Lexington boys soccer falls to Celina in Division III district championship
· Yahoo Sports
SHELBY — It was no secret that the 2026 Lexington boys soccer team didn’t have the offensive firepower the teams of the past were used to.
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And in the end, it came back to bite them as they took a 1-0 loss to Celina in the Division III district championship game on Saturday, Oct. 31 at Shelby High School’s Whippet Athletic Complex. It was the fifth time they were shutout this season. The Minutemen averaged just 2.4 goals per game this season.
“We had a game plan and I don’t think we got away from it too much, but in the second half, if you lose by one or two, it doesn’t matter at that point, so we threw the kitchen sink at them,” Lexington coach Peter Them said. “We got some things going, but we were just missing that final piece of a natural goal scorer who can put the ball in the net. Can’t win games if you don’t score. It was an Achille’s Heel for us this year.”
After falling behind 1-0 on a goal by Celina with 25:26 remaining in the first half, the Minutemen stuck to that game plan through the rest of the first half and about midway through the second before changing to a more offensive aggressive tactic. They peppered Celina’s keeper with shot after shot, but couldn’t knock one in.
Lexington ended the season 11-7-2 and the district runner-up. A double-digit win season is a small victory for the Minutemen, who have graduated large classes in each of the last several seasons, but seemed to always put up a fine record in the end.
“I feel like we are trending upwards to where we need to me,” Them said. “We put the effort in, but this is a long season, and we played some very young kids. It is just a matter of if we can use this feeling right now to fuel us moving forward. We should turn the page and keep moving upward.”
The Minutemen say goodbye to five seniors in Carter Boehm, Lane Weber, Came Turlo, Dom Schroeder and Bennett Little.
“It is a phenomenal group, and it is hard to see them go,” Them said. “Many of them are siblings of guys who came through the program and set a very high standard of carrying on the legacy, which is a burden and a privilege at times. Just fantastic kids from fantastic families and I wanted this for them.”
With a plethora of young talent returning next season, the Minutemen carry some sky-high expectations in 2027.
“The biggest thing is making sure these returning players understand what this feels like and learn how to use this to fuel them in their next sports and into next soccer season,” Them said. “Our offseason workouts and when we return as a program in June, hopefully these guys follow the foundation that these five seniors built. That’s going to come with hard work and building consistency.”
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Lexington boys soccer falls to Celina in Division III district championship