Jackson girls go on scoring spree

~ The Indians netted three quick goals near the end of the first half and beat Central 7-0.

The Jackson girls soccer team had trouble distancing itself from rival Central for most of the first half.

An explosive final few minutes by the host Indians paved the way for Tuesday night's 7-0 romp.

Jackson scored three goals over the final 2 minutes, 22 seconds of the opening period to lead 4-0 and erase any upset hopes heavy underdog Central might have had.

"I thought we picked it up a lot more toward the end of the half," Jackson senior Hannah Roach said. "We played a lot better, more as a team."

Added junior Kasey Crowden: "We had to get settled in. We just needed to pass it around, connect with each other."

The Indians certainly have been connecting so far during the early part of the season. They are 2-0 and have outscored the opposition 13-0.

Central is at the opposite end of the spectrum. The 0-2 Tigers have been outscored 13-0.

The Tigers, after giving up a goal by Crowden less than six minutes into the game, hung tough and threatened to enter the intermission down just 1-0.

But Crowden scored her second goal on a breakaway with 2:22 left before halftime. That was a familiar theme for the Indians, who repeatedly got behind Central's defense for wide-open opportunities.

Freshman Alex Sotak scored twice on breakaways in the final two minutes of the half to make it 4-0.

"We had a very slow start," Jackson co-coach Justin McMullen said. "It's early in the season and we're changing systems.

"We've got a very young team and we're trying to find our identity."

Jackson kept the heat on Central at the outset of the second half, making it 5-0 less than five minutes in on an impressive individual move by Roach. She dribbled around several defenders before finding the net from about 15 yards out.

Sotak notched a hat trick midway through the half as her long shot trickled through Central goalkeeper Meg Goodman and somehow found its way in.

Sophomore Erin Eakens rounded out the scoring with a late penalty kick.

Sotak added two assists in addition to scoring three times.

"Alex is going to be a very good player," McMullen said. "She certainly doesn't play like a freshman."

Sotak is among five freshmen on Jackson's varsity, with three starting Tuesday's contest.

"They deliver," Roach said. "You couldn't ask for better freshmen."

Those youngsters are being asked to fill key roles for a Jackson squad that has won seven straight district titles. Roach isn't concerned about the youth.

"We're young, but we're strong," she said.

Crowden added two assists to go along with her two goals. Also recording assists were Eakens and senior Amber Crites.

Senior Morgan Riddick and junior Brooke Sanders both played one half in the nets to share the shutout. While they controlled their area well, neither had to make any especially difficult saves.

Despite the dominant 2-0 start, McMullen said: "We have a lot of work to do."

Goodman made several impressive saves or the outcome could have been even more lopsided.