LEXINGTON — It would take something nearly perfect to beat Lexington’s iron-clad backline, a unit that hadn’t conceded all hadn’t season.
Winchester’s Lilly Ossen was up to the challenge.
Ossen, the leftfooted senior captain, hit an absolute belter of a free kick, curling it just underneath the crossbar from well outside the box to lift No. 11 Red & Black to a 1-0 Middlesex League Liberty road triumph over No. 19 Lexington (6-1).
Ossen’s boot striking the ball shattered the silence of the crowd at Lincoln Park early in the second half. The ball spun clockwise over the three-person wall, soaring over the outstretched keeper and neatly into the net.
From the silence, the Winchester section of the crowd erupted.
“About a week ago, I hit a similar shot against Woburn, so I had confidence coming off of that and I knew that I could do it,” said Ossen, who boasts an impressive catalog of free-kick tallies.
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For most of the match, the two sides duked it out in the midfield, as both defenses can play it out from the back.
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The Red & Black (5-0-1), who have only allowed two goals, cut off attacks before they started. The backline of sophomore Lila Roeder, senior Grace Wilhoite, and senior captain Amanda Mitchell anticipated passes and erased through ball attempts.
“We have a lot of trust with each other,” said Wilhoite, who stepped up in the middle of a three-back system once senior Gaby Hermsdorf exited the game with an injury. “We’ve been playing with each other for years. We know how each one of us plays and we’re able to have each other’s backs in those situations.”
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Postgame, Winchester coach Michelle Ross lauded her team’s connection and trust in one another.
“The grit, the determination, the focus that they have is something that you can’t coach and you can’t teach,” said Winchester coach Michelle Ross. “This is something that this team has in spades.”
Cam Kerry can be reached at cam.kerry@globe.com.
