Vianney eliminates Jackson in sectional

FARMINGTON, Mo. -- Jackson ripped a shot off the post then slammed another shot at the Vianney goal, but the goalkeeper made the save while on the ground.

It was that kind of night for the Indians soccer team.

Vianney scored about 15 minutes into the game and added another one in the second half to earn the 2-0 victory against Jackson in their Class 3 sectional game Tuesday.

"We had a couple good chances," Jackson coach Zack Walton said. "We hit the post. The keeper came up with a big save on us. We had a couple throw-ins I thought we should have scored on. We had some good flicks right in there and didn't finish anything for us tonight."

The Indians finished the season 19-5-1.

Jackson's barrage on the Griffins' goal came just over 2 minutes after Vianney took the lead. Jackson senior Brian Davidson said the failure to capitalize on the golden opportunity actually served to motivate his teammates.

"At first we were thinking that's a good team," Davidson said. "We're going to have to work. Robbie [Martin of Jackson] was screaming they're not invincible, they're beatable. I think it boosted our morale, just to know we had those chances."

Jackson struggled to maintain any offensive strikes, with passes scooting just out of reach of teammates and Vianney defenders poking the ball away from the Indians forwards.

"We just got to the 50-50 balls," Vianney senior Dan Logush said. "We just frustrated them."

The Griffins opened the early lead when Logush made a run down the left side. He turned toward the middle of the field about 25 yards out then unleashed a quick, hard shot into the far corner of the goal for the 1-0 lead. He said he planned to shoot the entire time.

"It was huge because then it gives us a boost of energy," he said.

It was Vianney's speed that led to the second goal. Kenny Young beat his man down the left side and Jackson keeper Justin Darnell came out to challenge him. Young ripped the ball past Darnell into the far corner to increase the Griffins' lead to 2-0.

Vianney capitalized on its speed at other times to create scoring chances, but Davidson said teammate Caleb Beussink played a pivotal role in keeping the Griffins from using their quickness to pad their lead.

"We've got Caleb back there and he's a little speed demon," Davidson said. "They didn't really have any breakaways that we expected them to. So I think we did a pretty good job of containing that speed."

One challenge for the Indians was the adjustment to playing on artificial turf. Even though Jackson played Farmington earlier this season on turf, Davidson said there's a big difference between the grass field at Central, where the Indians won the district title, and the artificial turf in Farmington, where Tuesday's game was played.

"You're used to the bouncing ball that bounces up," he said. "On turf, it's an even bounce. It sits well. It's a little difficult, but it's not too bad."