The Jefferson City Lady Jays spent so much time in the Battle end of the field Thursday night, the Spartans should have charged them rent.
But being on the offensive end doesn't mean you're going to score. Not with Gillian Schullte in the net.
The Battle keeper turned away all but one Jefferson City shot as the Lady Jays posted a 1-0 victory at the 179 Soccer Park.
"She was outstanding," Lady Jays coach Eddie Horn said. "She didn't give up any soft goals, it was a solid win for us."
Schullte, a sophomore, stopped 13 of Jefferson City's 14 shots on net. The only shot to get past her came midway through the first half, compliments of Sarah Luebbert.
Luebbert took a pass from Karina Esquival and drove toward the net. When Schullte came out to cut down the angle, Luebbert knocked it past her for the goal.
Luebbert scored shortly after she and Esquival shifted positions, Luebbert moving up front and Edquival going to center-mid.
"That made me look like a genius," Horn said, tongue planted firmly in cheek.
Jefferson City finished the first half with 14 total shots, nine on net.
"We could have been up 3-0, game over," Horn said. "But they were really organized and did a good job of stopping us when they needed to stop us. We were good up until the final third of the field."
On the other end, Jefferson City keeper Becca Sturgess had to stop just one shot in the opening half. In the second half, Megan Foster did not have to make a save in goal for Jefferson City.
While the Spartans never really threatened to score, it was an uncomfortable 1-0 lead for the final 60 minutes of play.
"You cannot relax, you're one counter-attack away from being tied and they have all the momentum," Horn said.
Horn used the game as a chance to let many reserves play in a close contest.
"We had the opportunity to play a lot of kids in a tight game," Horn said. "It's one thing to play when it's 3-0, but another when the pressure is on to perform.
"You have to play in these type of games to learn how to manage them, to get comfortable. We're going to be playing these type of games when it comes to the district tournament and the postseason. We have to learn how to handle it."
With the season nearly a third completed, the Lady Jays are about ready to lock into playing spots for the remainder of the year.
"It's time to settle on some things," Horn said. "We need to decide what we are going to be and go with it. We've given everybody a pretty good look, this was the fourth or fifth straight game I've played with a different lineup and it's time to settle."
Battle (2-10) has now lost four 1-0 decisions this season.
Jefferson City (4-3-2) is back in action tonight in a rescheduled game against Fatima at the 179 Soccer Park.
The junior varsity game will start at 5 p.m., followed by the varsity around 7 p.m. It will be Senior Night.
In Thursday's JV game, Jefferson City (4-3) blanked Battle 6-0. Gabi McGinty and Kirsten Schwandtner had two goals each, while Sarah Hirst and Taylor Burkhead both had one. Morgan Moffat was in goal in the shutout.