BELLVILLE — The Warriors never panicked Wednesday.

Junior midfielder Kendall Thomas scored the game-winning goal in the 79th minute and Ontario claimed an outright Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference championship with a 1-0 win over Clear Fork at the Colt Corral.

The Warriors (14-1-1, 7-0-0) and Colts (12-2-2, 6-1-0) battled to a scoreless tie until Thomas took a pass from freshman Keatyn Kilgore and found space when she turned.

She took a couple of touches and then rocketed a left-footed shot that settled into the upper left corner with 1:48 remaining.

“Me and Keatyn had a good connection there and then I just decided to go for it on my left foot,” Thomas said. “I didn’t even see it go in. I fell. ”

Veteran Ontario coach Larry Atkinson liked his team’s composure.

“We don’t panic,” Atkinson said. “We just kept fighting and … we had a lot of energy late. That was a good left-footed shot.”

MOAC Domination

Ontario and Clear Fork joined the MOAC in the fall of 2017 and have dominated the conference ever since. 

The Warriors won outright MOAC crowns from 2019 to 2023 and shared it with Clear Fork in 2025 and 2017 (along with the departed Buckeye Valley). Clear Fork won outright titles in 2018 and 2024.

“Two years ago they beat us and won it outright and last year we tied,” Atkinson said. “Clear Fork played hard. They always play hard.”

The match is traditionally played early in the regular season but was moved to the final day of MOAC play this year.

“It feels more like a championship game,” Clear Fork coach Brittany Bechtel said. “Props to Ontario for playing well.”

Injury Bug

Clear Fork has been decimated by season-ending injuries. 

It began last spring with the loss of projected starter Kendall Baughman. 

Asia Bechtel, a senior midfielder and the coach’s daughter, was lost early in the first game of the season against Madison. Senior defender Layla Daugherty and senior forward Mya Perry were both lost in a Sept. 10 game against Copley.

“This team has been through more than any team I’ve ever witnessed as an athlete or as a coach,” Bechtel said. “If someone was to write a book about what Clear Fork is doing right now, it would be a fiction story.

“For everything we’ve been through, to be 1:48 from a MOAC championship … I’m just so inspired by my girls.”