The Jefferson City Jays had done just enough.
James Zablon scored twice in a six-minute span in the second half Saturday morning for Jefferson City, who held on for 2-1 victory against the Washington Bluejays in the opening round of the Class 3 District 4 Tournament at Capital City High School.
"Those were two blue-collar goals by James," Jefferson City coach Scott Blake said.
After a scoreless first half, Zablon got Jefferson City on the board with 27:32 left in regulation. Ryan Spraggs of the Jays put a free kick on goal from distance that the Washington keeper was able to tip off the crossbar. Zablon was there to put in the loose ball to give the Jays the lead.
"Ball goes off the bar and shortest player on our team goes up and gets it because he's ready," Blake said.
It was another hustle play by Zablon that resulted in the second goal. The ball was close to going past the end line on the Washington defensive end, but Zablon kept it in and dribbled to tap it into an open net to make it 2-0.
"It looks like it's going out of bounds, but James hustles to go get it and pokes it in when the keeper is out," Blake said.
They weren't the prettiest of goals. But in the postseason, it only matters they went into the back of the net.
"They don't have to be the upper 90, highlight reel goals to advance, you get them any way you can," Blake said.
Washington didn't go away easily, turning up the pressure in the last 20 minutes.
"They're a tough team to play against," Blake said. "Their identity is they are packed in on defense, then counter with one or two guys. That's what we were set up for.
"But because we were a little unclean with the ball, we left it loose a lot, they were able to put more numbers in transition in counter attacks and made it a more interesting game than it needed to be."
Washington, who finished with a 14-7 edge in total shots in the game, cut Jefferson City's lead to 2-1 with a little less than 10 minutes remaining when Logan Heather scored on a rebound.
"We've struggled at times trying to keep the sheet clean when other teams make their push," Blake said. "Fortunately, we'd put in a little bit of the scrappy work we needed to get that extra goal we needed, otherwise, we'd be in overtime."
Washington, the No. 6 seed in the eight-team tournament, ends its season at 9-14.
Jefferson City, the No. 3 seed, will take a 13-10 record into Monday night's semifinal game against second-seeded Capital City (14-6). Capital City beat Pacific 6-1 in its district opener Saturday.
That game is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the 179 Soccer Park. Saturday's games were moved to Capital City due to wet field conditions.
"If we get a couple of drying days, our intent is to play down at 179," Blake said. "We appreciate our hosts here at Capital City. They are always gracious when we've needed anything."
Monday's first semifinal will pit top-seeded Rockwood Summit (12-10) against fourth-seeded Rolla (13-8) at 5 p.m. Rockwood Summit blanked Camdenton 8-0 in its semifinal Saturday, while Rolla was a 2-0 winner against Union.