Jackson girls soccer team gets on track vs. Farmington

~ The Indians posted a 4-0 win after a couple of tough losses

Following a pair of difficult losses last week, the Jackson girls soccer team needed a win to kick-start a busy week ahead.

They got just that on Monday.

Sophomore Cassidi Tomsu scored two first-half goals, and the Indians put the game away with a pair of second-half tallies to blank Farmington 4-0 on a rainy evening at the Jackson Junior High field.

"It's good to bounce back," said Jackson coach Justin McMullen as his squad upped it's record to 8-3-1. "It was a good game for us to come back on and kind of get some momentum going for Wednesday against Seckman."

The Indians badly needed the effort they showed throughout Monday's win. They gave up two late goals in a loss to Notre Dame last week, and couldn't come back from an early two-goal deficit in a loss to Oakville. If anything, the win showed the Indians learned their lessons from those two defeats.

"That's something we definitely talked about, is playing a complete game offensively and defensively," McMullen said. "Offensively, definitely capitalizing on our opportunities that we have so the game can hopefully be put out of reach."

McMullen was hoping some subtle adjustments would shore up his team defensively, and the Indians' defense kept the Knights at bay most of the game.

"We're all trying to sharpen up," Jackson senior defender Aly Baker said. "We're trying to talk more. ... The second half we really clamped down on it. We were dropping as soon as the ball is kicked and not leaving our marks. They had three up top forwards that we had to stay really close to and not give them that space before we dropped."

The Knights (5-5) let the game's first real scoring chance slip away when junior midfielder Montana Krause's indirect kick found senior forward Andi Petty near the far post. Petty's header was tipped by Jackson junior goalkeeper Sarah Blanton, and the ball tantalizingly rested on the top of the crossbar before falling back into Blanton's hands.

Jackson quickly countered. Tomsu took Blanton's ensuing goal kick and raced down the left side, beating the Farmington defense down the field and rocketing a shot from about 20 yards out into the far corner of the net for a 1-0 lead just five minutes into the game.

Later in the half, senior midfielder Hailey Mouser intercepted a Farmington goal kick and pushed a pass ahead to Tomsu, whose shot from 15 yards out found the back of the net for a 2-0 advantage.

"Getting [a lead] really quickly is something we all strive for," Tomsu said. "We kind of [start slow] sometimes. ... What we learned is to just settle down and get the ball out of the air so we can play to our feet."

A steady drizzle that fell throughout the game's final 20 minutes led to Jackson's third goal. Mouser had a nice run down the right side and fired a long shot on goal. Farmington senior goalkeeper Rebekah Sutherland slipped on the wet grass, and the ball rolled to the far post, where senior forward Emily Gartman was able to poke it into the empty net to make it 3-0 with 12:32 left.

"Hailey has the most beautiful crosses I've ever seen," Tomsu said. "They're always spot-on. And she deserves that recognition. And we should finish for her."

"Every game, our main goal is just to get better," said Mouser, who finished with two assists. "I think we're finally starting to click together. Every game, it seems like we're getting more and more technically correct."

Jackson scored its final goal on a penalty kick after freshman forward Rando Norman was pulled down from behind in the penalty box. Norman booted the ball past Sutherland for a 4-0 lead with 2:47 remaining.

"I told them all along that [Jackson] was going to possess the ball more than we would," Farmington coach Rusty Sancegraw said. "That's what I expected. And we were going to have to counter-attack. We're not able to hold the ball like we want to. But I'm proud of our girls and the effort we had."

Sancegraw was especially pleased with Sutherland's play, allowing four goals but coming up with a number of sprawling saves, some of the spectacular variety.

"Our keeper was outstanding tonight," Sancegraw said. "Rebekah's been great all year. She's having an outstanding year."

Sutherland had two sparkling saves in the first half, sprawling to stop Tomsu on a shot from the middle, then diving far to her left to tip a header from Norman late in the half.

In the second half, Sutherland smothered a shot by Jackson's Rachel Crites from point-blank range, stopped the Indians' Alexa Kelpe's quick shot off a cross, then tipped a rifle shot from Tomsu from about 30 yards out just over the crossbar.

"Farmington played hard," McMullen said. "Their goalkeeper made some great saves and she really kept them in the game."