YORK — There are 11 players on a soccer field counting the goal keeper.
In the first half the Lexington Minutemaids had the 12th man and in the second the Dukes had the 12th man.
The 12th man was the wind which was whipping from the northwest corner of the field at the Cornerstone Sports Complex to the southeast corner at 25-35 miles per hour sustained with gusts bettering 40 miles per hour.
Lexington took a 2-1 lead at the half and about six minutes into the second half the Dukes drew even on a Molly Kotschwar goal.
The game ended in regulation tied at 2-2 and on the seventh shootout kick, senior Klaire Brekke’s shot found the back of the net and the Dukes had the win to improve to 7-3 and most likely a second chance at the Northwest Vikings on Saturday at Wilderness Park in Columbus.
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Over 85% of Thursday night’s quarterfinal was played on the southside of the field and kicks into the win with any height on them all came to a dead stop, making moving the ball east to west almost impossible at times.
York jumped on top with about 10 minutes gone in the first half when senior forward Leah Davis controlled the ball about 10 yards inside the 50-yard line, passed the ball to junior Ellie Reynolds who was able to get around the defense and score the goal for the lead.
Lexington scored twice in the final five minutes of the first half, the second coming with 54.2 seconds to play by freshman Caren Mejia who went one on one with York keeper Sam McDaniel.
York finished with 12 shots, eight of those on goal, while Lexington five shots on goal, just one the entire second half. McDaniel had five saves on seven Lexington shots.
Because this was a conference game there were no overtime periods played as conference rules send the game immediately to a shootout.
York’s Lauryn Mattox made it 2-1, but Lexington outscored the Dukes 2-1 over the final two shots.
The Lexington Minutemaids kick off against Kearney Catholic on Tuesday, April 16 at 5 p.m. in Kearney.