LEXINGTON — It was a victory more than a decade in the making.
Lexington’s Josalynn Patterson scored off a Makenna Arnholt assist in the second overtime as third-seeded Lady Lex stunned top-seeded Ontario 2-1 in the Division II district championship match Saturday at Lexington High School.
The district title was the first for Lexington (11-5-3) since 2010.
Saturday’s match was tied 1-1 at the end of 80 minutes of regulation and the first 15-minute sudden-victory overtime period before Patterson and Arnholt teamed up on the most important goal in a dozen years early in the second OT session.
Arnholt took possession of the ball near midfield and dribbled down the right side before finding Patterson just inside the box. Patterson took a couple of touches to settle the ball before rocketing a shot past diving Ontario keeper Sarah Hendrix.
“I took a touch with my left foot and hit it with my right foot to the corner,” said Patterson, one of seven seniors on Lexington’s roster. “I was just in shock when I saw it go in. We haven’t done this since 2010.
“It feels great. It really does.”
After a scoreless first half, Ontario (17-4) took a 1-0 lead early in the second half on an unorthodox goal by freshman sensation Hattie Yugovich. The sequence began with a corner kick by Adi Pittman. Elaina Seif redirected Pittman’s corner, which then deflected off Yugovich’s body and past Lex keeper Mollie Worley.
Lexington’s equalized with just 3:36 remaining in regulation off a set piece. Macy Chambers sent a corner kick into that box that was pin-balled around before eventually settling at the foot of senior defender Aubrey Coleman, who one-timed a shot that just trickled across the line.
“There were three-and-a-half minutes left and I told Aubrey, ‘You’ve got to go up there and win a ball.’ And she did it. It was incredible,” Lexington coach Buck Morton said. “For us to be able to get such a clean look at the end and what a great finish by Josalynn. I had just put her in, so she hadn’t played in a while.
“For her to come off the bench and finish in that situation, that is hard to do. And she did it. Unbelievable.”
Both teams had scoring opportunities during regulation and the first overtime period, but couldn’t cash in.
“With a young team we have struggled this year with efficiency,” Ontario coach Larry Atkinson said. “We’re getting plenty of shots, but we’re just not efficient enough finishing.
“Lexington played very well today. I think we ran out of gas toward the end and they took advantage of it. We wish them all the best.”
Lady Lex will play Copley in the regional semifinals at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Follis Field in Wooster. Copley, the top-ranked team in Division II in the most recent coaches state poll, beat Parma Padua 8-0 in the Elyria district final.
“We’ll go over there and be ourselves,” Morton said. “We’re not going to score a ton of goals. We’re going to have to play great defense and grind it out.”
