The crosstown soccer showdowns are usually tight affairs and Wednesday night's edition between the Jefferson City Lady Jays and Helias Lady Crusaders was expected to be no different.
But it was, as Jefferson City scored two goals in the first 10 minutes on its way to a 5-0 victory against Helias at the 179 Soccer Park.
"I did not expect that at all, I thought it would be a one-goal game," Jefferson City coach Eddie Horn said. "When you consider the rivalry and the fact they have a solid team, I anticipated it would be a tough game for us to win."
The start was too much for Helias to overcome.
"We came out flat," Helias coach Brad Dempsey said. "They were determined, they have some great players, they are well-coached.
"If anything, it could have been worse."
Jefferson City needed less than two minutes to get on the board. Sarah Luebbert, a junior who has committed to play at Missouri, gathered the ball near the front of the Helias net, spun to her left and used her left foot to knock a shot into the upper corner for the goal.
"That's pretty big-time, you don't see that often," Horn said. "It was a great individual play."
Luebbert assisted on Jefferson City's next goal, scoring by McKenzie Gourley.
"The game swung pretty quick," Horn said. "That doesn't usually happen in a rivalry game and that took some of the pressure off of us."
Down by two goals, Helias did have the ball for extended periods of time in the Jefferson City end of the field in the first half.
"We had a chance to get one back, we just couldn't." Dempsey said.
The Lady Crusaders couldn't get much dangerous as the Lady Jays played a little deeper defensively than usual.
"We wanted to keep our back line pretty solid to make them try to beat us from distance," Horn said.
Jefferson City made it 3-0 with just under nine minutes to play in the half on a goal by Tayler LePage.
"Tayler made some very nice runs and it was good to see her get rewarded," Horn said.
Luebbert got her second assist of the game on the goal.
"The great things about Sarah are her determination and drive," Dempsey said. "As a coach, even as an opposing coach, you love to see that out of players. You take the skills and understanding of the game and add that drive, it takes her to another level."
"She has lifted the talent on the team with her."
Jefferson City added second-half goals by Gourley and McKenzie Lochhead to make the final 5-0.
"Those were good individual efforts," Horn said.
After Lochhead's goal, Gourley limped off and Jefferson City played the final eight minutes with 10 players.
"They had a couple of dynamic players that showcased their talents," Dempsey said.
Becca Sturgess and Megan Foster each played a half in goal in the shutout for the Lady Jays (12-4-3), who are slated to play today at Quincy, Ill., and Friday at Waynesville.
The Lady Crusaders now been blanked in four of its last seven games.
"We are struggling," Dempsey said. "I hate it for our players. You see moments where we show we can play, but then something happens."
Helias is back in action Saturday at home against Quincy, Ill. The JV game will start at 11:30 a.m., with the varsity to follow around 1:15 p.m.
Wednesday's JV game ended in a tie at 1. Kirsten Schwandtner scored in the first half for Jefferson City, while Sarah Pierle scored in the second half for Helias.