Jackson posts 3-1 win over Perryville

~ The Indians edged past .500 with the victory.

Perryville's battle with Jackson in girls soccer on Tuesday night left both coaches optimistic about upcoming games.

Jackson posted a 3-1 victory at home to climb back over .500 at 6-5. Perryville fell to 5-2-1 with the loss.

"It was a good gauge for us," Perryville coach Stacie Sargent said. "I'm not disappointed at the way we played because Jackson is a good squad."

The Indians, who have won four consecutive district championships in the large schools division, controlled play in the first half Tuesday but were not able to score until the final minute of the half.

"We had some really good opportunities in the first half," Jackson coach Zack Walton said. "We just didn't convert when we had our chances. We had some good possessions and did what we wanted to do with the ball."

The Indians reached the board when Randi Kraust scored off Jenni Tenholder's corner kick.

"They probably controlled 30 minutes of the first half," Sargent said. "I was disappointed about giving up a goal with 40 seconds left in the first half."

Jackson then added two more goals in the first 5 minutes of the second half.

Hannah Kohm scored with an assist from Bobbi Jo Schlick, and Emily Deitl scored the Indians' third goal.

"I told the girls Jackson would come out aggressively in the second half, and they did," Sargent said. "They scored all three goals in 6 minutes. If you take that 6 minutes out of the game. .... It was a moral victory for us because Jackson is such a good team."

Perryville freshman Ashley Reid scored with an assist from classmate Ava Johnson.

The Pirates begin conference play Thursday against rival St. Vincent and then play in the Fralish Cup on Friday and Saturday in Carbondale, Ill.

Jackson improved to 4-0 on its home pitch and is working toward the goal of a fifth straight playoff appearance in Class 2.

"Our younger and older kids haven't played together as much growing up [as past teams]," Walton said. "The gelling is taking place, and you can see it in spurts. We're hoping to put it together in complete games.

"It's a long ways until the district, and we've got a lot of work to do before we get to that point."