MANSFIELD — Ontario has been down this path before. It’s an all-new experience for Lexington.
The top-seeded Warriors (17-3) and No. 3 Lady Lex will play for a Division II district championship at 2 p.m. Saturday at Lexington. The winner advances to next week’s Sweet 16.
Ontario has reached the district final eight straight years and 13 of the past 14 seasons dating to 2009. Lexington’s last appearance in a district final was 2010, when Lady Lex beat Findlay 1-0 for a Division I district title.
“It’s been a while since we’ve reached a district final,” Lady Lex coach Buck Morton said after Wednesday’s come-from-behind 2-1 win over Clear Fork in the district semifinals. “I’m proud of these girls. They maintained their composure and grinded it out.”
Lady Lex trailed Clear Fork 1-0 at halftime after giving up a goal in the final minute of the first half. Lexington equalized early in the second half before Olyvia Stoots scored what proved to be the game-winner with 31:29 left in the second half.
Ontario had a much easier go of it in Wednesday’s early district semifinal match, blanking Sandusky Perkins 8-0 behind a hat trick from freshman Hattie Yugovich.
Ontario’s last district championship came in 2016. Madison beat the Warriors for the district title each of the past five years.
“I’m really excited,” Yugovich said of reaching the district championship match. “We’re just going to have to play our game and find our passes.
“Right now our (goal) is to win a district championship. We haven’t won in five years and that is what we should look forward to.”
Ontario beat Lexington 2-1 in mid-August.
“I don’t know how much you can put into that,” Morton said. “We are a different team than we were in August and I’m sure Ontario is, too.”
Ontario assistant coach Greg Atkinson agreed.
“While we might have won, things have changed since then for both teams,” Atkinson said. “We’re in familiar territory in terms of playing in a district championship. Now we need to get the monkey off our back.”
