It's hard to win when you don't score.
On the flip side, there are titles to be won when you keep your opponent off the board.
The Jefferson City Lady Jays held the Sedalia Smith-Cotton Lady Tigers without a shot on goal Thursday night, claiming the Class 4 District 11 Tournament title with a 2-0 victory at the 179 Soccer Park.
"The backline was so strong," Jefferson City coach Joren Trimble said. "They held it down back there."
With the win, Jefferson City (16-9-1) advances to host Lee's Summit West (14-3-1) in the sectionals next Tuesday.
The Lady Jays put pressure on the Lady Tigers from the start of the title contest. Jefferson City recorded five total shots, including two on goal, in the first 10 minutes.
"We wanted to attack early to see where they were defensively, what they were doing," Trimble said.
The Lady Jays got on the board with their eighth shot. The Lady Tigers were whistled for a foul just outside the top of the box to give the Lady Jays a free kick.
Greta Haarmann drilled the ensuing kick into the Smith-Cotton wall and the ball bounded to the side of the net. The Lady Tigers keeper stopped the first shot, a second bounced off the crossbar, but Kaitlyn Schwandtner was there to put back the rebound to give the Lady Jays the lead with 29:15 remaining in the first half.
"Jumping on them early was big-time important," Trimble said. "The most important thing was to start strong."
Crashing the goal was a point of emphasis in recent days.
"We've been practicing on it, running in, getting a head on it," Trimble said.
Jefferson City finished the half with an 11-2 edge in total shots, 5-0 in those on goal.
"We knew we couldn't let up, we couldn't let them get comfortable," Trimble said. "In a championship game, a 1-0 lead or a 2-0 lead are not safe."
The teams traded possessions for much of the second half. Jefferson City picked up an important insurance goal with a little less than eight minutes remaining on a score by Sasha Campbell.
"She knows her role," Trimble said. "We have trust in each other and she knows her role is to change the game when she steps out there."
Megan Duffield got the shutout in goal for the Lady Jays.
Jefferson City defeated Smith-Cotton 3-2 in PKs in a regular-season meeting last month in Sedalia.
"We figured we'd see them again," Trimble said. "Smith-Cotton is a good team, they're fast and they can find ways to score. We did a great job defensively."
Lee's Summit West defeated Raymore-Peculiar 5-2 to win the District 12 title Thursday night.
"It will be a tough game," Trimble said. "Lee's Summit West likes to attack, they're strong everywhere."
The Titans, No. 1 in the first state rankings of the season by the Missouri Soccer Coaches Association, are now ranked sixth. Lee's Summit West finished second in the state tournament last spring.
This is the first Class 4 district championship for the Lady Jays soccer program. The last district title came in 2014, when Jefferson City won in Class 3, then the state's largest class. The Lady Jays finished third in the state that season.