MANSFIELD — Could Richland County’s district dominance be in jeopardy with the dawn of the five-division era?
Area soccer fans will find out soon enough.
Lexington earned the top seed in the new-look Division III district during Sunday’s tournament draw. Lady Lex (8-7-1) will host No. 7 Shelby (5-5-3) in a sectional final at 5 p.m. Oct. 16.
The Ohio High School Athletic Association expanded girls and boys soccer from three divisions to five this year.
Area heavyweights Lexington, Madison and Ontario all moved to Division III after dominating the Division II district during the three-division era, which ran from 2011 to 2023.
Madison (9-4-1) earned the No. 3 seed and will host No. 5 Ashland at 5 p.m. Oct. 16 in a sectional final. The Arrows (5-6-4) dropped to Division III from Division I.
No. 4 seed Ontario (7-5-1) will host No. 8 Clyde (2-11-1) at 5 p.m. Oct. 16. Sixth-seeded Mansfield Senior (6-10-0) will visit No. 2 Norwalk (12-1-0) at 5 p.m. Oct. 16.
Ashland County
Mapleton, Loudonville and Hillsdale all will compete in Division V in Northeast Ohio.
The 24th-seeded Mounties (5-9-1) play at No. 23 Waynedale at 7 p.m. Oct. 17.
No. 30 Loudonville visits No. 27 Cornerstone Christian at 7 p.m. Oct. 17.
No. 41 Hillsdale (0-11-0) is at No. 10 Oberlin at 7 p.m. Oct. 17.
Division V
Mansfield Christian (11-0-2) earned the No. 3 seed in the eight-team Bluffton district field and will host No. 7 Crestview (6-4-3) in a sectional final at 6 p.m. Oct. 15.
The Flames and Cougars played to a 1-1 draw during the regular season.
Division IV
Clear Fork dropped from Division II to Division IV and earned the top seed in the seven-team Clyde district field.
The Colts (9-4-2) took a bye and advance directly to the district semifinals, where they await the winner of a sectional final between No. 4 Upper Sandusky and No. 7 Galion.
The Rams host the Tigers (5-8-1) at 5 p.m. Oct. 16.