Jackson soccer team falls in SoccerFest final

~ Marion posted a 3-0 victory over the Indians

With 25 minutes left to play, Jackson sophomore Josh Scholl made a quick move past a defender to get into open space, making way for a perfect pass from Seth Carr which he one-timed toward the Marion goal.

Wildcats goalkeeper Dylan Baxter partially blocked Scholl's shot with his fingertips, just enough to keep the ball from crossing the goal line.

Instead, the ball sat on the goal line for a split second before it was cleared by a defender.

That was Jackson's last real chance to tie the game and take momentum away from Marion.

The Wildcats went on to win 3-0 and captured their first Notre Dame SoccerFest championship on Saturday.

"It was just barely enough to keep that thing from going in," Jackson coach Zack Walton said. "It was definitely one we would like to have had, but things were going their way and it just didn't work out for us."

The sophomore created two other scoring chances in the first half. Eight minutes in, Scholl broke up a pass and weaved past a defender with just the goalkeeper to beat. However, Baysinger came out toward the top of the box and made a save before Scholl could get a clean shot off.

With just under two minutes to play in the first half, Scholl lofted a crossing pass from the right corner of the field to Liam Gray, who headed the ball wide left from the left of the goal.

Jackson players react to Marion’s second goal, scored by Joel Hardin, left, celebrating with Jake Hardin, who assisted, during the second half in the championship game of the Notre Dame SoccerFest on Saturday at Notre Dame Regional High School. (Fred Lynch)

"In the first half I thought we had a lot of chances to score, we just didn't do it," Walton said. "That breakaway and a couple of other opportunities we had could have really lifted us. We just couldn't put them in the net."

Marion took away any ounce of momentum Jackson (2-1) had, scoring its first goal eight minutes into the second half.

Conner Riem stole a pass at midfield and dribbled down the right side of the field before crossing the ball to Jake Hardin, who sent a touch pass to Adam Newman. Newman settled the pass and shot it just past Indians goalkeeper Brayden Emmons for a 1-0 lead.

"I just figured Jake would serve up a great ball, and he always does," Newman said. "It was relieving to put the ball in the back of the net after a not-so-great first half."

Walton said his team looked tired and lost focus after Marion scored.

"Once they scored, we gave up most of our possession to them, which is frustrating to watch," Walton said. "Panic kind of sets in at that point and we were just trying to play long balls the rest of the night to create chances, and that's not very effective. You have to get the ball on the ground first and hold possession until a chance presents itself. Our guys know that; we're just going to have to work on it a little more."

Marion had plenty of other scoring chances in the second half and capitalized on an Indian mistake for a 2-0 lead with eight minutes to play.

Hardin intercepted a pass and took the ball down the left side of the field for the Wildcats. Hardin lobbed a ball over a defender's head and right to the feet of his brother, Joel Hardin, who rocketed a shot past Emmons.

"Jake and Joel are just two incredible athletes and special boys with a bright future," Marion coach Jared Dobbs said. "They're two key assets to this team and they really do make everyone on this team better, we're lucky to have them."

Newman added another goal for Marion with under 10 seconds to play. Newman raced into the box without a defender in sight then took a shot high and to the right of Emmons' reach.

"The keeper was saving them near-post all day, so I decided to go up with it and try and put it up high to see if he could get to it. Luckily it went in," Newman said.

Marion's defense was strong throughout the contest.

"They cleared balls when they had to and really kept us out of it for most of the game," Walton said. "We had those few chances and couldn't make it happen. When you're going against a good defense like them, you have to be able to put those in, and we found that out first-hand tonight."

Jackson had advanced to the final with a 3-1 victory over Poplar Bluff on Friday. Marion defeated tournament host Notre Dame 2-1 in the other semifinal.

Notre Dame defeated Poplar Bluff 1-0 in the third-place game.