For 79 minutes it looked like the Lakewood Rangers would have to settle for tie in a Northeast Ohio Conference divisional showdown with the visiting Nordonia Knights. But with the clock winding down midfielder Jamie Meggas found a Hilary Vigh throw-in bouncing at her feet inside the penalty box and faked out Knights goalkeeper Jackie Ceglka with a low shot across the goal mouth that found the back of the net and gave the Rangers a 1-0 victory.

Meggas’s winning goal in the final 10 seconds of the game capped off an emotional week for the Rangers. Lakewood was playing without head coach Josh Thornsberry who was serving the second game of a two game OHSAA mandated suspension after being ejected from a game earlier this season. Senior midfield Danielle Pusateri who broke her leg in a game at Twinsburg was also absent.

“I was crying as the time ran down,” Meggas said. “I wanted this game more than anything. I wanted to win this for my friend Danielle.” The first half that saw both teams feeling each other out with most of the action occurring in middle of the field. Lakewood’s best chance to score came in the 28th minute when midfielder Lauren Rosul headed a Morgan Schroeder corner kick towards the upper left hand corner of the goal only to see a leaping Cegelka snatch the ball from the air.

After attempting just four shots on goal in the first half, the Rangers peppered the Nordonia net with eight second half shots. Lakewood goalkeeper Carrie Moran turned back all four of the Knights shots on goal.

“I told them to give it their all in the second half,” acting head coach Rachel Knotts said. “In the last 10 minutes we moved our defenders up the field to put more pressure on them.”

The win improved the Rangers record to 3-4 while Nordonia dropped to 1-4-2. The Lakewood girls have three home matches remaining and, according to Meggas, hope to leave a lasting impression on their school and their fans.

“I want to put some number on the wall in the gym. We have five seniors and we want to leave a legacy at Lakewood High School.”