Fitch girls in sixth straight Federal League victory, 1-0

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By Jon Moffett

The Falcons beat Perry on Kristen Schmidt’s first-half goal.

AUSTINTOWN — With a big showdown against Boardman looming, it would’ve been easy for the Austintown Fitch to look past Massillon Perry.

But the Falcons were able to keep their heads in the game and walked away with a 1-0 victory over the Panthers Wednesday night.

“It says a lot about our team,” said Carlo Trafficante, Fitch’s coach. “Before the game we talked about how if we finished the game off tonight we’d a least have a share of first place and if we lost we could finish as low as fourth.”

The Falcons (9-4-1) are 6-0 in the Federal League with the victory.

Fitch brought pressure early with nine shots on goal in the first half. Perry recorded only one shot in the half. Fitch forwards Kristen Schmidt, Sara Ford and Tori Koch swarmed over the ball, but Perry’s Megan McMaster was able to hold them off.

Schmidt, a sophomore, scored the lone goal of the game after it was deflected off a Perry defender with 5:20 left in the first half.

“We didn’t do a real good job of finishing,” Trafficante said. “We’ve had that problem most of the year. We’ve had a lot of one-goal games, winning and losing.”

Despite a steady rain, McMaster, a junior, was able to keep her team in the game. She made multiple diving and sliding saves and kept the Fitch offense frustrated for most of the night. With a little less than 20 minutes in the game, Schmidt had a break on the goal, but McMaster slid out and grabbed the ball before Schmidt could get a good touch on it. Schmidt was hurt on the play and remained down for several minutes before leaving the field under her own power. She later returned.

Perry head coach Pete Cook said McMaster has been solid in the net since she’s been playing.

“Megan does a fantastic job for me,” Cook said. “She’s been a center for me back on the defense forever. She’s been playing fantastic soccer for me for three years.”

Cook added Fitch took advantage of their opportunity to score while Perry did not.

“They caught us napping once,” Cook said. “We didn’t get the ball clear and they took advantage.”

Perry’s next game is Wednesday at Glenoak. Fitch will travel to Alliance to face the Aviators Monday. They return home to Falcon Stadium for another Federal League showdown with the Boardman Spartans Wednesday. All games will begin at 7.

jmoffett@vindy.com