Jackson boys soccer team has soggy ending to season in sectional

The Jackson boys soccer team stuck with powerhouse De Smet Jesuit for most of Tuesday's Class 3 sectional on a night better suited for lounging on the couch by a fire.

The Spartans scored in the opening two minutes and made it stand up for a 3-0 victory in miserable conditions.

"It was everything," De Smet's Louis Berra said about his early goal. "If we didn't get that early lead, it would have been a lot tougher game. It was a tough game as it was."

The goal came off a throw-in, and Berra was able to blast a shot into the far side of the net.

"Since it was so early in the game, we knew we couldn't let it get us down and ruin the whole game," Jackson senior Clayton Baker said. "We knew we had to shake it off and just play like it was an 0-0 game."

Jackson's Law Duncan and De Smet's Sean Badlock, left, and Scott Russo, center, encounter a mud puddle as De Smet's Scott Ladi, right, looks on Tuesday during the second half of their Class 3 sectional game in Jackson. De Smet won 3-0. (Kristin Eberts)

Jackson did a good job of not letting the early goal faze it. De Smet (22-4-1) created the better chances during the remainder of the half, but the Indians turned them aside and created a few of their own.

"In this kind of conditions, both teams are trying to play a little more direct because simple little mistakes or trying to pass it around the back and get it stuck in a puddle is going to cost you," Jackson coach Zack Walton said. "I thought our boys played strong. The first two minutes of the game when they scored, our boys bounced back and continued to play hard and battled."

The real problem was that the steady rain started causing puddles to form as the half progressed, but the Indians entered halftime only down a goal.

"We were feeling good -- 1-0 was a good look for us," Baker said. "We knew we had to come out strong against them. We knew they were a good team. They scored early and then we came back and played aggressive and held them to 1-0. They just got a few goals in the second half that kind of killed us."

Berra helped create his team's second goal. He blasted a shot that Jackson keeper Austin Baker knocked down, but De Smet's B.J. Tucker was there to knock home the rebound with 26 minutes, 3 seconds left in the game.

Jackson players leave the field after their 3-0 loss to De Smet in the Class 3 sectional game.

"They came back and fought," Berra said. "I can't imagine how hard they would have fought if we didn't have that [second goal]."

The problem for Jackson was that offense was tough to generate, especially on De Smet's half of the field in the second half. The amount of standing water on that side of the field was significantly greater than the other half.

"It's brutal," Baker said. "It's fun to an extent, but then it just gets annoying with you trying to dribble through the puddles and it just taking it away from you. It's kind of hard to play."

Numerous Jackson charges died when an Indians player tried to dribble only to be stopped by a large puddle in the middle of the field.

"For both teams, you just had to get to the ball first and hope the ball didn't stop in front of the other team, pretty much," Jackson senior Law Duncan said.

Spectators stay dry on the sidelines as Jackson and De Smet play in a Class 3 sectional Tuesday in Jackson.

De Smet finally iced the game when Prince Kabadeh scored on a counterattack with 8:31 left for a 3-0 lead.

"It's just a fight until the end, and that's what it was," Berra said. "Jackson just gave us a great run."

The Indians finished 16-6 after hanging around with De Smet for most of Tuesday's game. The sectional loss comes a year after the Indians reached the quarterfinal round for the first time in school history.

"I've just got to give a little bit of credit to how talented our boys are," Walton said. "This is a good group of boys and very talented. I thought they stepped up and met the challenge. In reality, I don't think we were intimidated by anything. We just came out and played."

De Smet advanced to Saturday's state quarterfinal game against the winner of today's game between Chaminade and Francis Howell.