The Fulton Hornets soccer team tuned up for district play next week with an emphatic effort.
Fulton senior midfielder Clement Mahoro and freshman midfielder Jayden Ayers tallied three goals apiece as the Hornets completed the regular season by cruising past Canton 9-1 on Thursday night at the high school athletic complex.
Freshman forward Christian Mahoro added a goal and three assists for Fulton (14-6), while junior forward Alban Dervishi provided a goal and two assists. The Hornets outshot Canton by a decisive 28-3 margin, including 21-2 in shots on goal.
"We worked in practice on Wednesday and then again tonight on swinging the ball, getting the switch and moving our numbers forward," Fulton head coach Joel Henley said. "That gave us a lot of offensive opportunities.
"When we do the things we need to do, like we did, we're pretty good. I feel like we're probably in the right position going forward."
Clement Mahoro quickly put the Hornets in front when he scored in the 3rd minute of the first half on an assist by Dervishi. Ayers' goal in the 10th minute - off another Dervishi assist - made it 2-0.
Fulton then padded its lead with a pair of goals in the 12th minute, the first logged by senior forward Mason Crane on sophomore forward Josh Narancich's assist. Clement Mahoro followed by scoring off an assist from his brother, freshman forward Christian Mahoro, to give the Hornets a 4-0 edge.
Christian Mahoro then took his turn with a goal in the 16th minute, assisted by Clement Mahoro. After Canton produced its only goal in the 26th minute, Dervishi scored off an assist from Ayers in the 33rd minute to send Fulton into halftime with a 6-1 advantage.
The Hornets got off to another fast start in the second half when Clement Mahoro supplied his third goal - assisted again by Christian Mahoro - in the 2nd minute.
Ayers scored in the 7th minute off an assist from sophomore defender Dalton Jones to increase Fulton's lead to 8-1. Ayers then capped off the Hornets' scoring with his third goal in the 26th minute, assisted by Christian Mahoro.
Fulton can now turn its attention to next week's Class 2, District 6 Tournament at Moberly. The Hornets earned the No. 1 seed and received a bye in the quarterfinals.
Fulton will face either No. 4 seed Kirksville (5-11) or No. 5 Boonville (1-11-1) in the semifinals at 5 p.m. Tuesday.
Fulton split its two North Central Missouri Conference meetings with Kirksville during the regular season. The Hornets lost at Kirksville 3-2 on Sept. 22, then edged the Tigers 3-2 in Fulton on Oct. 17.
Fulton won at Boonville 2-1 in overtime Sept. 8, then blanked the Pirates 5-0 in the Boonville Tournament on Sept. 19.
"We have to go in confident but not cocky, confident but not complacent," Henley said of district play. "We've dealt with mindset all year and it's the best it's been the last four years.
"We have strong senior leadership and they've embodied and embraced the type of mentality that I want (the team) to have."
In the other District 6 semifinal Tuesday, No. 2 seed Mexico (9-12-1) squares off against No. 3 Moberly (8-7-1) at 7 p.m.
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Ryan Boland can be reached at (573) 826-2422, or on Twitter @FultonSunSports.