Lexington keeps thrill ride going, advances to Division II Final Four

PORT CLINTON — Lexington drove past the Cedar Point amusement park on its way to True Lay Stadium on Saturday.

But there was nothing at the self-proclaimed amazement park that could match the thrill ride being enjoyed by the Minutemen boys’ soccer team.

That ride continued Saturday evening with a 3-2 Division II regional championship match win against Lima Shawnee (19-2), earning Lexington (22-1) its first spot in the state’s Final Four since 2011.

Junior Ryan Parker, who had a goal and an assist in the win, was in elementary school when Lexington fell to Richfield Revere, 5-1, in the state semifinals at Ashland High School eight years ago.

You will have to excuse him if he doesn’t remember that game, or even that season. The Ohio Cardinal Conference and District Player of the Year, along with his teammates, are putting together their own season to remember.

“Right now, I am at a loss for words,” Parker said. “I am very excited, especially with this special group of guys.”

The Minutemen, ranked 5th in the state at the end of the regular season, will next take on 9th-ranked Warren Howland (20-0-1), which edged Chardon Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin, 1-0, on Saturday.

That state semifinal will be Wednesday at 7 p.m. at a site to be determined. The other semifinal matches No. 14-ranked Columbus Academy (13-3-5) against No. 2-ranked Tipp City Tippecanoe (21-0-1) on the same date and time.

NO GUARANTEES: Lexington had beaten Lima Shawnee, 3-2, back in August, the only blemish on the Indians’ record.

But since the Minutemen had just avenged their only loss to No. 1-ranked Bay in the regional semifinals just a few days ago, Lexington didn’t play on taking Shawnee lightly.

That made the start of the game rather shocking as Lima Shawnee dominated possession early and took a 1-0 lead about 12 minutes in with a goal by sophomore midfielder Connor Neidemire.

Rather than panic, the experienced Minutemen, with nine seniors on its roster, simply settled down. Junior defender Gabe Hamilton slammed in a shot with 5:31 left in the first half, tying the score, which held at halftime.

Parker said the Minutemen prepared for a difficult game, but “human nature” led to a “lackadaisical” start.

“Hats off to Lima because they dominated the first 15 to 20 minutes. Once they scored that goal, we realized we had to wake up and it wasn’t going to be a walk-through,” Parker said.

“Once we got our first goal, we settled down, we communicated and we played our game … that’s why we came out on top,” Parker said.

DOMINANT HALF: Lexington controlled the ball for much of the final 20 minutes of the first half, a trend that continued into the second.

The Minutemen took a 2-1 lead 12 minutes into the second half on a set piece when junior Trevor Fehr struck a beautiful corner kick that Parker headed past goalkeeper Landon Hoehn.

“(The corner) wasn’t meant for me,” Parker said. “I was going for the goalie to try to throw him off in case one of our other players could get a head on it. (But) Trevor put in a perfect delivery and I was lucky enough to get a head on it and put in the back of the net.”

The lead held, even as Lima Shawnee began to commit more players to its own attack. It was on a rapid counter-attack that Lexington put the game away.

Parker got the ball near midfield and spotted a streaking Gavin George racing down the left side. He played a perfect pass and George, the hero of the overtime win over Bay, put Lexington on top, 3-1, with just 3:29 left to play.

“As soon as I got the ball, I knew I had to get my head up and find Gavin. With the scoring run he is on, I knew there was a 100 percent chance he could get the ball in the net,” Parker said.

Lima Shawnee scored a goal with 10 seconds left by senior Damien Ziegler, but it was too little, too late.

George concurred with Parker about the start.

“I think we came in a little overconfident and (then) we had to fight back. We just knew we had to keep grinding. Once we got a goal, we knew we were back in it and could win the game,” George said.

“It feels amazing. There are really no words I could use to describe it,” he said.

COACH’S PERSPECTIVE: Lexington coach Peter Them, an assistant on the Minutemen staff in 2011, said he and his staff anticipated a battle against Lima Shawnee.

“They have a great squad, a great coaching staff … they’re not 19-2 for no reason,” he said.

Them said the Indians came out in a defensive posture and bottled up the middle of the field.

“We just kind of settled in, started using the flanks more, started moving the ball. Gabe Hamilton on that first goal, I don’t even know where he came from. But it was a helluva finish and it definitely got things going for us,” said Them, the OCC and District Coach of the Year.

“These guys have played together a long time. They just settled in and we did what we needed to do. At this point in the year, you just gotta survive a little bit,” Them said.