Indians soccer stays perfect, tames Longhorns on the road

Despite the two teams entering halftime in a scoreless deadlock, the Jackson girls’ soccer team took a dominant 3-1 victory on the road against Parkway West on Monday night to remain perfect with an unblemished 4-0 record.

A tight, physical game broke up when senior Emilia Wunderlich opened the scoring on a free kick, which opened the floodgates for the Indians. Jackson upped its lead to 3-0 before a late goal from the Longhorns decreased the lead to two, where the score remained.

“It was a fairly physical, well-played match on both sides,” Indians coach Justin McMullen said. “I was really pleased with our effort, and especially the circumstances of a really physical game, we came out and we did what we had to do to take care of business.”

Jackson senior Emilia Wunderlich, shown here playing the ball against Notre Dame at Oakville Senior High School on May 14, 2022, scored the first goal in the Indians' 3-1 victory on the road against Parkway West on Monday, Mar. 27, 2023.J.C. Reeves

After scoring or assisting on all six goals in the Indians’ doubleheader on Saturday, senior Justi Nelson scored Jackson’s second goal in Monday’s win against Parkway West and assisted on the third.

While Nelson’s high-scoring offensive play isn’t new to the program, she’s reached her senior season and has settled into a new role as a veteran and leader for the program.

“Justi is a player that, at times, for the other team, can be a handful,” McMullen said. “She’s making some passes that are putting her teammates in dangerous positions and definitely developing some scoring opportunities along the way.

“She definitely has a knack for the game and has outstanding soccer IQ. I mean, Justi’s a great player for our program. It’s been that way for the last three years.”

A new look in goal for Jackson, sophomore Camryn Alsdorf fills the shoes of recent graduate Brooke Gerau as the Indians’ lead goalkeeper.

It’s been a strong start to the season for Alsdorf as she finished with five saves, ending the game just minutes from her third clean sheet of the season.

“She's a great athlete, and she's extremely coachable,” McMullen said. “She's definitely picked up on some things and we're looking forward to the remainder of the season as far as getting better each game. Even tonight, she came up with a couple of big saves. Cam’s definitely been big for us so far.”

The Indians are set to play their fourth game in as many days at 4 p.m. on Tuesday at Saxony Lutheran High School. In a sport that demands constant running back and forth for a total of 80 minutes, it’s hard to keep fresh legs when you play that often.

“Honestly, I give a lot of credit to our trainer, Jake Klein,” McMullen said. “Jake comes in on Sundays and makes sure those players get the treatment that they need. We're really pleased and thankful to have a trainer that's willing to do that as well.

“The kids are really good about coming in and taking care of their bodies, but definitely with that amount of games and that short of a period of time, you worry about some risk of injury but we've really handled it well so far.”