BEREA — Despite Kelsey Merritt’s best efforts, Madison Southern couldn’t protect a 2-0 lead and allowed three second-half goals Tuesday to district rival Madison Central.

“Kelsey played well,” Southern coach Katy Cress said. “She just can’t do it all by herself. Nobody can. It takes all 11-plus people out there and I didn’t have the best efforts from everybody tonight.”

Merritt, a senior midfielder, got her first goal of the game after sophomore midfielder Dakota McNeirney’s shot on goal was blocked by Lady Indian goalkeeper Kaity Busch. Merritt was able to put the ball in the back of the net off Busch’s rebound.

The best scoring chance for Central during the first half came with 5:41 left, when senior Sarah Houghton’s shot went wide left. Southern was able to go into halftime with a 1-0 lead.

“I thought the intensity was the best we’ve had all season,” Central coach Alexis Blackburn said. “I saw the fire in them. I think they really wanted it. They showed me that they wanted it.”

Central’s defensive woes continued early in the second half when Merritt scored 20 seconds in from the right wing position off an assist by sophomore forward Shannon Bilby.

However, Central’s offensive fortunes were about to change. With just more than 30 minutes left in the game, sophomore Molly Jacobs was able to put the ball in the back of the net to cut the Lady Indians’ deficit in half.

“Molly Jacobs never stops,” Blackburn said. “She listens, even though she has a hearing problem. She always listens to us and what we want her to do. She never quits. She’s always in the right place at the right time. She can put the ball in the net. She’s done that for us several times this year.”

Then, 35 seconds later, Houghton finally got a goal to tie the game.

“I think we let down and quit playing together as a team,” Cress said. “When we were working together, then we looked good. We just quit stepping to the ball. They beat us to every ball and we just stood there and watched them do it. It’s frustrating as a coach and I know it’s frustrating to some of them out there on the field when it happens.”

Central finally took the lead with 11 minutes left when sophomore Jessica McAlister put the ball into the right side of the goal.

“I never give up,” Blackburn said. “I’ve seen teams come back and beat us when we’re up 2-0. I’ve seen us do it. With a whole half to go, they let down a little bit but I convinced them at half that it wasn’t over and to keep your cool and play possession. I needed them to shoot. We had a lot of shots on goal but we weren’t finishing.”

Southern had a chance for a final goal when sophomore forward Kim Robin-son passed the ball to freshman forward Taylor Mitchell. However, Mitchell’s shot on goal was saved by Busch.

With the win, Central locked up a No. 1 seed in the district tournament and a first-round bye. The Lady Indians, who are the reigning district champions, were seeded second last year.

“We wanted a No. 1 seed and that puts us really nicely in the tournament,” Blackburn said. “We want to defend our title so it’d be awesome to have back-to-back districts.”

Madison Central (8-4) has its final home contest of the year when Harrison County visits Memorial Field Tuesday. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

Madison Southern (whi-ch falls to 6-2-2 on the season and will have the No. 2 seed in the district tournament) will face off Thursday at 7 p.m. against Southwestern in Berea.

“We can only turn things around and go up from here,” Cress said. “Seeding definitely helps and I’m all for seeding, but this just means we have to work a little harder when we get to the district tournament.”