Photo by TRAVIS DAVID | Sullivan senior Sam Fathauer looks to make a move against a North Knox defender during Wednesday's match. Fathauer scored the first two goals of the match to lead the Arrows to the win.

BY TRAVIS DAVID

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SULLIVAN — Picking up a win on senior night was top priority for Sam Fathauer. Making sure his fellow classmates had a memorable night was just as important for the Sullivan senior.

Fathauer managed to accomplish both on Wednesday.

Fathauer found the back of the net twice in the first half which set the tone for the Arrows’ 9-0 win over visiting North Knox. The Arrows’ team captain and leading scorer for the season  also passed up on numerous scoring opportunities in the second half which allowed more teammates to score. As a result, Sullivan had six different players score at least one goal.

“It was a great win,” Fathaure said. “We had four or five seniors who all got to score goals tonight so that was awesome to see.”

Fathauer’s two goals were the first of the game and came within four minutes apart. The 6-foot-5-inch striker broke the scoreless tie in the 24th minute before adding his second in the 28th.

The score remained the same until Fathauer found the feet of Cash Murdock on a perfectly placed centering pass inside the box. Murdock did the rest for a 3-0 lead with just under 60 seconds left in the half.

Senior George Phegley opened the second-half scoring just four minutes into the half before Jano Coldeway made it 5-0 seven minutes later.

Murdock followed with two more goals to register his first career hat trick before senior defender Tanner Kellett and senior Sampson Stewart capped the scoring. Stewart’s goal came with just over seven minutes left on the clock and enforced the 9-goal mercy rule.

Fathauer could have padded his stats in the second half, but over the final 20 minutes of play, the senior passed to teammates while in possession of the ball inside the box.

“When the game is 0-0, I am obviously looking to attack, looking to get goals,” Fathauer explained of his approach to the game. “But once you are up three, four or more, I start thinking about how I can get my teammates involved, boost their confidence and get us better prepared for the next game. And I think we were able to do that tonight. It felt good to get the win on senior night and get as many people involved as we did.”

Senior keeper Logan Ketterer stoned all four shots he faced in the win.

In the girls match, Sullivan grabbed a 1-0 lead in the 31st on a goal by Jayla Phillips.

But the Warriors pulled even in the second half and the match finished in a 1-1 draw.

Phillips’ goal in the first half came off a corner kick and then a turnover inside the box by the Warriors. 

North Knox’s lone goal came in the 57th. After the Arrows were whistled for a hand ball just outside the midfield mark, Audrey Wortsell raced up and sent the free kick sailing towards the Sullivan goal. Kambric Rode was able to run down the laser of a shot, controlled the ball and beat the keeper for the equalizer.

“I have been working on my free kicks in practice,” Wortsell said after the match.

Sullivan looked poised to take the lead on multiple occasions over the final 20 minutes, but North Knox first-year keeper Alyssa Chattin had other ideas. Chattin made a diving save on a shot from Phillips in the 62nd and kept her team even with another highlight-reel type diving save in the 74th.

For the match, Chattin saved 10 of 11 shots she faced.

“She made some really nice saves,” Lady Warriors’ coach Eric Elkins said. “She’s good and athletic and has that fire in her belly as I like to call it. She’s really competitive and we are glad to have her back.”

Chattin had missed a couple of prior matches due to being in concussion protocol.

Although the match ended in a tie, Elkins noted it kind of felt like a win.

“This is the first time that we have allowed the first goal of a match and didn’t lose,” the coach stated. “We played well enough to win and I am proud of the way the girls didn’t just hang their heads after falling behind.”

Before the match, Sullivan keeper Hayden Cox was recognized for breaking a 23-year old school record. In the Arrows’ 3-3 tie at Bloomfield last week, the freshman keeper set a new single-season saves record. During the inaugural season in 2001, Anna Wilson saved 220 shots during the year.

With Wednesday’s seven saves, Cox now has over 240 on the year.