Lady Jays soccer rolls to win against Springfield Central

After the first five minutes Wednesday afternoon, the outcome really wasn’t in doubt.

Jefferson City had scored on two of its first three shots to take the lead against Springfield Central at the 179 Soccer Park.

But there was still 76 minutes of game time remaining. And that’s plenty of time to get things done.

“You always want to get off to a good start and we started off on fire,” Lady Jays coach Tom Guinn said after a 6-1 victory against the Lady Bulldogs. “It definitely makes things easier, you can get comfortable.”

The Lady Jays extended their lead to 3-0 after about 10 minutes of action. With the big lead and no junior varsity game Wednesday, Guinn took the opportunity to sub early for a couple of reasons.

“It’s great to get those girls some playing time,” he said. “Plus, it was nice for us to get some rest for our starters, our schedule has been tough lately, we had five games last week.”

Tayler LePage got the Lady Jays on the board in the opening minute and on Jefferson City’s second attack of the game. McKenzie Gourley made a run on a ball deep in Central’s end of the field and centered it to LePage in front of the net.

“Her ability to play with either foot is incredible,” Guinn said. “You can be sure that she is almost always going to play the ball right to where it needs to go.”

Where it needed to go in that instance was LePage, who knocked it in for the early lead.

Three minutes later, Jefferson City doubled its advantage when Mackenzie Lochhead scored off an assist from Katie Tambke.

Lochhead then got her second goal of the game six minutes later when she put back a rebound off a shot by LePage to make it 3-0.

Lochhead and LePage obviousy were a thorn in Central’s side in the early going.

“Those two have a great chemistry up front,” Guinn said. “They create havoc up top for the opposition.”

Lochhead has three goals in two games after returning to the starting lineup after a leg injury.

“It’s great to have her back,” Guinn said.

Jefferson City’s reserves got on the board in the final minute of the half on a goal from Taylor Burkhead.

The Lady Jays finished the half with a 17-1 edge in shots, including a 13-0 bulge in those on net.

Jefferson City’s starters scored twice in the second half — Morgan Jordan on an assist from LePage and Karina Esquivel assisted by Lochhead.

“Karina is good at striking the ball from distance and she took advantage of that opportunity,” Guinn said. “And Morgan has the ability to create a lot of scoring chances and as a freshman, she has a bright future.”

Central’s goal came on its lone shot on net on a long shot by Taylor Livingston midway through the second half.

“Central played a much better second half,” Guinn said.

Jefferson City (11-3) is back in action Saturday at Washington. The Lady Jays will then host Sedalia Smith-Cotton on Tuesday before playing Wednesday at Hickman in a game postponed due to lightning Tuesday night.