Published: October 14, 2008 11:44 pm            

SOCCER: Jackson leads Panthers to sectional win

When Western’s girls soccer team took the field Tuesday afternoon at Kokomo, the Panthers hadn’t celebrated a postseason victory since 2003.

Eighty minutes later, they had cause to rejoice after punching a ticket to Thursday’s Kokomo Sectional semifinals with a 4-2 victory over North Miami. Brooke Jackson bagged all four goals for the Panthers, who face Logansport at 7 p.m. Thursday. Kokomo takes on Manchester in Thursday’s 5 p.m. game.

Western’s offense created the bulk of the chances, constructing attacks designed to put Jackson in front of goal with space to shoot.

“We have been working on making offensive runs and where to pass the ball and working on our communication,” Jackson said. “It paid off in this game. We just have to keep doing it in the next sectional game that’s coming up.”

Jackson got a good bounce to score her first goal as her shot popped in off the North Miami goalie’s fingertips in the third minute. North Miami answered with a goal by Patricia Kilcrece just three minutes later, giving Western cause for concern.

Western went back to work though, creating nine more scoring chances before Abi Banan sparked the Panthers’ second goal in the 24th minute. Banan’s through ball released Jackson, who moved past a defender and scored from close range to put the Panthers ahead for good.

“The girls were really nervous to start the game,” Western coach Sarah Brichford said. “We just wanted to calm down, play the ball on the ground in the kind of passing combinations that we’ve been putting together recently. The other team had some strong legs and fast people up front and we needed to counter that with more possession.

“It was when we started putting together longer crosses and spread the attack a bit, widen out, and we were able to put some balls through into space that we gained some confidence.”

Western went up 3-1 in the 38th minute when Banan found Jackson again for a clean finish. Jackson’s last goal came 11 minutes after halftime when Lacey Roe’s lead pass found Jackson, who rounded the goalie to score her fourth.

“I think Abi Banan had good through balls,” Jackson said. “Our team had good assists overall, good passing, and our defense stuck in there until the end.”

Brichford said several Panther leaders got the momentum going as Western won most of the 50-50 balls and limited North Miami to just a few dangerous counterattacks.

“Maeghan Grove did an outstanding job in midfield,” Brichford said. “She began to win most of the balls that were in her area and I think the other girls responded to her tenacity.

“[Defenders] Jennifer Dale and Lacey Roe in the back had a good feel for controlling [North Miami’s] long balls, their attacks.”

        

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