Home Notice Box Sports Fairborn fends off Wayne in home opener

Fairborn fends off Wayne in home opener

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FAIRBORN — Winning can sometimes hurt.

Bruised and battered, Fairborn’s Dani Dierker scored the team’s only goal to beat Huber Heights Wayne, Wednesday night in the girls soccer home opener at Fairborn High School.

“Dani Dierker had a nice finish as the keeper was coming out. Right foot, right post, went right in,” said Fairborn coach Keith Rentz.

Dierker went down multiple times in the first half fighting for the ball. With 14 minutes left to play in the first half, she went up for a high ball and got hit in the back of the head. After a few minutes, she got up and was able to walk off the field. Six minutes later, Dierker was involved in a big collision on the sideline. After she sat up, the training staff brought a cart over and wheeled her off the field.

“She’s a fighter and she doesn’t back down, so when there’s a collision she’s usually involved,” said Rentz.

“We had another player at the end who tweaked a knee. It might have been Dani’s nose that tweaked it.”

After a scoreless first half, Fairborn struck early in the second to take the lead. With 34:39 left to play, Dierker took advantage of a nice pass to put it past Wayne goalie Ashley Flohre.

After the game, Dierker was being treated for a bloody nose.

Fairborn (1-1) was expecting a tough matchup from the visiting Warriors (2-1), and the Wayne offense put a lot of pressure on the Skyhawks. Unofficially, Wayne had five shots on goal compared to Fairborn’s two. Megan Miller made two saves for the Skyhawks.

Fairborn did a good job of clearing the ball on defense, and while the Warriors dominated time of possession, most of their shots were contested.

“We went with a strong defense. We knew coming in that Wayne was going to be strong and they were,” said Rentz. “They put us under pressure. We generated a couple opportunities and we were fortunate enough to capitalize on one.”

After the game, Rentz could be heard encouraging the girls to celebrate the win while making sure they remained focused. He said they don’t want to go 1-15.

“We’re younger. We graduated a decent sized group of seniors who had been leaders for a long time. Our girls are still trying to gel, still trying to figure things out. Every game we’re progressing, but we know there’s still a long way to go.”

Fairborn is back in action on the road against the Thunderbolts, at 7 p.m. Monday at Northmont High School.

Fairborn’s Regan Diehl (right) tries to clear the ball against Wayne defenders Haleigh Russell (10) and Rayna Edwards (center) in a match, Wednesday at Fairborn High School.
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2015/08/web1_DSC09191.jpgFairborn’s Regan Diehl (right) tries to clear the ball against Wayne defenders Haleigh Russell (10) and Rayna Edwards (center) in a match, Wednesday at Fairborn High School. Barb Slone | Greene County News

Dani Dierker (2) fights off a Wayne defender in a match, Wednesday night at Fairborn High School. Dierker scored the Skyhawk’s only goal for a 1-0 win.
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2015/08/web1_DSC09157.jpgDani Dierker (2) fights off a Wayne defender in a match, Wednesday night at Fairborn High School. Dierker scored the Skyhawk’s only goal for a 1-0 win. Barb Slone | Greene County News

By Zach Gregory

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Reach Zach Gregory at (937) 372-4444, Ext. 2124.