for her first of the season and career. Metcalf continued her hot streak in the second half, scoring at 27:07 and 20:02 to push her total to six on the night. Sofia Eisenbraun scored at 9:02 for her first career varsity goal, and June Conner capped the scoring at 4:24 with her first career varsity goal as well. Lexi Mast finished the night with six assists.
Fairfield improves to 2-1 overall and 2-1 in conference play. Keokuk falls to 2-4 overall and 1-2 in the conference.
Fairfield Boys 12, Keokuk 2
The Fairfield boys were equally dominant Thursday, routing Keokuk 12-2 to improve to 4-1 overall and 2-1 in conference play.
Oliver Siemsen led the scoring with three goals. Noah Patel added two, while Casey Allen, Cormac Van Pelt, Gray Saturley, and Ben Strickland each scored one. A Keokuk defender also scored an own goal. Cormac Van Pelt led the team with four assists, with Lane Stever adding two, and Gray Saturley and Oliver Siemsen each chipping in one. Fairfield led 5-1 at halftime before pulling away with additional goals in the second half.
Head coach Felisto Guezimane noted the team used the match as an opportunity to rotate the lineup and give some players a rest after a busy week. “I did some squad rotation tonight to give some kids a break and others a chance to start a game,” Guezimane said. “So we were a bit out of sync at first, but got into rhythm as the game progressed by reintroducing some of the regulars into the lineup. We did more rotations in the second half, but played much better after the break. I also thought we had some tired legs after a busy week. We will have a light recovery training session tomorrow and do some tactical work for Monday.”
Keokuk falls to 0-6 overall and 0-3 in the conference.
Sigourney-Keota Boys 8, Highland 3
Sigourney-Keota’s boys soccer team topped Highland 8-3 Thursday, a dominant follow-up to their 2-1 victory over the same opponent earlier in the season. The Cobras led 2-0 at halftime before pulling away in the second half.
Wells Clark and Caden Meyer each scored in the first half to build the 2-0 lead. The floodgates opened in the second half, with Gavin Khali scoring all four of his goals after the break, while Clark and Meyer each added one more to finish with two goals apiece on the night. Jackson Vittetoe chipped in one goal and two assists, and Clark and Meyer combined for four assists. Goalkeeper Ty Goldman made five saves on the night.
Head coach Alex Holt praised the team’s discipline and execution, while acknowledging a brief shaky stretch early in the second half. “I was very proud of the way the kids played and finished this game,” Holt said. “We stuck to our individual assignments and didn’t stray away from what our jobs were. There was a few minutes there early in the second half when things got a little dicey, but I love how we stuck to the game plan and kept doing our jobs and were able to break through and put some distance on the board.”
Holt also singled out his defensive unit for their contributions. “I was proud of the offensive effort of Gavin Khali, Wells Clark, Caden Meyer, and Jackson Vittetoe, but I was equally as proud of the effort and physicality of Liam VanVoltenburg, Aiden Greiner, Chase Haifley, and Owen Clark on the defensive side,” he said. “Overall, it was a great game and we will get back to work tomorrow.”
Sigourney-Keota improves to 2-2 on the season.
Photos by A.J. Roe and Lonni Goldman.
