It’s was a district tournament featuring vintage Jefferson City Jays soccer -- play great defense and try to find a way to score.
“It was traditional Jefferson City soccer,” Jefferson City coach Scott Blake said as the Jays (15-10) prepared to take on Kansas City East (18-2-1) at 1:30 p.m. today in the Class 3 quarterfinals in Kansas City. “We went back to our roots.”
Jefferson City opened Class 3 District 7 Tournament play with a 1-0 win against host William Chrisman. The semifinals featured a 1-0 win against Raytown South before the Jays claimed the title with a 1-0 victory against Van Horn.
“We knew we could defend when we needed to, it’s a question of getting the goals we needed,” Blake said.
The run to the district title came after Jefferson City lost its final five matches in the regular season. The postseason provided a chance at a fresh start and Jefferson City took full advantage.
“We had a new frame of mind, we can’t wait for something to happen, we have to make something happen,” Blake said.
That came after Jefferson City spent much of the season experimenting with various shapes and formations, attempting to hit on the right form of attack.
“We tried everything and found what we could and couldn’t do,” Blake said. “We’re comfortable now, the players have bought in, it’s who we are.”
Blake said the Jays need to carry that attitude into this afternoon’s contest against the Bears.
“We need to be as close to what has gotten us this far as we can,” he said.
Kansas City East hasn’t lost since dropping a 1-0 decision Sept. 10 to Glendale. The Bears, whose other loss was 4-0 to Blue Springs South on Aug. 30, are 14-0-1 since then.
“They look like a college team, they pass like a college team,” Blake said. “When they decide to pass it, they zip it, the game is going to be faster. There’s no three touches, they get it and go.”
The Bears average 4.6 goals, while allowing less than one goal to their opponents.
“We know what their Plan A is and we want to force them into Plan B as fast as we can,” Blake said. “They still may be good on Plan B, but if we’re going to lose, we want it to be on Plan B, not Plan A.
“They’ve come together, they want to score, they are an attacking-type team. They’re athletic, fast. We need to be ready for that.”
The Jays are scoring and allowing 1.2 goals per game.
Jefferson City, averaging and allowing 1.2 goals per game, opened the season with eight wins in their first nine contests. But the Jays then went through a stretch where they scored just one goal in nine losses heading into the district tournament.
“This is what can happen when you commit to your process,” Blake said. “I always tell the guys if they do the things to be successful, follow the recipe, there’s no guarantee you’re going to win. But there’s a guarantee you won’t win.
“When you do what you have to do, you can get what you want. We never quit, we worked hard and here we are in the quarterfinals.”
It will be Jefferson City’s fourth trip to the Kansas City area in the postseason.
“We’ve already done it three times, what’s one more?” Blake said. “We’ve talked about being road tough and we have been in the postseason.”
East finished the regular season No. 7 in the final regular-season Missouri Soccer Coaches Association Power Rankings. Jefferson City came in at No. 28.
The Jefferson City-East winner advances to the Class 3 Final Four, scheduled for Nov. 18-19 at World Wide Technology Soccer Park in Fenton.
III
The district title was the 300th in the history of Jefferson City High School.
“It’s very special,” Blake said. “Not only do you want to do something special for your program in the playoffs, you want to do something for the school community.
“It’s not just special for JC soccer, it’s special for JC athletics. It shows the history of success here.”