BARBERTON — Austin Stassinis struck early and late, sending Warren Howland past Lexington and into the Division II state championship match.
A junior midfielder, Stassinis scored a pair of goals as the Tigers rallied for a 3-2 win over the Minutemen in the Division II state semifinals Wednesday at Rudy Sharkey Stadium.
Howland (21-0-1) will meet Tiff City Tippecanoe for the Division II state title at 1 p.m. Sunday at MAPFRE Stadium. Tippecanoe beat Columbus Academy 1-0 in Wednesday’s other state semifinal.
“It’s an amazing feeling,” Stassinis said. “I couldn’t be more proud of my teammates.”
Stassinis got the Tigers on the board when he scored from distance in the fifth minute. His shot deflected off Lex goal keeper Kaleb Rinehart and trickled into the back of the net.
“The first goal was kind of a fluke,” Lex coach Peter Them said. “(Rinehart) was playing with a bum thumb and it just kind of popped in.”
Lexington (21-2) scored the equalizer with 14:06 remaining in the first half when Gavin George scored off a Ryan Parker assist. The score would remain 1-1 until Trevor Fehr gave the Minutemen the lead with a goal off a George assist with 36:42 to play in the second half.
Howland tied it on a Peter Larakis goal with 21:24 remaining, setting the stage for Stassinis.
Gabriel Altawil initiated the game-winning sequence with some nifty footwork before lofting a perfect ball to a waiting Stassinis, who sent it past diving Lex keeper Trevor Cramer with just 2:41 remaining in regulation.
“I just happened to be in the right place at the right time,” Stassinis said. “We fought all game to get that last goal.”
The loss snapped Lexington’s 20-game winning streak.
“We set a whole bunch of records and did a bunch of things that hadn’t been done for a long time,” Them said. “Those are things we’ll talk about later but right now it hurts.”
Howland will play in the state championship match for the first time in program history.
“We have the whole soccer community behind us. It’s an amazing feeling,” Stassinis said. “We’re the first team in Howland history to every (advance to a state final). I can’t believe it. I’m speechless.”
