Circleville used a couple of early goals and held off visiting Liberty Union for a 2-1 win Wednesday.
“I’m really proud of the grit our guys played with tonight. We made a goal at the beginning of the season to try to be more competitive in the league. This was a step in the right direction for us as a program,” Circleville coach Evan Callihan said. “Liberty Union has a lot of speed, and they are a team that is capable of scoring a lot of goals. Holding them to one goal gave us a chance to win the game.
“Our defensive unit of Logan Huggins, Austin Bartchy, Zack Bell, Greyson Buckley, Ashton Groff and goalie Will Flory were steady for us all night.”
Wednesday’s victory was the first league win for the Tigers since the 2020 season.
Circleville scored its goals in the opening 10 minutes with the first coming from freshman Kamale Magagi-Ali off a through ball from junior Anthony Wade. Blain Fowler then used an assist from Magagi-Ali to score from 25 yards out four minutes later.
“Kamale Magagi-Ali had a huge night for us, getting us on the board with our first goal and then assisting on the second. He is someone that brings it every day and he has continued to improve and adjust to the varsity game,” Callihan said. “Blain Fowler had a huge goal for us as well. He had the awareness to shoot it from 25 yards out and was able to put it in the back of the net.”
Callihan said the win was “a total team effort.”
“Cailen Johnson stepped up for us tonight, too, as a freshman and played big minutes. Anthony Wade and Kaden Paxton held down the middle of the field for us together when we needed to,” he said. “Bear Cuic, Lucas Cameron, and Jackson Hatfield all contributed minutes on the wing and brought us energy when we needed.
“We talk a lot about toughness and attitude and our guys have been consistent with that approach every day. We are continuing to just focus on the things we can control and that is our habits and our daily approach.”
The Tigers improved to 4-0 on the young season with a trip to Bloom-Carroll scheduled for Wednesday.