LEXINGTON — It’s fast becoming one of the top rivalries in all of Division II boys soccer.
Lexington and Lima Shawnee will renew hostilities at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Lima Senior’s Spartan Stadium in the Division II regional semifinals.
Lex and Shawnee have been trading punches during the regular season every year since 2017. They have clashed in the regional final each of the past three years, with Lex owning a 2-1 advantage.
The Minutemen (15-4-1) punched their ticket to the Sweet 16 with a 2-0 win over Ontario last week at Clear Fork. Zach Turlo and Dylan George scored second-half goals as Lex won its fifth consecutive district crown.
Shawnee (17-1-1) pounded Western Buckeye League rival St. Marys Memorial 5-1 for its fourth straight district crown. Austin Miller, the WBL Player of the Year, had a pair of second-half goals on headers in the win.
Lexington beat Shawnee 3-2 in overtime in the regional championship match at Marion Harding last fall. Luke Roberts scored the game-winner on a header.
Shawnee beat Lex in the regional final in 2020. The Minutemen topped Shawnee in the regional championship match in 2019.
“We’ve gone back-and-forth,” Lexington coach Peter Them said last week. “It’s developed into a very good rivalry. We’ve got a lot of respect for them.”
The feeling is mutual, Shawnee’s Ryan Quatman said.
“Lexington is an old friend of ours,” Quatman told the Lima News after the win over St. Marys Memorial. “We’ve actually gotten to know each other pretty well.”
Miller leads Shawnee with 36 goals, while Sam Tenwalde has found the back of the net 12 times. Alex McGuire has a team-high 15 assists.
Lex relies on a stout defense that has recorded nine shutouts this fall, including three in four postseason matches.
Offensively, Alex Depperschmidt scored 21 goals and added 21 assists during the regular season. George has proven to be a capable scorer as well.
Shawnee beat Lexington 2-1 at Shawnee in late August. It came as no surprise to Them that the teams’ paths will cross again.
“It seems like we play them (in the postseason) every year,” Them said. “We’ll try to figure it out.”
