Central defeats shorthanded Fairfax 1-0

Jan 31, 2022 10:00 PM MST

By Dexter Zinman

PHOENIX – The discrepancy was visible from the start. At 6 p.m. on Jan. 31, the Central High School Bobcats girls soccer squad (1-4) lined up their eleven starting players. Across from them, the Fairfax Stampede (0-6) lined up their starting nine.

Central recorded their first documented win of the season Monday night, a 1-0 clean sheet over a Fairfax team still searching for its first victory. It was also a Fairfax team left depleted after a string of academic ineligibilities, COVID-19 issues, and a first half injury.   

That depletion was easily spotted, as Central dominated the game possession-wise. After the first half, Central had ten shots, eight of which were on target. They also had one shot ring off the post from senior Jasmine Marin.

Fairfax only mustered one shot on target. 

The second half was more of the same, only this time Central out-shot Fairfax 7-0, with six shots on target. 

Central’s Karra Phelps scored what turned out to be the game winning goal midway through the first half. She spoke about a missed chance earlier in the half and the adjustment she made the next time the ball found her. 

“I just knew cause the play before that I missed the goal, and so I just knew that I had to go for a corner instead of looking at the goalie,” Phelps said.       

“That was a beautiful goal. Beautiful passes,” Central head coach Rodrigo Ruiz said. “The girls set themselves up.” 

Ruiz and Phelps did, however, both lament Central’s missed offensive opportunities. In a game where their opponent started down two players and finished down three, Ruiz felt as though his team should have been able to score more than one goal, especially after outshooting Fairfax 17-0. 

“For the circumstances, just the members and how many players we had and how many players they had, there’s a lot of things we need to learn,” Ruiz said. “A lot more ball moving. A lot more teamwork.” 

Phelps also recognized some of her teams’ offensive shortcomings. 

“We got to work on our passing,” Phelps said. “And offsides.” 

Central’s attack and possession numbers were haunted by far too frequent offsides. They were called offside three times in the first half alone. They did clean it up in the second half, only being called once after Phelps was deemed too far in front after speeding through two sideline defenders.       

Despite the loss, Fairfax head coach Shay LeBourdais was impressed with how her team performed.  

“We played very well considering we were playing three down for half of the game and two down for the rest of the game,” LeBourdais said. “Our defense played very well, they were talking a lot, and they preserved the energy the way they were asked to.” 

Fairfax junior goalkeeper Maryanna Montes made 13 saves in the loss. The defense in front of her limited the danger of many of Central’s chances. 

“I’m very impressed with our team right now,” LaBourdais reiterated. 

Central takes on Sierra Linda (3-4-1) at home Friday, Feb. 4. Fairfax returns home to take on Williams Field (4-9) on Wednesday, Feb. 2.