WOOSTER — Time may have run out on Lexington’s storybook postseason run, but Tuesday’s 8-1 loss to Division II poll champ Copley could’t diminish all Lady Lex accomplished en route to the Sweet 16.
Lexington (11-6-3) won a district championship for the first time since 2010, beating five-time defending champ Madison and state-ranked Clear Fork and Ontario along the way. The 11 wins were the most since 2019.
“We’ve got seven seniors who have been a part of this program and to do what we did this year was great,” veteran coach Buck Morton said. “I don’t know that we feel like that right at this moment, but there’s so many positive things to take away and so many positive things to build on as we move forward.”
Copley (19-0-1) took a 1-0 lead in the eighth minute when speedy senior midfielder Emma Stransky collected her own miss and knocked a shot over the outstretched arms of Lex goalkeeper Mollie Worley. The goal was the first of Stransky’s four on the evening.
Lady Lex equalized just over four minutes later when Olyvia Stoots took a pass from Makenna Arnholt and squeezed through a trio of Copley defenders before tapping the ball past Copley keeper Kami Ayoup with 28:12 remaining in the first half. It was just the third goal allowed by Copley all season.
“We definitely had them thinking for a little bit,” Morton said.
The game would remain tied for six minutes before Stransky struck again from long range to give Copley a 2-1 advantage. Stransky’s second goal opened the flood gates as Copley scored four goals in about 14 minutes.
“That’s a really good team and we’ve played some really good teams this year,” Morton said. “It’s hard to mark when people are moving the ball that well. It wasn’t even in that much space at times.”
Stransky scored her third goal on a nifty individual effort with 15:21 to play in the opening half, giving Copley a 4-1 lead. Ashley Kerekes pushed Copley advantage to 5-1 with a goal off an Emily Kerekes crossing pass with 8:31 to play in the opening half.
Ashley Kerekes and Stransky each scored a goal in the second half as Copley won going away.
“They’re very talented. I think they’re going to be in the Final Four and I would be blown away if they don’t go beyond that,” Morton said. “That is as quality of an opponent as we’ve seen and we’ve seen some quality teams, Division I teams that are in the regionals.
“We’ve got nothing to be ashamed of.”
