Hawks end Jackson's run

FARMINGTON, Mo. -- The Jackson Indians came up empty on all fronts of the goal department Tuesday night at Farmington High School.

Playing in their first sectional soccer game since 1998, the Indians failed to record the program's first playoff victory, falling 2-0 to Hazelwood Central in the Class 3 contest.

The Hawks (20-5-2) struck early and late to advance to Saturday's quarterfinal round.

Hazelwood Central seniors Benny Jeffery and Ben McMahon provided the game's only two goals, while fellow senior Taylor Hyndman made three saves for the shutout.

Hyndman also got a little help from a goalpost in turning aside Jackson (15-8-3), which started off slowly in the first half before it settled into the game.

The Hawks, who suffered narrow sectional losses the last two years, looked more comfortable on the sectional stage at the start of the game.

Just 8 minutes into the game, Hawks senior Chris Beseau beat a pair of Jackson defenders deep in the box, and his centering pass from the right side was put off the far post by Jay Kamp. Jackson goalie Tyler Holman pounced on the ricochet along the goal line to keep the game scoreless.

However, just 4 minutes later, Jeffery put Hazelwood ahead for good. He took a pass from Mark Mirth on the left side, and when the Indians failed to pressure him, he took advantage by splitting the defense and rifling a shot from 10 yard out into the right side of the net.

"He had a good rip," Holman said. "We gave them the chance, and they capitalized on it."

For Jeffery, it was his team-leading 16th goal of the season.

"We played a little timid right off the bat and didn't high pressure them when we probably should have," Jackson coach Zack Walton said. "The one kid we knew that was real dangerous, Benny, and he got lose from us inside the box and had a hard shot on goal.

"After that our boys really picked up the intensity and played a heck of a game out there. Once we started pressuring them, they just started kicking. That's what we wanted."

Jackson didn't require Hyndman to make a save until Dylan Dee put a shot on goal nearly 18 minutes into the game. While the shot didn't test Hyndman, it did seem to help the Indians settle into the game.

About 4 minutes later, Jackson nearly tied the score with its best scoring chance of the night.

The Indians' Robbie Martin blistered a low shot from outside the top of the box that Hyndman got a hand on as he dove to his left. The ball bounced dangerously in the right side of the goalmouth, with Jackson's Chris Shelton bumping a shot off the right post. With Hyndman unable to get back into the play, the ball continued to get bumped around just yards from the goal line before being cleared by a Hawks player for a Jackson corner kick.

Walton said one of the bumps in the scrum went off the arm of a Hawk, which should have resulted in a penalty kick.

"It hit the kid's arm, and if it didn't hit his arm, it's going into the goal," Walton said. "I know we all saw it, and the fans saw it."

The Indians had one more good scoring threat in the half, but a hard shot from Matt Mueller was blocked in the box.

The Hawks took a 1-0 lead into halftime, and Jackson never really had a good scoring opportunity in the second half. The Indians had five shots in the second half, one of which required a save by Hyndman.

Hazelwood Central had the better scoring chances in the final 40 minutes, with McMahon icing the game with his 10th goal with 7 minutes left. McMahon scored off a centering pass from Kamp.

"We'll have a lot of seniors next year," said Holman, a senior. "We only had five this year. It's definitely a nice experience for the younger guys. It's nice for us. Our freshman year we had four wins or something. Every year we worked harder and harder at the ultimate goal."

For the game Jackson had 10 shots to Hazelwood's 12.

"I'm proud of the guys," Walton said. "They played extremely hard and never gave up. We got a taste of this tonight. The boys aren't going to be satisfied with a district championship next season."