<body><div><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2wxJqr_1GvlUwR000" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2wxJqr_1GvlUwR000" width="1024" height="549" >There has been something brewing within the confines of the Fair Grove Eagles boys soccer program (18-5-1) the past four years.And now, Eagles soccer is back.Monday evening at Greenwood, the second-seeded Eagles were the last ones standing as they defeated fourth-seeded New Heights Christian Academy w/McAuley Catholic 2-1 for the Class 1 District 6 championship.The Eagles wasted little time in the opening half as senior midfielder Finnegan Harp found the net just four minutes into the contest.“I am always on the keep on corners, and Tim Barber laid it perfectly in front of me. All I had to do was toe it in. It worked out,” Harp said.For head coach Ryan Highstreet, the success has been a long time coming.But like many avenues in life, patience is a virtue.“Yeah, it has kind of been a few years. When we took over four years ago, we were coming off two wins. Gradually we [were] just kind of trying to get it to this point. It has been a process,” Highstreet said.Those two wins came via 2022. In 2023, the Eagles improved to 6-20.In 2024, Fair Grove produced a 13-12 record, and last year the team went 13-10-1.The wait has been worth it for Highstreet and his Eagles.“A great group of kids who just keep working harder and kind of buying into one another,” Highstreet said.Instilling patience into 16- and 17-year-olds can be daunting, but maintaining tunnel vision on the task at-hand has been rather seamless.“Been coaching for a long time so it is kind of like you figure that out and you blend a whole lot of different personalities. Sometimes it is a little bit more of that than so much of the technical stuff with the game. That has been the biggest challenge the past couple of years, blending the personalities together to be successful,” Highstreet said.Establishing and sustaining time of possession throughout was vital to the win.“Oh, it is amazing,” Harp said of the championship. “We have a great senior group. It is an unreal feeling.New Heights tied it up 11 minutes later when Titus Clevenger took the feed from freshman midfielder Caleb Gebre.The Eagles’ mindset or aggressiveness never wavered.After producing seven shots on goal in the opening half, the Eagles upped the ante and tallied nine in the second half as Ty Hart found the net for the clincher with 18 minutes remaining.“We are a pass-first team and today we started off early by kicking it – just booting it. We were not really playing composed. Second half we came out and were passing it. We knew it was going to fall. Coach gave a great halftime speech,” Harp said. “He told us to slow it down.”It was going to take a battle for the duration for the Eagles, and they knew it going into the game after New Heights previously defeated Greenwood, the top seed, 2-0 in the semifinals.“Their goalkeeper is really good,” Highstreet said. “We talked about making one more pass. Everything is for the team.”This makes three consecutive winning seasons for the Eagles, who now prepare for the Class 1 quarterfinals against St. Paul Lutheran (Concordia), whom the Eagles will host on Saturday.An official start time has yet to be determined.The Eagles are averaging 4.3 goals per game while allowing 1.7 and are sporting a 6-0-1 record at home this season.Conversely, the Saints are averaging 3.1 goals per game while allowing 1.2 per game and are 8-2 on the road this season.</div></body>

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There has been something brewing within the confines of the Fair Grove Eagles boys soccer program (18-5-1) the past four years. And now, Eagles soccer is back. Monday evening at Greenwood, the second-seeded Eagles were the last ones standing as they defeated fourth-seeded New Heights Christian Academy w/McAuley Catholic 2-1 for the Class 1 District 6 championship.

Fair Grove claims first district title since 2021

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There has been something brewing within the confines of the Fair Grove Eagles boys soccer program (18-5-1) the past four years. And now, Eagles soccer is b

Fair Grove claims first district title since 2021

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