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Tigers fall 2-1 in tournament rematch with Falcons

By Jordan Holland 5 min read

DEVOLA -- After a 2-1 loss to Marietta back on Sept. 5 at Jerry Brock Field, Fairfield Union had hopes of getting another shot at the Tigers somewhere down the road.

On Thursday, Fairfield Union got its rematch and took advantage. The fifth-seeded Falcons left town with a 2-1 win over the fourth-seeded Tigers in the Division III Southeast District quarterfinals.

"It stinks, with the way our district is right now, that those are first-round games," said FUHS head coach Jarrod Redding.

"Our fans traveled very well for us, and thank goodness, because (Marietta) has great fans. They’ve got great support from their community. They’ve got great players, great coaching. It’s always hard to come down here in the tournament and win. That’s the fourth time we’ve faced in the tournament in the last five years, so we know each other well, and it’s always a heck of a battle."

It's the second season in a row the Tigers were knocked out by the Falcons, with last year's tournament bout ending in penalty kicks.

This year, Will Haller got the Tigers on the board first with a penalty kick, but a pair of goals by Graeson Redding ended Marietta's season.

Haller is one of seven seniors who graduate from the program. They were freshmen on Marietta's last district championship team in 2023.

"You want to have a deep tournament run, obviously every year, but especially as a senior," said MHS head coach Todd Morris. "The message to the seniors was apologizing for not being able to figure out a way to get them further, but also thanking them for the great season they had and the commitment they made to the program for four years."

Fairfield Union was called for a handball in the 16th minute, leading to Haller's PK, which he placed to the left of the goal past Fairfield Union keeper Corbin Spicer.

The Falcons answered quickly, though, as Graeson Redding put a shot beyond the reach of Marietta keeper Mills Stull, who was filling in for Finn Tindall, to knot it up at 1-all with 23:09 left in the first half.

"The most dangerous time in a soccer match, they say, is the two minutes after you score, and we let them score within two minutes," Morris lamented. "We kind of switched off and let them get back in the game."

Marietta seemed to gain momentum and controlled the pace throughout a good portion of the second half, but it was the Falcons who broke through with 14:10 left to play when Kellan Nakanishi assisted on Graeson Redding's second goal of the match.

"He’s a horse. He’s still only 15 years old, so still trying to figure a lot of stuff out, but the work ethic, the workhorse mentality is not going to stop," Coach Redding said of his son. "That mentality takes him a long way."

With just under six minutes to play, Haller received a through ball and momentarily had a one-on-one opportunity with Spicer. Just as Haller went to shoot, Bryce Lepi came flying in for the Falcons, clearing the ball away to preserve Fairfield Union's lead.

That was Marietta's last real chance at an equalizer.

"Midway through the second half, I thought we finally got control of the match," Morris said. "We slowed it down, and they were playing at such a frantic pace. We were starting to string together some passes, and had a couple good looks, and then they got that goal. Redding’s a great player, and he was able to get free twice and score twice. Mills stepped in for Finn and did a great job. Nothing he could do about those two scores. Just a little unlucky tonight. We battled until the end and just couldn’t quite get it done."

Spicer finished with four saves on the night while teammates Kyle Vandewater and Lepi each had one as Marietta put seven shots on frame. Fairfield Union tallied eight shots on goal, with Stull stopping six of them.

"These games, you always feel for those guys on the other side, those seniors that end the season as hard as they fought," Coach Redding said. "Wonderful kids that work really hard for the Marietta program. They put up a heck of a fight."

Fairfield Union improved to 11-5-2 and will play top-seeded Jackson at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at Logan High School in the district semis.

Marietta finishes the season with an 8-3-7 record.

"What a tough district," Morris said. "When we were doing the seeding, you kind of had to respect Jackson being unbeaten as the one (seed), but I thought two through seven, it was just a toss-up. When the bracket came out and I saw Fairfield Union -- their style of play, they’re obviously physical and they’re big and they play pretty direct which is kind of counter to what we try to do. We kind of struggle dealing with teams that play really direct like that. I thought we handled it for the most part tonight. I thought defensively we were solid again. That’s the bad part about these games is someone has to win, someone has to lose. Tonight just wasn’t our night."

Contact Jordan Holland at jholland@mariettatimes.com.

At Jerry Brock Field

Division III Southeast District Quarterfinal

Fairfield Union 2, Marietta 1

F (11-5-2) 1 1 -- 2

M (8-3-7) 1 0 -- 1

M: Will Haller, penalty kick, 16th minute

F: Graeson Redding, 17th minute

F: Redding, Kellan Nakanishi assist, 66th minute

Team stats

Shots on goal: F: 8; M: 7; Keeper saves: F: 6 (Corbin Spicer 4, Kyle Vandewater 1, Bryce Lepi 1); M: 6 (Mills Stull 6); Corner kicks: F: 2; M: 4

Next match: Fairfield Union vs. Jackson, 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at Logan (District Semifinal)

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