After a sluggish first half Saturday afternoon, it was time for a shakeup of the lineup for the Jefferson City Jays.
It worked.
"It made me look like a genius," Jays coach Eddie Horn said after Jefferson City rebounded from a scoreless first half to defeat the Oakville Tigers 2-0 in the final game of the Art Firley Shootout at the 179 Soccer Park.
The big move was shifting Logan Horn from the midfield closer to the goal. And it took about five minutes for it pay off with a goal as Horn assisted on a goal by Brayden Carron to give the Jays the lead.
"We felt like some guys up front were tired," Eddie Horn said. "So we wanted to get some fresher players up there."
The Jays had dominated play in the opening 40 minutes, outshooting the Tigers 10-5. But just two of Jefferson City's shots were on goal.
"That's kind of been the story of the games we've lost this season, we've died on the vine in the front third and can't score," Horn said. "We've had the better of the play, but let it slip away and we lose in PKs or we lose 1-0."
Logan Horn assisted on the second goal as well, feeding Dalton Green for the insurance score.
"That was a nice goal by Dalton," Eddie Horn said.
Zach Brooks and Tyler Hager combined in goal in the shutout for the Jays. Brooks made five saves in the first 80 minutes, while Brooks did not have to stop a shot in the final 10.
"We came out and found a way to win and that's a credit to the players," Horn said.
The victory capped a tough week for the Jays. Jefferson City defeated Helias and Camdenton before falling Friday night to Chaminade in its first game in the Shootout.
"In the big picture to go 3-1 on the week was pretty good," Horn said.
But Friday night's 4-0 loss to the Red Devils left a bad taste in Horn's mouth heading into Saturday.
"That was a little embarrassing," Horn said. "It was the worst game we've played all year. Chaminade is a great team and we didn't compete with them at all."
Jefferson City (9-7-3) will host Rock Bridge on Tuesday and Southern Boone on Thursday as the regular season begins to draw to a close.
"It's another tough week, one in which we're going to have to be playing our best," Horn said. "Maybe we can get a little zip back into us."