Jackson girls soccer pins back Perryville for a 4-0 victory

Health is often something teams can't control. Nearly everyone plays short-handed at some point in the season, and whoever handles it best stays afloat. On Wednesday there were absences in the lineup for both the Jackson and Perryville girls soccer teams. The Indians best managed that obstacle, and it showed on the scoreboard.

Jackson, in fact, didn't miss a beat, as it protected its home field and handed the Pirates a 4-0 defeat.

"We've had some kids banged up and some kids stepped in there," Jackson coach Justin McMullen said. "We went with a new formation tonight. We haven't trained a lot in it and it took a little bit of an adjustment, but I thought we were really, really patient in there and created some good scoring opportunities."

The Indians (8-1) were without their entire left flank, with left back Nikki Sotak and left wing Grace Pehle both missing. While they adjusted, Perryville (5-3-1) held things scoreless for nearly 22 minutes; but dominant possession finally paid off for the hosts when they broke through when Natalie Miller -- Pehle's fill-in -- took care of a ball into the box that the Pirate defense just couldn't clear, pushing it over the goal line for a 1-0 advantage.

Miller finished with two goals in the game, as did striker Cassidi Tomsu, who polished off chances in the 36th and 46th minutes.

Lauren Welker and Taylor Nelson added assists for Jackson, which outshot Perryville 26-1 on the evening.

Jackson's Laura Bertrand heads the ball past Perryvlle's Kylie Bilek in the second half of the Indians game against the Pirates, Wednesday, April 6, 2016, in Jackson. Jackson won 4-0.Laura Simon

"Once again, balanced. That's the way we've been all year and that's what makes this team better," McMullen said.

"We looked into trying to open things up up top a little more and tried to create more things in the midfield as far as spreading things out. We went with a little more creativity in the attacking third and more width from our attacking players and changed the formation a little, and I felt like what we did in the midfield allowed us to do that."

What Jackson did in the midfield was control the game, holding the Pirates without a shot for the first 47 minutes.

While the home side adjusted seamlessly to its absences, Perryville's was resoundingly felt. Defender Addison Schindler was lost to a collarbone injury on Friday, and filling her void sent a ripple through the lineup, as Chloe Bergman moved from a defensive midfield role into a spot on a three-person back line, which in turn forced center midfielder Kirstin Jannin into the defensive midfield.

That change helped settle the defense, but at the expense of the Pirates' ability to go forward, as the attack missed her quality on the ball. It also forced striker Brooke Hogard into the midfield, taking away speed and finishing ability up top.

As a result, Perryville struggled to transition from defense to offense all game.

"When [Jannin] is up on the field she's calm and makes plays happen. By having to bring her back to try to settle things down back there, it takes away from our offense," Perryville coach Jerry Fulton said. "Not to mention that when we move her back I have to move Hogard back off the front line which just kills us. I'd put Kylie Bilek and Brooke Hogard against anyone's two up top. They're fast, they're decent players and they'll go the whole game for you. We're not very deep, and any time you've got to move someone somewhere it takes away from someone else.

Perryville's Cora Moll keeps her eye on the ball in the second half of the Pirates game against the Jackson Indians, Wednesday, April 6, 2016, in Jackson. Jackson won 4-0.Laura Simon

"We knew we needed to make some changes to try to just be able to hold Jackson. We knew this was a very good Jackson team and Justin [McMullen] has them very well coached. I'm not totally dissatisfied. Sure, you always want to win, but at least we stayed in the game and for 22 minutes we held them. But they're a good ballclub and we're beat-up and weak and our numbers are down. It's just a work in progress, we've known that all year. It was just good to see the girls stay focused and not get down on themselves."

Although it took 22 minutes for Jackson to convert, it wasn't for a lack of trying or opportunities.

Miller had a ninth-minute shot blocked in the 6-yard box, and three minutes later Perryville goalkeeper Camryn Baer stopped an attempt from Tomsu that was curling toward the far post.

Baer finished with eight saves.

The Indians took the lead in the 23rd minute when Miller kept pressing in the area, fighting the ball away from the feet of the defenders and capitalizing.

Baer came up big again in the 34th minute, when Randa Norman let loose with a shot from about 22 yards out. The keeper just got her fingers on the ball and directed it off the left post.

But the Indians doubled the advantage, 2-0, when Nelson dribbled past a pair of defenders and then found Tomsu with her back to goal about 15 yards out. The prolific forward then pivoted to her right and struck the ball into the bottom right corner at 35:22.

Perryville meanwhile had no attack to speak of, as the Indians overloaded one side of the field or the other, pinned the Pirates back and isolated their striker pairing from the rest of the team, snuffing out any hopes of a counter attack.

"The girls put themselves in very good defensive angles," McMullen said. "We were in passing lanes and that makes it very, very difficult for a team to make penetrating passes. We were trying to make them go over the top of us. I felt like our forward players defended first ... and I felt like our defenders, when they were called upon, did a good job of cleaning things up for us."

Jackson almost added to its score right as the second half began, as Tomsu pushed down the right side and crossed it in to Welker, who volleyed the ball off the near post in the 42nd minute.

Four minutes later the pair reversed roles, as Welker put a cross in from the right and Tomsu volleyed the ball into the back of the goal from right on the near post, putting her side up 3-0.

Perryville's second half was more promising from an attacking standpoint, as it was more aggressive with its defensive pressure up the field and calmer in the attack. That didn't result in many true chances -- the Pirates got their only shot on goal from Hogard in the 47th minute -- but did force Jackson to play some defense.

Miller sealed the score line in the 50th minute, taking a right-footed shot from the top of the 18-yard box that skipped just in front of Baer, bounced off the keeper and rolled into the net.

The visitors then kept Jackson off the board for the game's final 30 minutes.

"We just stayed more focused and talked about not just kicking the ball -- making some good passes and creating some opportunities," Fulton said. "I think we definitely created more opportunities in the second half. I think in the first half it might have been a little bit of, 'Oh crap, we're playing Jackson.' After the first half they realized they put their cleats on one foot at a time too and we can play with them. We may not beat them, but we can play with them."

Perryville will try to bounce back tonight hosting St. Pius X.

Jackson hits the road to play Union on Friday.