Derrick Webb, Staff Writer
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
WHEELERSBURG — Late In Thursday’s match, Lexi Conkel spun around with both hands on her head in disbelief and flashed her coaches and teammates a smile.
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
Even Conkel couldn’t believe what had just happened.
Minford’s sophomore striker was standing just in front of the goal where she had polished off a career night by scoring her sixth goal of the evening in a dominant 7-2 win at Wheelersburg.
And while Conkel couldn’t believe she had scored six times — extending her single-season scoring record to 45 — her disbelief centered around the magnitude of the moment.
It’s when Minford’s entire sideline realized that the job was finished. The victory gave the Falcons (14-2, 6-0 SOC) their first outright Southern Ohio Conference title since 2014, and the wait was worth it.
“I knew that [Minford senior] Haley [Knore] wanted it really bad,” Conkel said. “I knew I had to step up and I wanted to do this for her. This really meant a lot for her. We’ve worked so hard as a team to get to this moment. We just pulled it off. I couldn’t have done it without any of my teammates playing those perfect balls through. My job was to finish them.”
Knore battled — in every sense of the word — through pain all night long. The senior is still withstanding a nagging injury suffered earlier this season.
But there wasn’t a way in this world that it would’ve kept her out of Thursday’s starting lineup.
“I’m just so excited. Honestly, I have no words. We came out in the first half a little nervous but once we got our heads on straight and got it together, one goal came and another one came until the end,” Knore said. “I’m just so proud of my team. I’m so glad they played for me when I came out [late in the second half]. It was so hard to not be out there, but I’m so glad we won.”
PHOTOS: Images from Minford’s win over Wheelersburg
Wheelersburg (8-5-2, 4-2 SOC) scored first, getting on the board with a goal from Bella Miller at the 31:36 mark in the first half. But Conkel provided an answer with 17:51 left, coming off an assist from Ava Cronin, to make it a 1-1 tie.
Eight minutes later, Miller found the back of the net once again to put the Pirates back in the lead. But with 34.2 seconds left before halftime, Mychal Cron played a beautiful through ball to Conkel, who did the rest to force a 2-2 deadlock at halftime.
“We started our preseason in February and we’ve been working to this point,” Cron said. “Every time somebody says, ‘How does it feel to beat Wheelersburg’ or ‘How does it feel to win the SOC title,’ it really just feels like another game because we deserve it. That’s our motto as a team. It’s next up. I think we definitely showed that here tonight.”
Throughout the first 20 minutes of the second half, both teams traded punched but neiher could find the net.
Then, with 20:19 remaining, Cronin drew a foul call inside the box. Conkel stepped to the line and lightly tapped in her third goal of the night to give Minford its first lead at 3-2.
From there, it was the Lexi Conkel show.
Within the next 15 minutes, Conkel scored thrice more — coming at the 13:01, 8:37 and 5:33 marks and off assists from Cron, Cronin and Maggie Risner — to put the victory on ice and send the Falcons into a frenzy.
The night’s final goal was scored with 4:15 left, coming off the foot of Lyla Napier.
Conkel’s six goals extend the school’s single-season scoring record to a whopping 45 goals, a high mark that was previously held by Knore.
Together, those two have put 71 scores on the board this fall.
“It’s so cool,” Knore said of Conkel. “Getting her to break out, I know she works hard every day. No one else deserves it except for her. I’m just so proud of her.”
Both Wheelersburg and Minford will now look towards their respective tournament runs — where they’re likely to meet again.
In Division III sectional final matches on Oct. 19, the Falcons will meet with Peebles while the Pirates entertain Zane Trace. Should Minford and Wheelersburg both win, they’d play against one another in a district semifinal match on Oct. 24.
But, for now, it’s one step at a time.
“It’s about focusing on playing our game,” Cron said. “When we go up against a physical team like this, we seem to want to play the player instead of the ball. So working on that and knowing that, once again, next up and it’s just another game, if we play our game, we can beat anyone we want to.”
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