The plan was working.
The Jefferson City Jays entered Wednesday night's game against the Rock Bridge Bruins wanting to shorten the game as much as possible. That meant playing a defensive style in the first half.
"Then come out in the second half and see if we could put ourselves into a position to win it," Jefferson City coach Scott Blake said.
It almost worked.
"When Rock Bridge is on, they are really on and can score in droves," Blake said after the Jays dropped a 2-0 decision to the Bruins at the 179 Soccer Park. "We didn't want that to happen."
The Jays held the Bruins to just two shots on goal in the first half. But the second, which came with a little more than three minutes left on the clock, was pivotal.
On the play, the Bruins drove down the right side and knocked the ball toward the Jays net.
"We gave them way too much time outside to get a serve in and our defense inside wasn't the best," Blake said.
Lucas Godon was there to put the ball in the net to give Rock Bridge the lead.
"There were plays we defended better that were quicker," Blake said. "It was a slow play that we didn't defend very well."
Blake wanted to see if the Jays could handle their offensive pressure of the Bruins.
"They have a lot of very good attacking players," he said. "They have a lot of going forward and I'm extremely proud of the way our team played right up until they scored the goal.
"We did what we practiced, we did a few different things, but we stayed organized."
It's always difficult to allow a goal late in a half.
"It puts you in a hole and with a young team like we have, it's hard to get out of it," Blake said.
Down by a score, the Jays had a decision to make in the second half.
"Do you want to lose 1-0 or come out and try to tie it and make the game interesting?" Blake said. "I'd rather make it interesting."
The Jays did not have a shot in the first half, but totaled six in the final 40 minutes.
Their best scoring chance came about 10 minutes into the second half when Breck McGrail sent a pass to Bassil Ahmed near the Bruin goal. Ahmed's shot was stopped by the Bruin keeper.
"He was in the right place, right moment, right ball, it was just technically the incorrect foot he used to shoot the ball," Blake said. "But he's a sophomore, with experience, I believe he knocks that in and we're 1-1 and it's a different game."
Rock Bridge got an insurance goal midway through the second half when Jayton Johnson knocked in a free kick after a foul called on the Jays near the box.
"I felt like it was a pretty good tackle, but it is what it is," Blake said. "They have guys that can strike it on restarts and that's what they did."
Wednesday night's game will have a bearing on the Class 4 District 9 Tournament, which will begin its seeding process today. The top three teams figure to Jefferson City, Rock Bridge and Hickman. The trio are all 1-1 against the other two.
"It's a triangle of stuff," Blake said. "It's not going to be an easy district seeding."
Waynesville is the fourth team in the tournament, which will be played at Rock Bridge later this month.
Rock Bridge is now 12-5-1.
Jefferson City (11-9-1) will host Springfield Central today. The JV game, which will be a pair of 20-minute halves, will begin at 4:30 p.m. That will be followed by Senior Night ceremonies, with the varsity contest to begin around 6 p.m.