Lexington SC bounced back from a very out-of-character loss to Chattanooga by stealing a point in Madison against the likely playoff-bound Flamingos in their 2-2 draw on Saturday night, thanks to the heroic efforts of the club’s rising youngsters. The draw moves Lexington to 7 wins, 10 draws, and 13 losses with 31 points on the year while maintaining 9th in the league table. In contrast, Madison moves to 11-10-9 with 43 points in 6th, just 2 points ahead of Tormenta, who are looking to knock Greenville or Madison out of the playoffs to avoid being the first defending champs to miss the playoffs.

Austin Causey would be the first young star to shine for Lexington in the first half, along with the backline, as Lexington was able to go into the half tied at 0-0 after weather 13 shots (5 on target) assault from the Madison attack, with Causey making the Bad-Ass Coffee Moment of the Match in the 40th minute when he made 3 incredible stops back-2-back-2-back to give him 5 saves in just the 1st half in his first match since April. The backline also helped Causey out, making 11 clearances, blocking 2 shots, and racking up 5 interceptions in 1st half.

Now, while I do love a great defensive battle, the 2nd half is where the fireworks happened. Lexington’s attacking would be far more dangerous in the 2nd half, with Nico Brown (who picked up a brace last time out in Madison) registering the first shot on target in the 49th minute when he fired one from just outside the box that Madison’s Schipmann snagged on the dive. Sadly, Madison would draw first blood in the 65th minute when Derek Gebhard capitalized on a ball slipping through Causey’s arms. 

However, Lexington would strike back quickly thanks to their goal-scoring star Ates Diouf, who buried a ball  (in a similar manner to Brown’s shot) off a deep pass from Gonzalez that bounced favorably off a Madison defender in the 74th minute to equalize the match. The goal is Diouf’s 15th of the season, making him just the 6th player in USL1 history to reach that mark.

The festivities would be short-lived as Madison would draw ahead again just 4 minutes later in the 78th minute when Stephen Payne chipped the ball just past a challenging Causey in the upper right corner of the box and found the head of Mauro Cichero to give Madison the 1 goal lead with just 12 minutes left in the match. However, Lexington’s bright, young, rising star Kimball “The General” Jackson (nickname inspired by alma mater of Lafayette High School) would deliver the equalizer gut punch to Madison fans (instead of the other way around as it has gone of late for Lexington fans) when he became Lexington SC’s youngest goal scorer ever and netted his 1st professional goal in the 84th minute after cleaning up a scramble in the box to tap in the equalizer.

Causey would make another great save to keep the match level in the 87th minute, just getting his foot in on a Chaney shot for the final highlight of the match.

Austin Causey (22 years old) and Kimball Jackson (19 years old) gave Lexington fans hope for the future in this outing, as both showed that they could hold their own in this league. Causey made a few mistakes, but as mentioned earlier, he had not seen action since April and was facing a side trying to lock up the playoff position. The errors (honestly, they were more lousy luck than anything) are fixable. Still, they should not overshadow his performance of 7 saves (2 diving), 4 punches, and 5 recoveries as he faced an onslaught of 23 shots. 

Jackson put in his 2nd straight full 90 for Lexington and is honestly solidifying himself as the next Kaelon Fox (who did not start for the first time in Lexington SC history) as the workhorse of the backline, who can also contribute to the attack. Jackson’s Man of the Match honor speaks for itself when you look at the stats – 1 goal, completed 93% of his passes, 4/4 tackles, 5 recoveries, and 5/5 of ground duels.

Man of the Match – Kimball “The General” Jackson

While Lexington’s season will end on October 14th in Greenville, regardless of the results over the final 2 matches, the Boys in Green are giving fans much hope for the future as our young stars continue to shine. Lexington SC will play their final home match of the year on Saturday, October 7th at 7 pm against top-of-the-table North Carolina FC (who have already secured playoffs), who are chasing the Player’s Shield as they only hold a slim 1-point lead at the top of the table.

Check back later this week for our match preview, and stick to Bluegrass Soccer Cast (@BGSoccerCast on all social media platforms) for full coverage of Lexington SC, and everything soccer in our beautiful Commonwealth.