LEXINGTON — The chase for the Ohio Cardinal Conference championship will go down to the wire.
Lexington and Madison played to a 1-1 draw in the driving rain Thursday at Lexington, setting the stage for what promises to be a wild final week of OCC play.
Lexington is 5-0-1 in OCC action while Madison and Wooster are 4-0-2. Lady Lex plays at Wooster on Oct. 5 and Madison visits New Philadelphia.
While scenarios exist where any of the three contenders could claim the OCC crown, only Lady Lex controls its own destiny. A win at Wooster and Lexington is the outright conference champ. A tie would mean no less than a share of the crown.
“We feel good about that,” Lady Lex coach Buck Morton said. “To be able to go into the last week of the season (with a chance) to win a conference championship, that’s where we want to be.”
Madison looked poised to take the lead late in the first half, but three rapid-fire shots from point-blank range clanged off the crossbar before Lex keeper Lydia Schroeder was able to clear the ball.
“We got those bar gifts,” Morton said. “That was crazy for us to be able to hang onto that one.”
Lexington took a 1-0 lead in the 37th minute when Zoe Borowicz redirected an Allie Parker free kick. It would stay that way until Madison’s Nevaeh Lewis scored the equalizer with 14:10 to play in the second half off a Kyerstin Swigart assist.
Knowing a tie wasn’t the worst outcome, Lexington played conservatively in the second half as field conditions continued to deteriorate.
“The girls are smart. I didn’t tell them it was OK if we tie, so we weren’t in that mindset,” Morton said. “But when it’s rainy and it’s wet … our mindset is don’t make mistakes.
“(The Rams) were getting the best of it toward the second part of the second half. Once we got to about four minutes, we just want to make sure we hang onto the tie.”
Madison’s path to an OCC championship isn’t as clear as Lexington’s. The Rams need a win at New Philadelphia and either a Lex loss or tie at Wooster.
“Unfortunately we can’t control the OCC outcome,” Madison assistant coach Jordan Monica said. “I think this will prepare us for tournaments.
“We have four games left. We want to get those next four and show that we do know how to play when we want to play. We have to show up for all 80 minutes.”