Times West Virginian
FAIRMONT —
To be honest, Fairmont Senior boys’ soccer coach Jim DeNardi entered Saturday’s game with Huntington expecting a grind-it-out, low-scoring result that is usually the norm when two good teams meet.
Turns out, he was in for a surprise — the good kind.
A scoreless game early on, the Polar Bears took control at the perfect time, scoring three goals in the first half’s final 12 minutes en route to an impressive 7-0 home shutout.
“It surprised me,” DeNardi said of the final score. “I never expected a 7-0 win against these guys.”
Nate Kast scored Fairmont Senior’s first goal with about 12 minutes remaining until halftime, and it merely opened the floodgates — Ross Dalton added a goal on an assist from Kast at the four-minute mark and Jordan Ross added another tally soon after to make it 3-0 at the break.
So what triggered the late surge?
“I don’t know,” DeNardi said. “We just possessed the very well (Saturday) and knocked it around a bunch.”
And they didn’t let up in the second half against a Huntington team that ended Hurricane’s long winning streak last season. Six minutes into the second, Jacob Freeland netted a goal on an assist from Dalton and Kast dropped in his second goal on a penalty shot not long after.
“That’s what you want,” DeNardi said. “They came out in the second half and it was lights out. They put the game away.”
Fairmont Senior (4-1-1) added some insurance — if they needed any — with a pair of late goals from Jordan Ross and Stephen Sinclair. Kast assisted on the former and Steven Hendrixson on the latter, an example of the solid passing that was the Polar Bears’ hallmark all day and a big reason for their highest goal total of 2010 thus far.
Allen Rickards had five saves in goal and Fairmont Senior’s steady defense limited the Highlanders’ scoring chances to ensure the shutout.
“This is probably the best we’ve played since the Woodrow game,” DeNardi said. “The boys are starting to put it together. This is a good win for us.”
Fairmont Senior looks to keep the momentum rolling Tuesday when it hosts University.
Bees’ runners shine in Ohio
VINCENT, Ohio — The East Fairmont girls’ cross country team made a strong impression far away from home Saturday, rolling to a second place finish in the annual Scenic Hills Lions Club Invitational in Vincent, Ohio.
The Bees finished with 85 team points, a score only bettered by champion Marietta (Ohio), and had four runners place in the top 30.
Michaela Luckey placed fourth overall with a time of 21:45 to lead the squad. Amber Trickett took 16th (23:05), Amanda Boyce was 19th (23:22) and Brenda Palmer was 26th (23:53) for the Bees.
Also running for East was Chelsie Hawkins (39th, 25:07), Sydney Moore (44th, 25:17), Rachel Ramage (53rd, 26:06) and Kristen White (54th, 26:07).
Polar Bears take part in Geico Classic
ONA — Fairmont Senior’s cross country teams had solid performances at the annual Geico Classic at Cabell Midland High School Saturday.
The Polar Bears boys placed fifth overall and two top 20 finishers. Dayton McVicker took third with a time of 16:27, while Todd Edgell was 14th (17:23).
Other Fairmont Senior runners included Nick Trefz (43rd, 18:34), Isaiah Tipton (45th, 18:36) and Jacob Richards (47th, 18:38), David Collins (60th, 19:00) and Josh Parucci (74th, 19:16).
On the girls’ side, Alyssa Scherich had another outstanding run, taking third in 20:18 to fuel the team’s ninth-place finish.
Tori Hawkins placed 40th in 22:39, Olivia Duke 44th in 22:44, Laura Tennant 74th in 25:31, Deirdre Tobin 99th in 28:10 and Gabi Jenab 121st in 35:52 to round out the Polar Bears’ runners.
