WEST CHESTER - Saturday night the Fairmont Men’s Soccer Team played in their second District Final Championship Game in three years, setting up a thrilling match against Walnut Hills High School. The Firebirds wasted little time in asserting their dominance and raced to a 1-0 lead three minutes into the match. A high press led to a turnover in the Eagles’ half, and the ball was quickly switched from left to right where Noah Baumgarten sent a cross through the box and Bien Niyonkuru finished it off for the opening goal. Freddy Irakoze nearly doubled the lead in the twelfth minute when he was played in behind the defense and shot the ball through the onrushing keeper’s legs, only to see the ball carom back off the near post and cleared to safety. Ten minutes later the Birds would finally double their lead with quick passing from Will Herman to Torin Brock to man-of-the-match Bien with a beautiful header past the keeper. Two minutes later, the Eagles’ keeper made a difficult save from a Herman shot that was tracking toward the inside of the right post, and Mordecai Kesner dragged his shot wide of the same post in the thirtieth minute. One minute later the Eagles were in a dangerous free kick position on the right side of Fairmont’s penalty area, but the chance was wasted with a low shot that was well wide of the goal. Fairmont went into halftime with a comfortable 2-0 lead.

The Birds started the second half with the same flourish of intensity, and Irakoze had a shot saved from
point blank range in the forty-second minute, and Nate Bittner had his header saved from the resulting
corner. Time flew by after those early salvos, and the Birds nearly had their third goal in the sixty-first
minute from a Gavin Weaver shot that just glanced off the outside of the left post. Keeper Gavin
Fourman was called into action three minutes later with an instinctive diving save from twenty yards
away that maintained the two-goal lead. However, with eight minutes left in the match the Eagles found a lifeline from a free kick that flicked on and into the net, but that would be their only conversion on the night. Fourman smothered a ball that was sent into his box with one minute remaining, sealing the Birds’ first District Championship in sixteen years.

The Firebirds will play St. Xavier High School in the Southwest Regional Semi-Finals this Wednesday,
October 29th at 7:00 p.m. at Fairborn High School. Go Birds!