It wasn't the finish the Jefferson City Jays wanted.
But they knew they only had themselves to blame.
"They were opportunistic," Jays coach Scott Blake said Saturday after Jefferson City fell 3-0 to the Lutheran: St. Charles Cougars in the final round of the Richard Wilson Classic at the 179 Soccer Park. "Nothing against them, they earned it, but we gave them the game. It was 100 percent our mistakes.
"I think we're at the same level as a team, but we decided it for them."
The Cougars got on the board a little more than two minutes into the contest on a goal by Sam Magueja.
Magueja then made it 2-0 midway through the first half. He stole a pass deep in the Jays' defensive end and drove to the goal for the score.
"We kind of fumbled it and instead of going to Plan B, we decided to make the same pass we showcased," Blake said. "The kid cheated in, stole it and off he went."
Better communication would have solved that problem, Blake said.
"We're smart enough to read that and let somebody know there's a better option," he said. "But we got caught in that lack of communication."
A two-goal deficit is tough for Jefferson City to overcome. The Jays had six shots in the first half, including four on goal.
"We can't get behind like that," Blake said. "We generated enough of an attack, but we didn't convert."
Jefferson City decided to be a little more offensive-minded in the second half.
"Down 2-0. know you have to do something," Blake said. "2-0 is a dangerous lead, if we can get one, maybe we can get another one to get a draw or maybe a potential win."
Jefferson City moved defensive players that have offensive skills into the midfield. It did help with the passing, but finding the back of the net proved to be elusive.
"We did some good things," Blake said. "But then something would happen to shut down our attack."
The Cougars got an insurance goal from Liam McCarty with 11 minutes left to ice the game.
"The game is out of reach at that point," Blake said. "But I'm sure we'll learn from this, we can't make mistakes like we did because something like this will happen if we do."
Jefferson City (5-5) will host Sedalia Smith-Cotton on Tuesday. The JV game will start at 5 p.m., followed by the varsity contest around 6:45 p.m.