Jackson soccer enters 'tough' C4D1 field

The Jackson boys' soccer team enter one of the toughest district tournaments in the state, where all but three teams are .500 or better.

“There’s five teams in our district this year that could come out on top,” Jackson head coach Zach Walton said. “That's how tough it is, and you don't know who it's gonna be. They’re just all that good and that close. I mean, they've all beat each other. Lindbergh beat us and then we beat Oakville and Oakville beat Lindbergh. It’s tight.”

The Indians begin on Saturday at 4 p.m., in St. Louis, with a rematch against Northwest, a team that Jackson has won against in seven straight postseason meetings since 2010.

“Northwest is going to be a rivalry game for us," Walton said.

The Indians finished the regular season with a 17-3 record, a better regular season mark than even the state championship (13-3) and runner-up (14-7-2) seasons of 2020-21. It was a stark improvement to last year, which ended with an 8-13 record. They returned a core of sophomores that led to a turnaround season.

“We took a lot of growing pains last year with this group of boys,” said Walton. “A lot of these boys were starters last year and they're starters again this year … You can tell this year we've come a long way and even throughout the season.”

With junior goalkeeper Braden Thompson in front of the net, the Indians recorded a clean sheet in six of their 17 wins.

“Thompson has that ability to really be that leader and that guy that gets us fired up,” Walton said. “He makes one save and it's just like everybody starts playing even a little bit harder.”

Leading the way for the Indians offense is Aiden McMinn, who started the season with five goals in the first five games and also scored in the final game of the regular season.

“He's a great player for us and he's very creative and crafty up top,” Walton said.

Freshman Brandon Botkin has also emerged as a key contributor for the Indians.

“Brandon has come a long way for us this year,” Walton said. “He is a good little player for us and we've used him in a couple of different spots here and there.”

If the Indians win, they will face the winner between Seckman and Lindbergh in the semifinals at Lindbergh High School at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday.