Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
MINFORD — Over the past three seasons, Lexi Conkel has made an absolute mockery out of opposing defenses.
Minford’s star striker has poured in 105 goals during that stretch, alongside 18 assists. If her career ended there, she’d be one of the most decorated players in program history.
But she’s got a year left to play add-on, and she fully intends on taking advantage of that opportunity.
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
“I never stop playing,” Conkel said. “I’ve traveled all over with my travel team from December until the middle of June. As soon as travel ended, it was straight back to practice with my home team to continue to improve, not only myself, but my teammates as well.”
After a freshman campaign that saw Conkel score 19 goals, she bloomed into one of the state’s — yes, the state’s — best goal-scorers as a sophomore.
Thanks to a team-high 49 goals, Conkel helped her Falcons finish 15-3 overall and win a share of the Southern Ohio Conference title — the program’s first since 2014.
“As a little girl, I’ve always dreamed of playing with ‘the big girls’ on the high school team,” Conkel said. “I’ve worked so hard in the offseason to get to where I’m at today. But I don’t play the game for the number of goals scored. I play because I love to do it. Yes, I’m proud of myself for the countless hours I’ve put in because it has shown on the field. But I wouldn’t have been able to reach my goals without my teammates.”
Last season, Conkel and company took their success a step further.
With a 5-0 win over Rock Hill in a district semifinal, the Falcons had their sights on their first-ever district championship. However, despite a valiant effort, they fell short in a 2-1 loss to Fairfield in overtime.
So, the next goal — pun intended — to cross off the to-do list? That’s easy. Win a district title.
“Has [last year’s district final] been discussed? Yes it has,” Conkel said. “But I think the thing that fuels us the most is the fact that it was one of our best games. Everyone gave max effort for the entire 90 minutes. We, sadly, just fell short. I was super proud of my teammates that game, even though we didn’t come out on top.”
This year’s group, like always, will look a bit different than it did at the beginning of last season.
However, with a standard of success in place, the team’s expectations haven’t changed.
With one of the area’s best scorers leading the way, and a great deal of talent back in the fold — Maggie Risner, Ava Cronin, Marlee Pendleton, Lexi Pendleton, Marley Rhodes and Ella Estep, to name a few — Conkel believes this year’s team can accomplish anything they want to.
“This team is constantly pushing each other to be the best player possible,” Conkel said. “We have stepped up our game to be conditioned this season. Last year, we noticed we were winding down towards the end of games. No matter how big or small the drill is, we constantly push ourselves to get better, which makes the next girl work just as hard.”
The Falcons are slated to start their season on Aug. 17 with a trip to Lynchburg-Clay, who is the defending regional champion. Also on the team’s non-league schedule are dates with Russell (Ky.), Marietta, Boyd County (Ky.) and Unioto.
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
Needless to say, after seeing a measuring stick right off the bat, Minford will continue to be tested throughout the entire season.
And that’s exactly what the Falcons want.
“I have high expectations for this team this year,” Conkel said. “As seniors, we want to set our eyes on an SOC championship first. Then, the goal is to win a district title and advance to state. I feel if everyone continues to work hard and give max effort in every training session and game, we’ll be right back in the district final. Our coaches are pushing us to be the players we can be this season.”
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