SHELBY — Jack Hiebel calmed his nerves long enough to send top-seeded Lexington to the district final.
Filling in for the injured Zachary Turlo, Hiebel scored the match’s lone goal in a 1-0 win over No. 6 Ontario in the opener of Monday’s Division II district semifinal doubleheader at the Whippet Athletic Complex.
Turlo, who had three goals and three assists in two postseason games, suffered a knee injury during Sunday’s training session. He found out Monday he would not be able to play.
“Oh, I was so nervous,” Hiebel said of taking over for Turlo. “His work rate is immense and that’s a hard position to fill.
“Zach is one of the vital players to our team. When we found out he wasn’t able to play it was a huge loss. I just knew I had to step into that position and take on a new role today.”
The match was tied deep into the second half before Hiebel struck. Terrance Corbin triggered the sequence when he sent a ball into the box from about 35 yards away. Iram Sanchez got a touch on the ball before Hiebel one-timed a right-footed shot from the top of the penalty area into the lower left corner of the goal with 5:58 remaining.
“I honestly don’t remember what happened,” Hiebel said. “All I know is that I saw the ball bouncing around and it comes to me inside the box. I just took that once chance and put it in the bottom left corner.”
It took the Minutemen (14-3-1) some time to find their footing without Turlo in the lineup.
“With Turlo getting hurt, it obviously changes things for us,” Lexington coach Peter Them said. “Zach is our brain. He’s our engine. We were missing him for sure.
“It was learn on the fly tonight. I knew talent-wise we were capable. It was just a matter of if we could put the pieces together.”
Ontario (9-6-2) made things interesting in the closing minutes but couldn’t find the equalizer.
“It was a fun, hard-fought game,” Ontario coach. “Stephen Armstrong said. “All the credit to Lex for finding the back of the net on one.
“We’re going to hold our heads high. The boys had a great season. They played hard to the end.”
Lexington will play fourth-seeded Norwalk for the district title at 6 p.m. Thursday in Shelby. Norwalk beat Mansfield Senior 1-0 in Monday’s late game.