Late-game heroics push Jackson soccer into district title rematch

Jackson girls’ soccer trailed for the near entirety of its Tuesday matchup with the Seckman Jaguars, but two goals in the last ten minutes saw the Indians go from a goal down to taking the win in regulation after dominating possession in the second half, winning 2-1 to advance to the district championship game on Thursday.

After Seckman committed a foul inside the box, senior Justi Nelson drilled the penalty kick to tie the game up before assisting Maya Domian’s header from a corner kick, carrying the Indians’ season from the brink of death to the district championship game.

Jackson's Justi Nelson fires a shot on goal during a game against Seckman in Jackson, Mo. on May 16, 2023. Jackson defeated Seckman, 2-1, to advance to the district championship game.Cole Lee ~ Southeast Missourian

“I thought it was a Seckman team that has been playing very well as of late,” Indians coach Justin McMullen said. “I said before, anyone in this district could come out on top. We knew coming into this game that we were gonna get a very good Seckman team. They scored early and made it very difficult on us.”

The Jaguars looked to avenge a 3-2 loss in penalty kicks from May 3 and began the game on a strong note when a bouncing shot found its way through traffic and past Indian goalkeeper Camryn Alsdorf to give Seckman the lead.

Only three minutes into the game, all of the pressure fell on Jackson early. A strong passing attack from Seckman looked to pick apart the Indians, but as the game went on, the time of possession continued to mount for the Indians, who simply couldn’t find the back of the net.

The final ten minutes rewrote the past 70 minutes, however, as Jackson swarmed around loose balls and used a defensive gem of a game to generate offense, turning the Jaguars over deep in their zone multiple times and using intensity to change the flow of the game.

“We wanted to make sure that our last 10 minutes were our best 10 minutes,” McMullen said. “The season’s on the line. We didn't want to leave anything out on the field, as we always talk about.”

A quiet Jackson crowd ready to burst brought the moment to life – a Jackson player went down to the turf, looking to draw a penalty after a rough Seckman tackle. The whistle came, the crowd erupted, giving way to a brief silence before Nelson slotted away the penalty to knot the game at one, sending the once-quiet crowd into a frenzy.

The crowd’s energy appeared to fuel the players, as Seckman couldn’t move the ball out of the defensive half of the field without Jackson taking possession back. A strong defensive effort from the Indians continued to turn the Jaguar team over, and it gave way to the second goal of the evening for Jackson soon after.

Domian, who served as one of the Indians’ biggest pieces in preventing Seckman from moving up the field with a large sum of interceptions, found herself in the right place at the right time as she connected with the corner from Nelson to pull ahead just two minutes after the equalizer.

“The 10 minutes were in dramatic fashion: two goals,” McMullen said. “You know, I thought once we got our first one, we really amped up our energy a little bit more, and I felt good about the possibility of getting a second one.”

The win pushes Jackson into the district championship game against Oakville, a rematch of the 2022 Class 4 District 1 championship game on May 18, 2022 – exactly a year removed from the teams’ matchup on Thursday.

The Indians took the matchup last season with a 2-1 victory in double overtime, receiving two goals from then-freshman Rilee Monighan to advance to the state playoffs.

After taking a 3-0 victory against Notre Dame on Tuesday, the Tigers of Oakville are looking to take the district crown from Jackson – a crown that the Indians have worn for five consecutive seasons.

“We aren’t looking any further than this,” McMullen said. “You don't get this point in the postseason and not be top of the line. It'll be a very, very difficult matchup regardless of what's happened in the past.”